Capital Harmony Works will honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service with an hour-long concert at Trinity Church Princeton, 33 Mercer Street, tonight at 6:00. Admission is free, but a contribution is requested, either in the form of money or non-perishable foods. All proceeds will benefit Arm In Arm, an organization that provides food, housing services, and more, for individuals in need.
This is the 7th annual MLK Day concert for Capital Harmony Works, which is the home of three creative youth development programs: Trenton Music Makers, an El Sistema-inspired string and percussion orchestra; Trenton Children’s Chorus, made up of K-12 choirs; and Music for the Very Young, an award-winning pre-K program conducted in partnership with Trenton and Ewing public preschools.
Ten months and counting. Coronavirus concerns continue to keep me off-campus.
If I were in a studio today, I would be spinning this out-of-print treasure – the world premiere recording of Joseph Schwantner’s “New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom” – alongside other noteworthy, neglected music, for MLK Day.
The text, compiled from speeches and writings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is read by Willie Stargell. Stargell introduced the piece with the Eastman Philharmonia conducted by David Effron, on January 15, 1983 (King’s birthday), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. This was followed by performances in Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh, and Rochester (home of the Eastman School of Music). Since then, the work has received hundreds of performances throughout the United States.
At the time of its premiere, Stargell was still first basemen and team captain of the Pittsburgh Pirates. You can read more about him here:
Schwantner was honored with a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1979 for “Aftertones of Infinity.” Inexplicably, this performance of “New Morning for the World” has never appeared on compact disc. Since I won’t be able to share it with you on the air today, here it is, posted on YouTube:
I know I made the observation before, but it bears repeating: that Stargell would have been subjected to such discrimination and harassment in the still-recent past demonstrates how short history is, and how pertinent was King’s life’s work.
Tolerance, respect, kindness, and basic human decency never go out of fashion. Points can be made without violence, and just because someone disagrees with a certain perspective doesn’t automatically make him a moron, or Satan. That’s not to say there isn’t right and wrong, or that there isn’t evil in the world. Take a stand. Have the courage to speak. But also have the patience to listen. Then pause to consider.
Mobs and movements tend to do something to people. They can attract attention, they can inspire, and they can even spur change. But they also have a dangerous tendency to create straw men and to dehumanize. In my experience, most people, when encountered one on one, are fundamentally decent and want to do right by one another, regardless of how they vote.
There are plenty of “broken” people, to be certain. But fear and ignorance (not to be confused with stupidity), along with a propensity to view oneself as better or more worthy than somebody else, are at the root of so many of the world’s problems.
The most basic attitude adjustment can mean so much. And I offer this as a highly-flawed human being, who doesn’t always practice what he preaches. We can always do more, all of us. And we should always strive to be better.
While the country is set to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, today is the actual anniversary of King’s birth. It appears that Trenton Music Makers will continue with its annual MLK concert, this year to be streamed virtually, via YouTube, on Monday at 6 pm EST. Learn more about this extraordinary organization and its mission by visiting trentonmusicmakers.org
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
So said Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On this MLK Day, we’ll hear at least two works inspired by King’s speeches.
“New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom,” by the Pulitzer Prize winner Joseph Schwantner, has become something of a contemporary classic. My preferred performance of the piece is from an out-of-print LP, featuring narration by former Pittsburgh Pirate Willie Stargell. However, last year I played a digital recording, with Raymond Bazemore and the Oregon Symphony conducted by James DePreist. This year, I thought we’d give a try to Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin. You’ll be able to hear it in this afternoon in the 4:00 hour.
Then at 6:00, I’ll be sharing a recording of Adolphus Hailstork’s inspiring oratorio “Done Made My Vow,” which also incorporates texts from King’s speeches, with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Morgan State University Choir.
In between, we’ll mark the birthday anniversaries of Placido Domingo, Henri Duparc, Nikolai Golovanov, Antonio Janigro, and Alexander Tcherepnin.
The music is King, on this MLK Day, from 4 to 7 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, once again I’ll be spinning this neglected contemporary classic from vinyl. This world premiere – and preferred – recording of “New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom” has, inexplicably, never appeared on compact disc.
These are the forces that introduced the piece on January 15, 1983 (King’s birthday), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The texts were compiled from King’s speeches. The narrator is former Pittsburgh Pirate Willie Stargell. Composer Joseph Schwantner was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1979 for his work “Aftertones of Infinity.”
That such a beloved figure would have been subjected to discrimination and harassment in the still recent past should make us realize how short history is, and how pertinent was King’s life’s work.
Tune in today, between 4 and 7 p.m. EST to hear “New Morning for the World,” among my featured offerings, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
