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:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Stargell
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.
PHOTO: Willie and me in happier times
