Ode (2018)
for chorus and orchestra
Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 9, often regarded as the epitome of western classical orchestral music, has been reduced for many to the intentionally memorable 12-bar theme from the final movement, possibly bringing into question its continued relevance and status as high art. And, some nearly 200 years of orchestral masterpieces have emerged since Beethoven’s work was premiered. To respond to Beethoven and his masterwork today, in our current climate, proved as much a philosophical challenge as an artistic one. My work Ode focuses on certain moments of the 9th symphony that resonate with me personally, and some of which are fleeting or surprising, and yet hold deeper meaning than might appear on the surface.
The second movement is based on the Turkish march from the last movement of the 9th, which Beethoven hoped would speak to a broader audience. I drew from my love of hip-hop, using the J Dilla version of the sample from De La Soul’s Stakes is High. The sample comes from Ahmad Jamal’s Swahililand. The movement incorporates influences from trap music, Bartok, and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, as it careens into the final movement which starts with a quote from the beginning of the final movement of the Beethoven, exaggerating the dissonant chords that Beethoven begins the movement with. The movement ends with the chorus holding a dense chord, as a lone tenor voice from the chorus sings “Fruede.”
Synchrony (2015)
for oboe, bassoon, violin, cello, piano, and prerecorded electronics
Synchrony is about duality on many levels, and in many ways: from the instrumentation and their possible combinations – oboe and bassoon, violin and cello, oboe and cello, violin and bassoon, etc.; to musical form and structure – call and response, imitation, repetition; to the external influences – black and white race relations, class relations within and between races, morality vs emotion, double standards of laws and socially accepted behavior, confronting symbols vs confronting ideology. While these issues pervade the news these days with an alarming frequency, I, as an African-American composer of classical music, live this duality every day.
The Intimacy of Harmony (2013)
for solo piano
Any grouping of notes, sounded simultaneously, can be defined as a harmony. Any two harmonies sounded in succession can constitute a harmonic progression. This means every new musical work can have it’s own harmonic logic.
A particular harmony, or chord, may represent the resolution of a progression. In a different context the same chord may be used to convey tension in the middle of a progression. The notes of a chord can be rearranged to create a completely different feel/emotion/inflection. And a chord that may sound plaintive and meditative in one context, can sound completely dissonant and angular in yet another.
Add to this the personal perspective informed by past aural and emotional experiences that each listener brings to every piece of music she hears and the intimacy of the relationship each listener has with each harmonic experience is revealed.