Concerts mark black musical history

Conductor Leslie B. Dunner led the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra in an excerpt of a new work, “CASOP: Requiem for Rice,” on Feb. 13.

The full work uses a full chorus and narration, but this concert featured just the orchestra performing with narration of a libretto by Edda Fields-Black, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University who specializes in pre-colonial and West African history. Emmy award-winning composer John Wineglass wrote the score, which opened with chaotic, sweeping scales in winds and strings and harsh brass chords.

The performance was a small taste of what promises to be a grand, dramatic homage to the darkest chapter of American history. The remainder of the program included works by other living composers as well as Mahler, Puccini and Giordano. Soprano Indra Thomas’ voice was exquisite in Giordano’s “La Mamma Morta,” easily the highlight of the evening.

In its sixth season, the Colour of Music Festival aims to feature black classical musicians performing music by black composers. The Charleston, S.C.-based organization presents concerts in Houston and Washington, D.C., this season in addition to its Pittsburgh appearances. A primarily African-American audience attended the concert, including many families with youngsters. Perhaps seeing a professional orchestra with so many members of color may have inspired a child or two to realize that they, too, belong onstage if they so desire.

Later that same night, I heard the last hour of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh’s final dress rehearsal for its performance of Donald McCullough’s “Let My People Go,” a work that combines Negro spirituals with narration and explores the stories and secret roads of the underground railroad. Music director Matthew Mehaffey directed the performances, which began Friday at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in the Hill District and continued through the weekend at Grove City College and West Virginia University.

The Mendelssohn Choir sounded brilliant even in rehearsal, moving through the melodies with a strong sense of pulse and clear diction. “Let My People Go,” with its emphasis on history, folklore and folk music, offers an enthralling peek into a slice of America’s past. Who wouldn’t want to hear about the secret handshakes that signaled friend or foe in the preCivil War era or about the songs that acted as cryptic maps to freedom?