PROGRAM NOTES
PROGRAM NOTES
TO AWAKEN THE SLEEPER
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
BY JAMES M . KELLER
Adolphus Hailstork
Born April 17 , 1941 , in Rochester , New York Residing in Virginia Beach , Virginia
EPITAPH FOR A MAN WHO DREAMED — IN MEMORIAM : MARTIN LUTHER KING , JR . ( 1929-1968 ) [ 1979 ]
After taking his first steps as a composer while in high school , Adolphus Hailstork polished his skills at Howard University , the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau ( working with the legendary Nadia Boulanger ), Manhattan School of Music , and Michigan State University , where he earned his doctorate in composition . Both European and Black American traditions inform his music . “ If I had to do a balance chart on it , I ’ d say I ’ m about 70 % Euro oriented and 30 % Afro ,” he said . “ I like to tell people I ’ m a cultural hybrid .” That 30 %, however , has given rise to compelling works inspired by African-American subjects and , increasingly , social justice . His four operas deal with African-American subjects : the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar , Black cowboys in the Wild West , the Underground Railroad , and the singer / polymath Paul Robeson . He composed a cantata about Crispus Attucks , the first American casualty of the Revolution , and in 2022 he unveiled A Knee on the Neck , a Requiem Cantata memorializing George Floyd .
He wrote Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed in 1979 as a contemplative orchestral tribute to Rev . Martin Luther King , Jr ., and it was premiered in January 1980 by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra , with William Henry Curry conducting . “ A great man is being buried ,” wrote Hailstork . “ A few mourners ring the gravesite singing a spiritual . Gradually , more bereaved gather and join in ( strings ). They reflect upon their memories of hopes and dreams inspired by their fallen leader . The service concludes and the bowed heads begin to lift . They will carry on . Technically the piece is a study in understatement and control . There is no virtuosity . There are no sudden dramatic shifts . Harmony is simple , coloration is medium to dark . There is a very restrained and careful control of climax , there being only one at the end of the work .”
Instrumentation Three flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons and contrabassoon , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , two sets of chimes , harp , and strings .
Alvin Singleton
Born December 28 , 1940 , in Brooklyn , New York Residing in Brooklyn , New York , and Atlanta , Georgia
56 BLOWS ( QUIS CUSTODIET CUSTODES ?) [ 1993 ]
Alvin Singleton completed studies at New York University , Yale University ( with Mel Powell and Yehudi Weiner ), and Tanglewood ( with Gunther Schuller ), and then headed to Europe , where he studied with Goffredo Petrassi at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( Rome ). After residing in Austria for 13 years , he returned to the United States . He served as composer-in-residence with the Atlanta Symphony , Detroit Symphony , and American Composers Orchestra and taught as visiting professor at the Yale University School of Music . He has produced a large catalogue of symphonic , chamber , and choral works . Recent highlights include his Prayer , which blends inspiration from African- American spirituals within the context of a classical chamber cantata ; it was commissioned by the Cincinnati May Festival to honor James Conlon in his final season as its director , and he led its premiere there in 2016 .
Singleton wrote 56 Blows ( Quis Custodiet Custodes ?) in 1993 on commission from The Philadelphia Orchestra , which gave its premiere
on January 13 , 1994 . It was inspired by the 1991 confrontation in Los Angeles , captured by a camera , in which Rodney King was kicked and pummeled with batons 56 times in a shocking incident of police brutality . When jurors found the officers not guilty , Sen . Bill Bradley of New Jersey protested in a speech , repeating the word “ Pow ” 56 times . The work ’ s subtitle ( meaning “ Who guards the guardians ?”) is derived from the Satires of the classical Roman poet Juvenal . Explaining why his piece does not render the blows literally , Singleton said : “ Rodney King could have been anybody . I don ’ t want people to associate this piece with the beating . When people think about this piece in the future , I want them to think , ‘ Now , what was that piece about ? Oh yeah , it ’ s about the abuse of power .’”
Instrumentation Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba , snare drum , field drum , timbales , three tom-toms , harp , and strings .
Joel Thompson
Born 1988 , in the Bahamas Residing in Houston , Texas
TO AWAKEN THE SLEEPER [ 2021 ]
Born to Jamaican parents in the Bahamas , Joel Thompson grew up in Houston and Atlanta , graduated from Emory University ( where he earned his master ’ s in choral conducting ), and is currently completing his doctorate in
Maximilian Franz
34 OVERTURE / BSOmusic . org