I started a playlist of black, US-based composers to celebrate Juneteenth, and in doing that I wanted to primarily feature black composers that I haven’t already featured on previous playlists and that aren’t the composers that are on EVERY “Black composers you should know!” list. Florence Price, William Grant Still, George Walker, and Jessie Montgomery are amazing – these composers should continue to be celebrated and widely performed. That being said, the narrative (I’m referring to the general narrative online) around black composers, especially when it comes to America’s largest ensembles and presenting organizations, is very limited. The narrative makes it feel like there are 10 great black composers when it comes to concert music and only 1-2 are currently alive.
I am still choosing to start this playlist with Jessie Montgomery because I’ve only listened to a handful of her works at this point and want to hear more. I hope you enjoy this almost 3-hour playlist and have been introduced to some composers that you will follow and support in the future.
Here is a brief history on Juneteenth from Wikipedia, “It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday’s name, first used in the 1890s, is a combination of the words June and nineteenth, referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.[8][9] In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times.”
I give this playlist a Difficult Listening Hour rating of 5/10.
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Rounds by Jessie Montgomery performed by Awadagin Pratt. Released as a single.
Part I: The Divine Image by Evan Williams. Album: Songs of Innocence | Songs of Experience
Akwan for Piano, Electronic Piano, Amplified Strings, and Orchestra (Remastered) by Olly Wilson performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Album: Black Composer Series, Vol. 8: Olly Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Jefferson Anderson, Jr. & Talib Rasul Hakim
Dialectics for Two Grand Pianos by Donal Fox performed by Vivian Taylor, John McDonald. Album: Videmus.
Shadowgraph, 5 by George Lewis performed by International Contemporary Ensemble. Album: George Lewis: The Will To Adorn.
Estraven by Anthony Davis. Album: Of Blues And Dreams.
The Intimacy of Harmony (2013) by Jonathan Bailey Holland performed by Sarah Bob. Album: …nobody move…
Cello Concerto by David N. Baker performed by Chicago Sinfonietta. Album: African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 3
Filter by Daniel Bernard Roumain performed by Rachel Barton Pine. Album: Blues Dialogues: Music by Black Composers
DTJ(o)T-PWM-BTFTP by Anthony R. Green performed by Jack Thorpe. Album: Illusory Dreams
Fantasia No. 4 for Electronic Tape by John Wineglass. Album: Darkness to Light
Sonata For Violin and Turntables, Part 1 by Daniel Bernard Roumain. Album: Woodbox Beats & Balladry
Prisms, Cycles, Leaps by Derrick Skye performed by Bridge to Everywhere. Album: Prisms, Cycles, Leaps
Breaking Bread by Nkeiru Okoye performed by Matt Haimovitz. Album: PRIMAVERA IV: the heart
American Mirror by Derrick Skye performed by Bridge to Everywhere. Album: American Mirror