June 19, Juneteenth Recognition Concert

The Ritz Chamber Players and special guest Ann Marie McPhail, Soprano

Lift Every Voice and Sing
O Freedom                                                                              Traditional arr
No Mo’ Auction Block for Me –                                                Traditional arr

Joseph Bologne Saint-Georges (1745-1799)  Op.1 No.1
Allegro assai
Rondeau. Tempo di Menuetto gratioso

Florence Price (1887-1953)     String Quartet in G Major
Allegro
Andante moderato — Allegretto

  Intermission 

John Henry
Froggie Went a Courtin’
No Harm

Coleridge-Taylor- Perkinson             String Quartet No. 1 “Calvary”

I. Allegro
II. Quarter = 54
III. Rondo: Allegro Vivace

James Lee III                               The appointed Time

I. As He was led into the Wilderness
II. Stones and Bread
III. Throw yourself Down
IV. This Could Be Yours If You Bow

Sometimes I feel like a Motherless Child –                 arranged by Maria Corley
Soon I will be done –                                                   arranged by Maria Corley
Plenty Good Room –                                                   arranged by Marie Corley
Ride Up in the Chariot (after Betty Jackson King)     arr Stephen Andrew Taylor, 2014

Anyango Yarbo-Davenport Violin, Cleveland Chandler Jr. Violin, Chauncey Patterson Viola, Tahirah Whittington Cello, Ann Marie McPhail Soprano, Kevin Sharpe – Piano

PROGRAM NOTES

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932–2004) Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson is no relation to Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, but he was named after the great composer by his mother who worked as a piano teacher, organist and director of a theater company. While he was still at school Perkinson’s talent for composition became evident with an early success for his composition ‘And Behold’ which won the LaGuardia Prize for music. He would go on to study at New York University, Princeton University, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Manhattan School of Music where his interest in jazz was piqued.

Perkinson drew on his dual interests in Jazz and Classical music throughout his career and many of his works seek to find a balance between the two styles, fusing the colors of jazz with the structure and clarity of classical music. The String Quartet No.1 (subtitled ‘Calvary’), is a perfect example of this fusion – many of the harmonies and rhythms find their roots in Jazz and Blues, lending the work a gritty dark feel, which feels doubly strange presented in the form of a string quartet. The unusual jazz colors are presented to the listener over the course of three movements, each outlining a typical classical structure.