What a beautiful and moving concert and eye-opening discussion we had for our long-awaited celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!!
The music of the oldest formerly enslaved African American composer, Sawney Freeman of Connecticut, and other African American composers, was exquisitely performed for us by The Adante Strings.
Then, over a community dinner, Diane Orson, of CT Public, and Music Director Anthony Pandolfe captivated us with the back story of how the music was discovered, transcribed and interpreted for concerts like this one tonight.
This special collaboration between CoDE and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Hebron, has led to another very special and moving event.
We are grateful to everyone who joined us for this event to learn about and celebrate another untold story of African American history and culture.
Background:
The concert, featuring the music of 19th, 20th and 21st century African American composers. was held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Sunday, January 27th.
The concert features music composed in the early 1800s by Sawney Freeman, an enslaved person who lived in CT. Sawney is one of the oldest known African American composers in the country. His music was discovered a few years ago by parishioners at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Essex who were exploring their community’s past — and discovered historical ties to slavery. The trail led them to Trinity College in Hartford where they found Sawney’s music in the archives, after more than 200 years of being lost. Anthony Pandolfe, St. John’s music director, took on the challenge of modernizing the music and assembling a group of musicians to perform it. The story of Sawney Freeman’s music inspired CT Public Broadcasting’s series Unforgotten: Connecticut’s Hidden History of Slavery, that explores the lives and untold stories of African Americans in CT.
In addition to Freeman’s music, Andante Strings also played music by 20th century
composer Florence Price, an American classical composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Price was educated at the New England Conservatory of Music and was active in Chicago from 1927 until her death in 1953.
The program also included pieces by 21st century composer Jessie Montgomery, an American composer, chamber musician, and music educator. Her compositions focus on the vernacular, improvisation, language, and social justice.
