Download MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Celebration Concert
JAN 21 | 10 & 11:30AM | OGLE CENTER, IUS
TEDDY ABRAMS, conductor
Special Guests: JASON CLAYBORN + NORMAN SEAWRIGHT
LOUISVILLEORCHESTRA.ORG
502.587.8681
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Celebration Concert
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21 | 10:00AM & 11:30 AM OGLE CENTER
TEDDY ABRAMS, CONDUCTOR
SPECIAL GUESTS: JASON CLAYBORN + NORMAN SEAWRIGHT
COPLAND............................................................................... Fanfare for the Common Man
DVOŘÁK................................................ Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” Mvt. 1
IVES.............................................................. The Unanswered Question (strings only)
...............................................................I have a dream with Norman Seawright
HANDY.......................................................................................................St. Louis Blues
Arr. Holcombe
WALKER......................................................................................................Lyric for Strings
WONDER....................................................................................................... Higher Ground
.....................................................................................Vocalist – Jason Clayborn
COOKE......................................................................................A Change is Gonna Come
.....................................................................................Vocalist – Jason Clayborn
JOPLIN......................................................................................................The Entertainer
Arr. Schuller/Belisle
ELLINGTON..........................................................................................Duke Ellington Fantasy
Arr. Hermann
LOUISVILLE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Be sure to access the playlist for the 2016 MLK concert through the LFPL’s
Naxos Music Library. (Library card required)
Go to www.lfpl.org
1. Click on box labeled “Streaming Music Library” (right side)
2. Click on tab labeled “Browse Music Library” (near top)
3. Login with username and password (Library card required)
4. After logging in, click on Naxos Classical Music Library
5. Click on “Playlists” (top of page in the middle)
6. Click on “Louisville Orchestra” (left side)
7. Click on MLK
8. Select tracks
2
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
Fanare for the Common Man
COMPOSED BY AARON COPLAND
Aaron Copland’s works have come to define the quintessentially “American” sound of classical music.
Born in 1900 in Brooklyn, New York, Aaron grew up
surrounded by music from his Jewish community as well as
through his music lessons and opera exposure through his
older sister Laurine. He studied piano and compositional
techniques throughout his childhood and after high school
graduation, went to Paris to attend the new American
Conservatory at Fontainebleau. He studied with famed
teacher Nadia Boulanger for three years before returning to
the United States. Upon his return, Aaron was determined
to create a uniquely American sound. His first musical
attempt would be Music for the Theatre in 1925 utilizing/
infusing American jazz and blues into a symphonic setting.
During the 1930s, Aaron traveled extensively including his first visit to Yaddo (an artist retreat
in Sarasota Springs, New York) followed by many trips to Mexico to visit composer Carlos
Chavéz. It was during this period that Aaron considered the role of music as utilitarian as well
as artistic, perhaps prompted by his connection to photographer Alfred Stieglitz who believed
art should represent the ideas of American democracy. Aaron began to compose music for
young audiences as well as more populist genres including the radio program Prairie Journal.
This was Aaron’s first foray into the sounds of the American West and his use of populist materials (both American and world music). Aaron would utilize the music he heard from his travels
to Mexico in one of his most popular works El Salón México in 1936.
ACTIVITY
Compare fanfares from multiple composers:
Copland, Mouret, Janáček, Verdi and
Adams. How are they similar? How are they
different? If you were going to compose a
musical fanfare about Dr. King, what are the
elements you would use? What instruments
would you use? Would you include text? If
so, which text? Choose a moment in Dr.
King’s life and sketch how you would set it
as a musical fanfare. If you are going to use
text, include that as well.
EXPLORE
Visit the Aaron Copland collection at the
Library of Congress to learn more about this
great American composer.
American Masters, Aaron Copland (PBS)
Copland House
The 1940s were undoubtedly the most fertile and best known years for Aaron’s compositions.
The first half of the decade would include important collaborations with choreographers Agnes
DeMille for the ballet Rodeo (1942) and Martha Graham for the ballet Appalachian Spring
(1944), Lincoln Portrait (1942), and Symphony No. 3 (started in 1944, completed in 1946).
Aaron would win the Pulitzer Prize in Music and the New York Music Critics Circle award for
Appalachian Spring in 1945. The second half would include Jubilee Variation for the Cincinnati Symphony (1945), In the Beginning (1947), the Clarinet Concerto (1948) and two film
scores; The Red Pony (1948) and The Heiress (1949); the latter would earn him an Academy
Award.
The Fanfare for the Common Man is one of Copland’s most recognizable and beloved works.
In 1942, the world was at war and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s conductor Eugene Goossens commissioned eighteen composers to create fanfares for brass and percussion to boost
the patriotic spirit of Americans. These fanfares were performed during Cincinnati’s 1942-43
subscription concert series. Copland was inspired by a quote from Vice President Henry
Wallace’s 1942 speech that proclaimed the dawning of the “Century of the Common Man”.
Fanfare for the Common Man was premiered on March 12, 1943 and immediately struck a
chord and somehow tapped into the courage that was needed in the months and years ahead.
Three years later, Copland would incorporate this fanfare into his larger work Symphony No. 3
(a piece that was eventually nicknamed “America’s symphony”).
At the end of the 1940s, Aaron went on a European tour and was intrigued by the avant-garde
post-war music scene that explored twelve-tone and the serial method of composition championed by Pierre Boulez. After the 1950s, Copland’s compositional output dwindled so he spent
more time conducting and recording as well as teaching and inspiring the next generation of
American composers and conductors including Leonard Bernstein and Michael Tilson Thomas.
In 1964 Copland won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for a civilian and
was inducted into the Kennedy Center Honors in 1979. Aaron Copland died on December 2,
1990 in Sleepy Hollow, NY. His ashes were scattered at Tanglewood.
3
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
SYMPHONY NO. 9
“From the New World”
MVT. 1
COMPOSED BY ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
Antonín Dvořák was born on September 8, 1841 near
Prague in central Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). The
oldest of nine children born to Anna and Frantisek, Antonín
was expected to follow his father into the family business
as either a butcher or an innkeeper. The family was also
musical and while it was merely recreational for most, it
became clear early on that it would be more than that for
Antonín. He studied violin with a local teacher while also
apprenticing with his father. But the family business was
suffering so Frantisek moved the family to a larger community, hoping business would get better. This move provided
Antonín the opportunity to study with well-regarded musician Antonin Liehmann who taught him harmony as well as
organ. Young Antonín was more interested in music than the
family business and after some convincing Frantisek agreed
that Antonín should attend the Prague organ school. So at age 16, Antonín began his formal
studies in Prague. Life in this large city afforded Antonín the chance to play viola with local
orchestras and become more acquainted with the great musical works of the 19th century.
After graduation, Antonín was broke and spent a number of years as an itinerant musician/
composer staying with various relatives and in short-term rentals. He made ends meet by
playing viola for the Provisional Theatre’s orchestra and he gave piano lessons (the latter would
introduce Antonín to Anna Cermakova, his future wife). During this time, he also composed
numerous string works, and experimented with opera. But it would be his 1873 patriotic hymn
The Heirs of the White Mountain set to text by Vitezslav Halek that would gain him national
attention. That same year, Antonín married Anna and very quickly, they had three children
(Otokar, Josefa and Ruzena).
In 1875, Antonín applied for a state scholarship to help impoverished artists and included several
of his works (including two symphonies). Not only did he receive the highest amount available,
but he would win the next five years in a row and would be introduced to Johannes Brahms (a
juror for the award). Brahms immediately saw talent in the young Czech and introduced Antonín
to his publisher Fritz Simrock (one of the most successful German publishers of the era). Finally,
things seemed to be on stable footing for the Dvořák family, but in 1877 tragedy struck. The
family had previously weathered the death of Josefa at two days old but the family was rocked
again when first Rozena died (phosphorous poisoning) and one month later, Otokar died of small
pox. After Josefa’s death, Antonín had composed a piano version of the Stabat Mater but after
the loss of Rozena and Otokar, he expanded the work into a complete orchestrated oratorio.
The next three years (1878-1880) would be defined as Antonín’s “Slavic period” and he would
produce some of his best known works including the Serenade for Wind Instruments, Cello
and Double Bass (1878), Moravian Duets (1878), Slavonic Dances (1878), Czech Suite
(1879), and Symphony No. 6 in D Major (1880). Simrock encouraged (and commissioned)
Antonín to create a series of Czech-Slav dances. Simrock and Brahms had great success with
Hungarian Dances and Simrock felt the same could be true for Antonín. Simrock was right.
Steeped in Czech folk song traditions, Antonín infused these works with Czech idioms and the
reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
In 1892, Antonín was offered a teaching position at the National Conservatory of Music in New
York City with a starting salary of $15,000
(quite large for the time). His goal was to
discover and embrace American folk music (as
he had done with Czech folk music). In 1893,
he was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to compose Symphony No. 9 in E
Minor “From the New World”. Influenced
and inspired by Native American music and
African-America spirituals, Symphony No. 9
was premiered at Carnegie Hall on December
16, 1893 and each movement was greeted
with thunderous applause. Through early
1895, he stayed in America composing several
string works including his Cello Concerto in B
minor. He and his family returned to Europe
in April 1895 and by October, he had resumed
his teaching at the Prague Conservatory.
Brahms tried to convince Antonín and his
family to move to Vienna but Antonín could
not leave his beloved country. His final years
were spent receiving much acclaim. Antonín’s
death on May 1, 1904 remains a mystery as
there was no autopsy and no official cause
of death (although he had been ill for a few
weeks prior to his death). But his compositional legacy in America was profound and
spurred other composers to explore new directions in the creation of American classical
music.
ACTIVITY
Dvořák was inspired by all types of music as
well as sounds of nature. Listen to the call of
the Scarlet Tanager as well as Swing Low,
Sweet Chariot, and Beethoven’s Scherzo to
his Symphony No. 9. Do you hear elements
of these in the Dvořák? If so, how does he
use them? What music inspires you? How
would you incorporate all those inspirations
into a single piece of music?
EXPLORE
Learn more about Dvořák as well as his time
in America
Biography from Britannica
Dvořák American Heritage Association
Dvořák and America; NEH
Dvořák’s America by Joe Horowitz
4
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
The Unanswered Question
(STRING HYMN) COMPOSED BY CHARLES IVES
WITH
I Have a Dream
PERFORMED BY NORMAN SEAWRIGHT
Charles Edward Ives was a uniquely American
composer whose music was so ahead of its time that
nothing like it had been heard before. Born in Danbury,
Connecticut in 1874, Charles had a rather conventional
New England upbringing with the exception of his
musical training from his father George (a well-known
band leader during the Civil War). George encouraged his son’s musical explorations that included
banging on the piano with his fists – this sound would
become tone clusters that would first appear in the
Concord Sonata. Charles studied piano and other
instruments first with his father, then studied keyboard
with other teachers and at 14 became the youngest
salaried organist in Connecticut. Charles was an avid baseball player as well as composer
throughout his teens. Charles absorbed the sounds of his childhood including his father’s
musical experimentations that included two marching bands playing two different pieces
marching towards each other and then passing in opposite directions. George wanted to
hear what it sounded like when the bands met in the middle while playing two different
pieces. This experiment with sound would show up in some of Charles’ future compositions
including his Variations on America.
ACTIVITY
Listen to The Unanswered Question – how
do you feel when you listen to it? Try to
listen to the individual parts – what was Ives
trying to say? How does each section relay
the composer’s intent? Listen to other Ives
pieces including his Variations on America,
Holidays Symphony and Central Park in
the Dark. How would you characterize Ives’
compositional style? Do you think he captured
growing up in New England in his music? If
so, how?
EXPLORE
Learn more about Charles Ives.
Keeping Score with Michael Tilson
Thomas
The Charles Ives Society
Why You Should Listen to Charles Ives by
Jan Swofford
Charles attended Yale and began his composition training with Horatio Parker who would
school Charles in more conventional compositional techniques. Not long after Charles’
arrival at Yale, George Ives died from a stroke and it was an event from which Charles
would never recover. Charles spoke of his father regularly and felt he was continuing his
father’s musical legacy. After graduation, Charles went into the insurance business; one
that would prove extremely lucrative. In his spare time, Charles continued to compose
including Central Park in the Dark (1906), The Unanswered Question (1906) as well as
his Holidays Symphony (composed from 1897 to 1913). The Unanswered Question is divided
into three segments with the strings representing The Silence of the Druids (the solo trumpet
asks the Perennial Question of Existence and the woodwind quartet responds with Fighting
Answerers – only the strings will be in this program). After 1927, Ives did not compose
any more original music although he did spend time revising previous works. Ives died of a
stroke in 1957 in New York City.
5
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
Meet Dr. King
ACTIVITY
Read Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech from
The King Center. Answer the following
questions:
1. “Five score years ago,” the opening phrase
of Dr. King’s speech, is a reference to what
or whom?
2. Dr. King’s speech contains other references
from the Declaration of Independence and
the Bible. Can you find these references
and where they are from?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia to Rev. Martin Luther
King Sr. and his wife Alberta. He attended Booker T Washington High School but ended up
skipping two grades and enrolled at Morehouse College without officially graduating from high
school. He graduated from Morehouse in 1948, and then attended Crozer Theological Seminary
(Chester, Pennsylvania) for his Bachelor of Divinity degree (1951). He married Coretta Scott
in 1953 and in 1955 he received his Doctor of Philosophy (in systematic religion) from Boston
University. By the age of 25, he was the pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Dr. King was inspired by the non-violent resistance of Mohandas (Mahatma)
Gandhi. In 1963, he delivered his I have a dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial (March on
Washington). This speech was honored by the Library of Congress in 2002 by adding it to the
United States National Recording Registry. A popular story about this speech is that he departed
from the original text after noted gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to him “Tell them about
the dream, Martin!” And he did.
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
In 1964, Dr. King was the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. King
continued to march for civil rights and preach non-violence protest through civil disobedience.
During this time, President Lyndon Johnson and the United States Congress were able to pass
landmark legislation including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (a carryover from the Kennedy administration) that outlawed most racial segregation and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that outlawed
discrimination in voting. Even while Dr. King continued to work towards civil rights, he also
waged a war against poverty with his Poor People’s Campaign (early 1968). He was anti-Vietnam
war and felt that the money going towards the war would be better spent on helping poor Americans. In April 4, 1968, Dr. King was shot and killed at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee
by James Earl Ray. He was 39 years old. His legacy continues to this day with a federal holiday in
his honor (signed by President Reagan in 1983 with the first observation in January 1986) and his
posthumous awards and honors range from numerous honorary degrees to a Grammy nomination
to any number of city streets named after him. He has become an icon of human rights.
6
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
3. List several alliterations (the occurrence of
the same letter or sound at the beginning
of neighboring or closely connected words)
in Dr. King’s speech.
4. Find an example of a simile (the comparison of one thing with another thing of a
different kind).
5. Find three examples of anaphora (the
deliberate repetition of the first part of the
sentence in order to achieve an artistic
effect).
EXPLORE
For more information on Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., check out:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/
laureates/1964/king-bio.html
http://www.thekingcenter.org/Default.
aspx
http://civilrightsmuseum.org/
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
St. Louis Blues
COMPOSED BY WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER (W.C.) HANDY
ARRANGED BY HOLCOMBE
William Christopher “WC” Handy was born in Florence,
Alabama on November 16, 1873 to Charles (a local pastor)
and his wife Elizabeth. WC grew up singing the music
of the church and was inspired by the music he heard
in nature. WC secretly bought a guitar (his father did
not abide by musical instruments in the house) but had
to return it when his father found out. Charles decided
WC should have organ lessons but those didn’t last very
long. Instead WC covertly picked up a cornet, joined a
local band and practiced as much as he could. WC was
an excellent student and in 1892, he took and passed the
teaching examination in Birmingham where he stayed to
teach. But finding the pay low, he found industrial work
and taught musicians on the side. But WC was always
drawn to musical endeavors so over the next few years,
he organized and/or played in a variety of ensembles as well as touring minstrel shows and even
played cornet at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
In 1896 he married Elizabeth Price and in 1900 they had their first child (they would have six). In
1900, WC was recruited to teach at the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University and
while there, he found that college emphasized European classical rather than American music
(the college considered American music inferior). He left in 1902 and travelled throughout
Mississippi, soaking in all the various black musical styles throughout the region. The next
few years would be spent travelling the country and like his travels throughout Mississippi, he
absorbed all the musical styles he encountered, including his inspiration for what would become
the song St. Louis Blues. In his 1941 autobiography Father of the Blues, WC recounted “It was
the memory of that old gent who called figures for the Kentucky breakdown—the one who everlastingly pitched his tones in the key of G and moaned the calls like a presiding elder preaching
at a revival meeting. Ah, there was my key – I’d do the song in G.”
ACTIVITY
Listen to different versions of St. Louis Blues;
Billie Holliday, Artie Shaw, Raye/Garland and
Hancock/Wonder. Are there elements from the
1914 WC Handy recording that crossed over into
these versions? If so, what are they? How does
each artist put their own musical stamp on their
version of St. Louis Blues?
EXPLORE
Learn more about W.C. Handy and the blues.
Mr. Handy’s Blues: A Musical Documentary
Jazz in America: The Blues and Jazz
WC Handy Music Festival
Memphis Music Hall of Fame
In 1909, WC moved to Memphis, Tennessee and his band began playing at clubs on Beale Street.
This led to his first hit in 1912 when he published Memphis Blues that introduced his 12 bar
style of blues. Two years later (1914), at the age of forty, WC published St. Louis Blues and it
would become one of his most popular (and profitable) songs. Handy noted at the time that the
tango was the big dance craze so included in his twelve bar blues was a habanera rhythm also
called “Spanish tinge”. The song would be recorded by major jazz and blues artists like Louis
Armstrong, Bessie Smith and Odetta, big bands Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller
and great collaborations like Martha Raye/Judy Garland, and Herbie Hancock/Stevie Wonder.
Handy moved his publishing company to New York City in 1917 and had many hits as well as
supporting up and coming writers. The 1925 Bessie Smith recording of St. Louis Blues is considered one of the finest recordings of that decade. Thanks to Handy’s successful publishing, he
became a wealthy man and wrote several books including his autobiography Father of the Blues.
Handy died on March 28, 1958 of pneumonia and is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the
Bronx; the same resting place as Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.
7
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
BESSIE SMITH
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
Lyric for Strings
COMPOSED BY GEORGE WALKER
ACTIVITY
George Walker’s career is a career of “firsts”; he was the first
African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for music (in 1996
for his composition Lilacs), he was the first African American graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia
(1945), the first African American to be granted a doctorate
from Eastman School (1955) and the first African American
tenured faculty at Smith College (1961). George Theophilus
Walker was born in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 1922. His
father had emigrated from Jamaica and studied medicine
at Temple University in Philadelphia. George began taking
piano lessons at the age of five and by age fourteen, he
was admitted to the Oberlin Conservatory. After graduation, George was accepted to the Curtis
Institute of Music and studied piano (with Rudolf Serkin), chamber music and composition (with
Rosario Scalero who also taught American composer Samuel Barber).
After graduating from Curtis in 1945, George had his debut recital in Town Hall, New York
sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Efram Zimbalist; he was the first African American to perform in that
hall. Shortly thereafter, he became the first African American artist to perform with Eugene
Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and became the first African American instrumentalist
signed to a management company, National Concert Artists. Upon returning from his European
tour in 1954, he became the first African American to receive his Doctorate of Musical Arts from
Eastman School of Music in 1956 followed by a Fulbright Fellowship in 1957. After studying
with acclaimed Parisian composition professor Nadia Boulanger, he began is illustrious teaching
career in 1960 while still maintaining his careers in performance and composition.
Lyric for Strings was composed in 1946 in homage to his grandmother. The work was originally
set as the adagio movement in his first string quartet, titled Lament. He capitalized on the full
texture of the orchestra to bring a more lush harmonic quality than the original quartet version.
One of Walker’s most popular works, his mastery of counterpoint and Scalero influence are
evident in the moving lines and tonality of the piece.
George Walker has been compared with
other American composers like Samuel
Barber, George Gershwin and Aaron Copland.
Compare Walker’s Cello Sonata with Samuel
Barber’s Cello Sonata. How are they similar?
How are they different? The CD American Roots with cellist Emmanuel Feldman
features both the Barber and Walker cello
sonatas as well as Copland and Gershwin
arrangements for cello. Listen to Celebration from Copland’s Billy the Kid and It Ain’t
Necessarily So from Gershwin’s Porgy and
Bess. Compare all four pieces - do you hear
similarities between Walker, Barber, Copland
and Gershwin? If so, what are the similarities? What are the differences? Are there
compositional techniques that make them
sound uniquely American?
EXPLORE
For more information on George Walker, check
out:
African Heritage in Classical Music
Washington Post article on George
Walker
The Guardian article on George Walker
BlackPast.org
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s
Listening Guide for George Walker
8
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
Higher Ground
COMPOSED BY STEVIE WONDER
GUEST ARTIST – JASON CLAYBORN
ACTIVITY
Stevland Hardaway Morris was born on May 13, 1950 in
Saginaw, Michigan, just north of Flint and Detroit, Michigan. Born six weeks premature, he developed a condition
known as “Retinopathy of Prematurity” (ROP) in which
the growth of eyes is abandoned, causing the retinas to
detach, resulting in blindness. After moving to Detroit at
a young age, Stevie began playing piano, harmonica, and
drums. During childhood, he and a friend would often play
on street corners (on occasion, parties and dances too) and
called themselves “Stevie and John.”
In 1961, at the age of 11, he was signed to Motown’s Tamla record label after an audition
with CEO Berry Gordy. Producer Clarence Paul worked with Stevie for his formative years with
Motown, giving him the name “Little Stevie Wonder” and producing his album Tribute to
Uncle Ray, containing covers of Ray Charles tunes. The next year, he began touring with the
Motortown Revue, composing and performing his hit single Fingertips. Wonder remained with
the Motown recording label, even continuing his contract after turning 21 (the termination of
his adolescent contract).
Stevie Wonder’s style was a combination of funk, soul, and early Motown influences. His clear
and agile vocals combined with his masterful keyboard playing gave his music an infectious
energy. Shortly after releasing Superstition in 1972, Wonder released Higher Ground in
1973, composed in a very similar musical style. Higher Ground can be interpreted to address
the ‘work-in-progress’ nature of Civil Equality still growing from the Civil Rights movement less
than a decade prior. It’s very clear through Wonder’s lyrics that progress was being made, but
problems were still present and needed to be addressed.
The year 1973 was an interesting one in the
world of music. Elvis Presley’s “Aloha from
Hawaii” was broadcast across television to
40 countries, The Who (Quadrophenia) and
Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) released
landmark albums, and African American artists
were exploring a vast array of musical styles
including jazz, pop, funk, blues; Diana Ross,
Earth Wind & Fire, Sly and the Family Stone,
Funkadelic, and Stevie Wonder to name just
a few.
Billboard’s Top 100 included a wide variety of
artists - Tony Orlando & Dawn (#1 for the year
was their Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the
Ole Oak Tree), Roberta Flack (Killing Me
Softly), Elton John (Crocodile Rock), Cher
(Half Breed) and of course Stevie Wonder
(You Are the Sunshine of My Life #19,
Superstition #26, Higher Ground #62).
Wonder’s album Innervisions was released on
August 3, 1973 (3 days later, Wonder was in
a car crash resulting in 4 days in a coma) and
Higher Ground was one of three hits (Superstition and You Are the Sunshine were from his
1972 album Talking Book).
Listen to the songs above from 1973 and
compare. What can you tell about that year
from these songs, if anything? Are there
common elements? What was happening in
the world in 1973? Was that reflected in these
songs?
EXPLORE
Learn more about Stevie Wonder, the music of
the 1970s and funk.
Music of the 1970s
The Story of Funk; One Nation Under a
Groove (BBC)
Rolling Stone 1973 interview of Stevie
Wonder
Stevie Wonder website
9
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
A Change is Gonna Come
COMPOSED BY SAM COOKE
GUEST ARTIST – JASON CLAYBORN
Samuel Cooke was on January 22, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, a small town near the Mississippi-Arkansas border known
as “The Golden Buckle on the Cotton Belt” before moving to
Chicago, Illinois at a very young age. As a recording artist, singer-song writer, composer, and entrepreneur, he’s widely considered one of the most influential mid-century R&B/Soul artists.
His innovations in the soul and R&B genres led to the popularization of fellow artists James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Al
Green, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and others. Cooke was
one of the very first artists to combine gospel music style with
secular themes, drawing from his experience as part of the Soul
Stirrers gospel quartet, characterized by his smooth, “effortless” vocals and his suave demeanor. In 1956, under the name
Dale Cooke, he released his first cross-over single Lovable, beginning his career as a solo artist.
In the following 8 years, he had 30 Top 40 hits including You Send Me, Twistin’ the Night
Away, and Wonderful World. Cooke became the first African American recording artist to sign
with RCA in 1960. He was also one of the first African American to actively procure the business
side of his music career, founding both his own publishing company (KAGS Music) and record
company (SAR/Derby). He was also very active in the Civil Rights Movement, this among other
factors influenced his writing of A Change is Gonna Come.
The song was written about various personal events from his lifetime and the coming struggle
to improve race relations as a result of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Most prominently, in 1964,
he and his group were turned away from a Louisiana hotel while touring because of their race.
Cooke rebuffed their intolerance, but he and members of his group were subsequently arrested by
local authorities at the next motel on charges of disturbing the peace. Cooke’s skillful production
combined with his celebrity status allowed the convictions of those committed to the Civil Rights
Movement to be heard at the national level. In 2007, the song was selected for preservation
in the Library of Congress, at which time the National Recording Registry labeled it “culturally,
historically, or aesthetically important.”
ACTIVITY
Civil Rights songs of the 1950s and 1960s
utilized a variety of musical styles to convey
the message of equality and to inspire change
in America. Sometimes older songs like Go
Tell It on the Mountain used adapted lyrics
to carry the message of civil rights. Artists like
Bob Dylan (Times They are a Changin’) and
Curtis Mayfield (People Get Ready) as well
as Sam Cooke addressed the issue head on
through their music. Analyze the lyrics above
– what is each artist addressing through these
lyrics? Are there similarities? If you were to
write a song about equality, what style would
you use? What issue would you address? Find
an example of a contemporary song about
equality and describe the style and meaning
behind the song.
EXPLORE
Learn more about Sam Cooke and music of the
Civil Rights movement.
PBS’ Eyes on the Prize (video available
here)
Rolling Stone on Sam Cooke (#4 on top 100
singers of all time)
NPR’s Talk of the Nation on Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke died on December 11, 1964 at the age of 33; He was fatally shot at the Hacienda
Motel in Los Angeles, California by the motel’s manager. An outpouring of love and support came
from his fans and colleagues during the weeks after Cooke’s death. His single, A Change is Gonna
Come, was released on December 22nd, 11 days following his death.
10
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
Duke Ellington Fantasy
COMPOSED BY DUKE ELLINGTON
ARRANGED BY RALPH HERMANN
ACTIVITY
Meet the composer – Edward Kennedy “Duke”
Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington,
D.C. His parents were both amateur pianists and
young Edward started taking piano lessons at the
age of 7. He earned the nickname of “Duke” from
his classmates who thought his behavior deserved
a noble title. In his early teen years, Duke was
drawn to other entertainments more than piano
lessons but he did a little composing; mostly by ear
as he didn’t read or write music. His adventures of
sneaking into pool halls paid off as he was inspired
by the pianists there and began to take the piano
more seriously. Duke was a sign painter by day but
assembled groups to play for dances in the evening.
He left that job (and Washington D.C.) to move to Harlem. Duke would eventually land a gig at
Harlem’s famed Cotton Club in 1927 and would go on to become one of the leading figures in
the Harlem Renaissance.
Duke’s orchestra would provide the soundtrack for all the musical revues and the weekly radio
broadcast making Duke Ellington a household name. While much of the music for these revues
was written by others, Duke also contributed music and in 1927; he had his first big hit with
singer Adelaide Hall in Creole Love Call. By the late 1920s, Duke Ellington was in movies, on
the radio and performing with some of the biggest stars of the time. With the country thrown
into the Great Depression starting in 1929, Duke Ellington spent much of the 1930s touring
and recording some of his greatest hits including Mood Indigo (1930), It Don’t Mean a Thing (If
It Ain’t Got that Swing) (1932) and Sophisticated Lady (1933) to name just a few. In 1935, his
short film Symphony in Black won the Academy Award for best musical short subject (it also
introduced audiences to singer Billie Holliday). Throughout the 1930s and 40s, Duke’s orchestra
contained some of the best players in the business and their recordings are legendary. In 1941,
Billy Strayhorn’s Take the ‘A’ Train became the signature piece for the Duke Ellington orchestra.
For elementary students: read Andrea Davis
Pinkney’s Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and
his Orchestra and listen to several of Duke’s
compositions listed here: Mood Indigo, The
Mooche, Take the “A” Train, It Don’t Mean
a Thing. How does Duke’s music make you
feel? What types of instruments does he use?
How did his life experiences influence his
music?
For middle and high school students: Compare
and contrast different versions of Duke
Ellington’s It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t
Got that Swing); Ella Fitzgerald, Louis
Armstrong, Duke Ellington, The Lady and
Colours Orchestra, Matthew Morrison,
Tony Bennett, Thelonius Monk, Audra
McDonald. How are they similar or different?
How did the flavor of the music change with
tempos, instrumental vs. vocal?
EXPLORE
Many writers, poets, painters, singers, dancers
and musicians came out of the Harlem Renaissance. Learn more about these amazing artists
by studying their biographies and their art.
Langston Hughes
Cab Calloway remembers the Music
Clubs of Harlem (PBS)
Duke wanted to push the boundaries of jazz beyond the “3 minute” form, a form he had
mastered. But after World War II, the musical world was changing and Duke’s career hit a
plateau. But in 1956, Duke and his orchestra played at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport,
Rhode Island. After his usual standards and polite applause, Duke decided to play Diminuendo
and Crescendo in Blue featuring saxophonist Paul Gonzalves. What followed would become
legendary and the subsequent album (Ellington at Newport) would be the best-selling album in
his career. To learn more about this concert, check out a clip from Ken Burns’ Jazz series from
PBS here.
Alice Walker on Zora Neal Hurston (PBS)
Ellington branched out into film scores including 1959’s Anatomy of a Murder and became
inspired by music from around the world. Duke died on May 24, 1974 with his final words;
“Music is how I live, why I live and how I will be remembered.” He remains one of the most
prolific and influential composers of the 20th century, composing more than one thousand
pieces of music during his remarkable lifetime.
If you’d like to learn more about jazz, check out
these websites:
11
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
Harlem Renaissance Writers
Josephine Baker (dancer)
Jacob Lawrence (painter)
Paul Robeson (actor/singer)
Jazz by Ken Burns at PBS
PBS Kids Jazz
Jazz at Lincoln Center
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016
WEB AND RESOURCE MATERIALS
In addition to all of the on-line sites listed throughout this guide and below, there are several
books that are great resources.
No man can hinder me; the journey from slavery to emancipation through song
Velma Maia Thomas
Sinful Tunes and Spirituals; Black folk music to the Civil War
Dena J Epstein
The Sounds of Slavery; discovering African American history through songs, sermons and
speech
Shane White and Graham White
The Power of Black Music; interpreting its history from Africa to the United States
Samuel A. Floyd, Jr.
American Negro Songs; 230 folk songs and spirituals, religious and secular
John W. Work
Slave Songs of the United States (originally published in 1867)
Compiled by William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware and Lucy McKim Garrison
OTHER WEB SITES OF INTEREST:
African-American history guide from the University of Washington library
Sojourner Truth
The African-American Odyssey at the Library of Congress
Gullah Net
Aboard a Slave Ship, 1829 from Eyewitness to History
Africans in America from PBS
Harriet Tubman from the Library of Congress
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Abraham Lincoln letter to Joshua Speed (about their trip from Louisville to St. Louis on the Ohio River)
President Abraham Lincoln
The Civil War by Ken Burns and PBS
Reconstruction from PBS
Fisk Jubilee Singers
The Apollo Theatre
Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development
Culture and Change; Black history in America by Scholastic
Duke Ellington
DISCLAIMER – please be sure to review all video clips associated with the composers as well as any commentary prior to playing for students (especially
on Youtube). We do our utmost to provide links that will not only best highlight the composer and the representative pieces but also maintain a level
of appropriateness. The clips that are included below have been vetted for appropriateness however as the comments can change, please be sure to
review before playing for students.
12
LouisvilleOrchestra.org
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA © 2016