March 17, 2023
Schwartz Center for the Arts, Emerson Hall
Atlanta, Georgia – USA
Lawrence Brownlee, tenor; Kevin J. Miller, piano.
Robert OWENS: desire, Op. 13
Jeremiah EVANS: “April Song”/”Lost Illusions”/”Southern Mansion”
Robert OWENS: Silver Rain, Op. 11
Margaret BONDS: Songs of the Seasons
Carlos SIMON: Vocalise I
Jasmine BARNES: “Peace”/”Invocation”
Brandon SPENCER: “I Know My Soul”/”The Dance of Love”
Carlos SIMON: Vocalise II
Damien L. SNEED: “Beauty That Is Never Old”/”The Gift to Sing”/”To America”
Shawn E. OKPEBHOLO: Romance
Carlos SIMON: Vocalise I
Joel THOMPSON: “Supplication”/”Compensation”/”My People”
Mark Gresham | 20 MAR 2023
On Friday evening, Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts presented tenor Lawrence Brownlee and pianist Kevin J. Miller in recital as part of its 2022–2023 Schwartz Artist-in-Residence Program.
In this touring program entitled Rising, Brownlee and Miller perform songs by nine composers, seven of them living contemporaries between 30 and 45 years old, with texts by Black authors and poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Some are newly-commissioned works.
In recent years, the world-renowned Brownlee has become known for his advocacy work in promoting diversity and inclusivity in classical music, for greater representation of Black and brown artists in opera, and his support of young musicians from underrepresented communities. He says of the Rising project:
Margaret Bonds
The program’s first half was entirely settings of poems by Langston Hughes, beginning with the four songs of Desire, Op. 13, by the late Robert Owens (Robert Lee Owens III, 1925 – 2017), an American composer, concert pianist, and actor who was born in Denison, Texas, and grew up in Berkeley, California. Three songs by Jeremiah Evans (b. 1978) followed, then came another cycle of seven songs by Owens, Silver Rain, Op. 11. Concluded this portion of the program was Songs of the Seasons, a set of four songs by Margaret Bonds (1913 – 1972), one of the first Black classical composers to gain national recognition and a frequent collaborator with Hughes.
Carlos Simon.
Born in Washington, DC, and raised in Atlanta, composer Carlos Simon (b. 1986) was represented in the second half by three wordless Vocalises. Rather than performing them together, Brownlee placed them among the other musical selections as a framework of sorts.
Simon’s Vocalise I opened the second half. Then came two songs by Jasmine Barnes (b. 1992). The first, “Peace,” set a text by Georgia Douglas Johnson, and the second, “Invocation,” had words by Claude McKay. Another McKay poem, “I Know My Soul,” was set in the first of two subsequent songs that by Brandon Spencer (b. 1992), with the second, “Dance of Love,” sporting words by Countee Cullen. Both of these composers were the youngest represented.
Shawn E. Okpebholo
Simon’s Vocalise II came next, followed by three songs by Damien L. Sneed (b. 1979) on poems of James Weldon Johnson. Another setting of a Claude McKay poem came in “Romance” by Chicago-based composer Shawn E. Okpebholo (b. 1981), arguably the most remarkable piece on the program.
The penultimate selection was the final Vocalise III by Simon.
Composer Joel Thompson.
The concert concluded with three songs by Atlanta composer Joel Thompson (b. 1988): “Supplication,” with lyrics by Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr., “Compensation,” on a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and bringing the program full circle with a setting of Langston Hughes, “My People.” As part of the 2022–2023 Schwartz Artist-in-Residence Program, Brownlee and Thompson had hosted a conversation about their work together the day before on Thursday, March 16, which was free and open to the public.
For their encore, Brownlee and Miller offered up a rollicking, upbeat gospel rendition of “Come By Here.”
Convincingly performed by these two top-level artists, Rising made a powerful statement on behalf of African-American art songs. One can find much variety, breadth, and depth within it, even while knowing that beyond the 32 songs represented, there is much more art song by Black composers and poets that deserves to be explored.
Brownlee and Miller will next perform Rising in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City this Thursday, March 23. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Lawrence Brownlee: lawrencebrownlee.com
- Kevin J. Miller: kevinmillerpiano.com
- Schwartz Center for Performing Arts: schwartz.emory.edu
Read more by Mark Gresham.
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