Requiem for Colour: A Journey through Lament and Joy
The Beginning
Over a decade ago, a seed was planted for an extended choral/orchestral work now entitled Requiem for Colour. For several years, bits and pieces of musical themes and ideas were jotted down on Post-it notes being tacked to board or placed on the “dream wall.” These ideas simmered in my heart and mind until January 2022 when I embarked on a journey that would revisit the conflicts and successes of the Black race through a Requiem – a mass for the dead. What resulted is a musical, literary, and visual journey that begins in West Africa and ends in present day America.
This requiem provides an aesthetic experience celebrating West African culture before traveling the perilous journey across the Atlantic, recounting slavery in the South, the Great Migration, revisiting Civil Rights of the 60s, and reckoning with our current societal vices of racism and injustice. Narratives from the former enslaved and contemporary activists are incorporated into the script. Requiem for Colour honors the lives and legacies of enslaved blacks from 1619 to 1865, and our contemporary Black martyrs who offered themselves as a sacrifice for equality and freedom.
The Need
Black composer, R. Nathaniel Dett eloquently stated in his Harvard thesis, “It is imperative, in my opinion, for people who are sincerely interested in the Negro and his one unmistakable contribution to American civilization, to use every opportunity to dignify the music of this people, not merely by encouraging the Negro to sing his folk songs in their truly beautiful primitive form, but also by encouraging him to show their possibilities for use as themes for anthems, oratorios, and even operas.” One may ask, “Why should we explore a project like this?” Here’s why…
We know many Negro spirituals and perhaps some work songs of the mid-seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. From the cotton and tobacco fields of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to the rice fields of the Lowcountry, these Spirituals and work songs became a response of the enslaved who were taken from their homeland, against their will, while the entire world turned their heads. With the bounty of these rich, idiomatic Black musical genres, one may also ask, “Is it necessary to have a musical account of Black ancestry beyond the idiomatic styles?” The response is “Yes!” for, there is more to Black music history than “Go Down, Moses” and “Take the A-Train.”
Viewing through the lens of “uniqueness,” Requiem for Colour is comparable to many other nationalist composers such as Brahms, who composed “A German Requiem” as a gift to his people their native Germanic tongue, or Missa Criolla by Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez who gave the world a mass in Spanish and Latin styling. Since the works of Brahms and Ramírez, there have been other significant requiem settings by composers of color.
Gabriela Lena Frank’s Conquest Requiem (2017) is inspired by a true story of a native woman who was enslaved by the Spaniards, became Cortés’ mistress, and gave birth to one of the first mestizos (mixed-race) of the New World. Is the woman viewed as a feminist hero who saved countless lives, [a] treacherous villain who facilitated genocide, [a] conflicted victim of forces beyond her control, or as [the] symbolic mother of the new mestizo people? According to the composer, this matter is complex.
Carlos Simon’s Requiem for the Enslaved (2021) honors the men, women, and children owned and sold by Georgetown (a Jesuit university). Simon skillfully blends the music of the Catholic Church, Spirituals, rap and spoken word in an effort to reconcile the university’s tainted past. This matter is complex.
Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem (2019) is a twenty-movement work based on the traditional Latin requiem infusing Spirituals and modern declarations relating to racial violence against African Americans. This matter is complex.
With these significant musical works that address sensitive race-related subject matter, Requiem for Colour is no different, as it pertains to focusing upon its own level of convolution. Not only does the work honor the memory of Black Americans who have died from entrapment, violence, and civil atrocities, but it also functions as a clarion call for justice, equality, and freedom.
The Title
Within the Black Culture, there are numerous shades of black and brown skin tones due to the complexity of Black American history. From the unimaginable and consistent sexual assaults upon the enslaved, to refuge and relationships formed with Native Americans, to hidden and forbidden love of interracial couples, Black American History is “colourful.”
Moreover, a historical glance will provide evidence on how people of color navigated and continue to navigate the American caste system and systemic racism. After the emancipation, the majority of Black Americans were not treated fairly while sharecropping and became trapped within the iron grip of Jim Crow laws. During the Civil Rights Era, Black Americans, with support from others, fought for their inalienable rights; yet with each, sometimes labored breath, they remained steadfast in the fight for their lives and social justice. Black Americans have proven themselves to be a resilient culture that celebrate successes in every discipline from the sciences to the arts. Therefore, it is necessary to have a musical account of Black ancestry by recognizing the sorrows and joys of a race that has fought for freedom with reverence and dignity and celebrate the beauty of its fascinating people.
While in conversation with my publisher, Gentry Publications, the question was asked, “Would you consider changing the title ‘Requiem for Colour’?” My response was, “Nah…this is it!” However, after much counsel, a subtitle was suggested to help solidify the work. In reflection of the entire work, I realized that one could experience a gamut of emotions ranging from lament to joy. This became the appropriate subtitle.
The Symbol
The symbol used is known as Sankofa originating from the Akan people of West Africa. Sankofa is a mythical bird with its feet firmly planted forward and its head turned backwards to retrieve a precious egg. The literal translation in the Twi language is, “It is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.” This translation can also be interpreted as, “There is wisdom learning from the past, as a guide, to plan and build for the future.”
The color palate celebrates diversity within the Black culture. Black represents power and strength. Each morning, the radiation from the golden sun allows new beginnings. Red represents the blood, toil, tears, and sweat of enslaved blacks and contemporary Black martyrs who offered themselves as a sacrifice for equality and freedom. Blue represents freedom, intuition, imagination, inspiration, and sensitivity. Instead of the Sankofa bird reaching back for the precious egg, it is retrieving the black lodestar of African freedom and hope…the same freedom and hope being sought by many cultures around the world today.
Understanding the Sankofa
The Sacred Symbol at the Heart of Requiem for Colour
The Movements
1. Celebration Alpha: The Motherland
We begin in West Africa with drumming and singing. The Yankadi and Makru rhythms are some of the most popular rhythms and dances performed at festivals and celebrations of the Susu culture in Guinea. The celebration ends as the drums alert the community of impending threat.
2. Terrorized, Trapped, and Trafficked
In this orchestral movement, Africans are being chased and terrorized. You will hear a mournful English Horn solo play “Go Down, Moses” to represent being trapped within one of the slave castles located along the West African coast. A cranking sound will signify Africans crossing through the slave castle’s “Door of No Return” into the hull of a dark, musty, and unsanitary ship. As the door to the ship is closed and secured, the timpani announce the commencement of the tumultuous journey across the Atlantic.
3. Introit/Kyrie: Chorus and Orchestra
The captives have landed on the shores of North America. The Latin phrase “Kyrie eleison” is spoken in eight West African languages, followed by the first line of the “Kyrie” chant.
Narration: A Strange Land I
4. Lord, How Come Me Here?: Soprano and Orchestra
Narration: Judgment is Coming/Steal Away
5. Dies irae: Chorus and Orchestra
There will be a day of reckoning for those who held the enslaved captive. The first line of the “Dies irae” chant is the last statement played by the orchestra.
Narration: The Lost Souls
6. Elegy for Lost Souls: Orchestra Strings
This movement features the principal cellist as soloist and incorporates the Negro Spiritual, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.”
Narration: A Strange Land II
7. Sanctus: Tenor, Chorus and Orchestra
The “Sanctus” is a tribute to the Black community who developed jazz. The movement begins with a smooth, modern styling before transitioning into the traditional big band sound made famous by Harlem Renaissance composer Duke Ellington.
8. Benedictus: Oboe, Soprano, Chorus and Orchestra
This reverent moment in the Requiem is shared by two soloists: oboe and soprano.
9. Agnus Dei: Chorus, Orchestra Strings and Piano
The quiet opening, reflective of the Renaissance period, builds into lush chords and cluster harmonies of the Romantic period before continuing with a simple melody, descant, and supportive piano accompaniment.
10. Communion: In Remembrance: French Horn, Chorus and Orchestra
“In Remembrance” was published in 2006 as a choral octavo for Horn and Piano. Dedicated to the memory of a former student and their family members, text fits perfectly within the context of the Requiem.
Narration: A Strange Land III
11. Libera me: Tenor, Chorus and Orchestra
The harmonic foundation of this movement is based upon similar chord progressions found in Caccini’s (attrib.) “Ave Maria,” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” (recognized as the anthem for women empowerment), and famous renditions of “Killing Me Softly” performed by Roberta Flack. These timeless harmonic progressions are enhanced with a flavor of Hip-Hop, and a Rap, written by our eldest daughter, Lydia, which addresses our current political and social injustices.
12. In Paradisum: Narrator, Chorus and Orchestra
The In Paradisum chant is crafted into the melody. During the movement, beautiful poetry by Jupiter Hammon (1711-1806) is recited. Hammon is recognized as the “Founder of African American Literature.”
Narration: A Strange Land IV
13. Celebration Omega: Heaven—The Eternal Motherland: Soprano, Tenor, Chorus and Orchestra
Amid centuries of struggle, injustice, and success, generations of Black American sojourners sought for an eternal home in Heaven. Composed in the traditional Gospel style, this closing movement infuses excerpts from two Negro Spirituals, “Oh What a Beautiful City” and “Two Wings.”