RHSTO 2019 version
for mezzo-soprano, wind ensemble, wind quintet, archival sound and film
Recording from the concert premiere on Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 4pm and performed by the University of South Carolina Wind Ensemble led by Scott Weiss and mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway at the Koger Center in Columbia, SC.
Red hot sun turning over
1. MONUMENT-PRELUDE (Oonossa)
2. PEDESTAL (Monument march)
3. ARIA (Vacant river)
4. INTERLUDE (Down in Alabama)
5. ARIA (Weeping dreamer)
6. INTERLUDE (Makes a long time man feel bad)
7. PEDESTAL (Battle monument scherzo)
8. MONUMENT (Long winds)
9. INTERLUDE (Red hot sun turning over)
10. ARIA (Beautiful and sad)
11. MONUMENT (Short winds)
12. PEDESTAL (Woodman, spare that tree)
13. PEDESTAL (Hail Columbia)
14. MONUMENT (Distress)
15. INTERLUDE (The longest day I ever lived)
16. ARIA-POSTLUDE (Lonely chair)
2. PEDESTAL (Monument march)
OBJECTS
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John Adams-like post-minimalist language
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“Monument March” (1872) by S. Mazurette
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bi-tonal arrangement of the Mazurette tune (F & Ab)
UNFOLDING
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each line of counterpoint is split up between 3-4 instruments, each adding different chromatic embellishment, blurring and obscuring the lines
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the drums play with time and perception with their shifting patterns
4. INTERLUDE (Down in Alabama)
OBJECTS
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Field recording of by Arthur Bell singing at the Cummins State Farm (Camp #5) in Gould, Arkansas
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From Lomax’s field notes
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See Catherine A. Stewart's book Long Past Slavery: Representing Race in the Federal Writers' Project (UNC Press, 2016) for an illuminating history of Lomax's problematic approach to recording African-American performers in the South
6. INTERLUDE (Makes a long time man feel bad)
8. MONUMENT (Long winds)
OBJECTS
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Anton Bruckner, Symphony No. 1 (opening chord progression)
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Steve Reich, Double Sextet
UNFOLDING
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The percussion plays the data on Confederate monuments-- each strike represents one monument or memorial erected or dedicated. Some years have only a couple of dedications while other years had many, for example 1910 had 44 dedications
10. ARIA (Beautiful and sad)
OBJECTS
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Harmonic progression from Beautiful Dreamer (by Stephen Foster, 1864)
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Lyrics compiled from The Vacant Chair (music by George Root, words by H.S. Washburn) , Beautiful Dreamer (by Stephen Foster, 1864), When this Cruel War is Over (Weeping sad and lonely) (by Charles Carroll Sawyer, 1863), & Shall we gather at the river (by Robert Lowry, 1864)
12. PEDESTAL (Woodman, spare that tree)
OBJECTS
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Woodman, Spare That Tree, by George Pope Morris (adjust to .25 speed)
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John Luther Adams, Become Ocean
14. MONUMENT (Distress)
OBJECTS
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Data on confederate monuments erected/dedicated (1861-2018)
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the 4 toms play the dedication data
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Data on lynchings of African Americans (1882-1968)
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32b: Distress, sacred harp (written by Anne Steele)
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provides the harmonic progression for the loud arpeggiated winds
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in the final section the low brass play a chorale version of the tune
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16. ARIA-POSTLUDE (Lonely chair)
OBJECTS
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Charles Ives, Slow March, from 114 Songs
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G.F. Handel, Death March from Saul (& Stokowski Arrangement)
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When this Cruel War is Over (Weeping sad and lonely) (by Charles Carroll Sawyer, 1863)
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Lyrics compiled from The Vacant Chair (music by George Root, words by H.S. Washburn) , Beautiful Dreamer (by Stephen Foster, 1864), When this Cruel War is Over (Weeping sad and lonely) (by Charles Carroll Sawyer, 1863), & Shall we gather at the river (by Robert Lowry, 1864)