Chicago family remembers RBG in song
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18 at 87 prompted tributes from around theworld.
But nonewas more touching than the one that will be featured during “Live with CarnegieHall: Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” a prerecorded program to be posted onlineNov. 19.
Chicago vocalist Patrice Michaels— Ginsburg’s daughter-in-law— will sing “My Dearest Ruth,” by Chicago composer Stacy Garrop. Its lyrics are drawn froma letter thatMartinD. Ginsburg, the justice’s husband, wrote to his wife on June 17, 2010, 10 days before his death at 78.
“My dearest Ruth,” it begins. “You are the only person I have loved inmy life, setting aside, a bit, parents and kids and their kids, and I have admired and loved you almost since the daywe first met at Cornell some (59) years ago. What a treat it has been towatch you progress to the very top of the legal world!!
“I will be in JHMedical Center until Friday, June 25, I believe, and between then and nowI shall think hard onmy remaining health and life, and whether on balance the time has come for me to tough it out or to take leave of life because the loss of quality nowsimply overwhelms. I hope you will support where I come out, but I understand you may not. I will not love you a jot less. Marty.”
To hear a slightly adapted version of those words sung to composer Garrop’s intensely lyrical music is to feel the profundity of one couple’s long life together, the pain of separa
tion, the stature of Justice Ginsburg’swork and the depth of her husband’s admiration of it.
When Michaels performed the song at the Spertus Institute inMay 2019, with the handwritten letter projected onto a screen onstage, “more than a few listenerswere seen dabbing their eyes,” Iwrote inmy Tribune review.
The composition is drawn from“Notorious RBGin Song,” a 2018 Cedille Records album conceived by Michaels and featuring her suite “The Long View: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Nine Songs,” plus music by other composers.
All of which sheds light on singer Michaels’ relationship with Justice Ginsburg, the mother of Michaels’ husband, James Ginsburg.
“It’s been quite a journey learning to perform that piece,” says Michaels of “My Dearest Ruth.”
“As you can imagine, it’s very emotional to read his letter. The first year Iwas performing that piece, I had towork very hard to learn not towell up. And Kuang-Hao (Huang, the collaborative pianist) can attest to the many timeswe would have to stop in the middle of rehearsal because
Iwould simply be unable to continue.
“As I have matured with the song, I have been able to employmy more professional approach and allow the audience to have the experience of emotion that they should have.”
But there are layers to this story that listeners could not knowand that Michaels experiences whenever she sings this music.
“It’s all very bittersweet,” says Michaels.
MartinGinsburg “passed away maybe eightweeks beforewe got married, so he knew of our plans and hewas hoping to be able to participate. But as it turns out, we did his memorial service the night beforewe got married.
“All of these familial experiences arewoven together in these deep emotions.”
So as theworld grieves the loss of Justice Ginsburg as a public figure and champion of equal rights, the family feels a deeper kind of hurt.
“It’s been difficult because her death has been so public,” says son James Ginsburg, founder of Chicago’s Cedille Records label.
“I didn’t go through this whenmy father passed
away 10 years ago. A lot of people reached out to me, but thesewere people who actually knewmy father well.
“Here, I’m hearing from all kinds of people. I understand that. They have to kind of share her passing, so that’s been different.”
Says Michaels: “Itwas impossible to experience my personal grief for the first severalweeks because therewere many responsibilities. And the public grief was an extremely dominant force inmyworld.
“I am very grateful for my personal friends who have reached out to me and allowedme to beginmy own grieving process just as a daughter-in-law, as someone who physically cared for her a lot in these last few years.”
Which is why the “Live with CarnegieHall” program should be a balm not only to those whowatch, but those who created it. Hosted by mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, the program will reflect Justice Ginsburg’s love of opera, featuring performances by vocalists JoyceDiDonato, Renee Fleming, Denyce Graves and Michaels, as well as interviews with James Ginsburg and his sister, Jane.
“I think it’s lovely they want to do this with such great singers,” says James.
“And the opportunity to be interviewed by someone like Isabel Leonard, whom I’ve greatly admired on the stage, and (get to) tellmom stories— what’s not to like?”
He appreciates that this will be “a tribute specifically about her connection to the music and opera and howmuch she inspired people in that realm. You could certainly see it when she visited backstage after a performance. I’m starryeyed looking at these performers, and they’re starryeyed looking atmy mother!”
As for Justice Ginsburg’s legacy, her son politely declines to comment.
“I’vebeen trying tobe very careful not to get political on this— I’ve turned downall interview requests of that nature,” he says. “When it comes to music, I love to tell that story, (but) I will not do a political interview aboutMom. On that front, her legacy should stand on its own.
“Itwas very important to her not to be looked on as a political figure— shewas a judge. … She reallywanted the court to be seen as not a partisan institution.”
Michaels speaks more specifically of Justice Ginsburg’swork.
“I am remembering how wonderfully she expressed her opinions,” says Michaels, director of vocal studies at theUniversity of Chicago and a lecturer in voice and opera atNorthwesternUniversity’s Bienen School ofMusic.
“Especially the dissenting oneswere written so that in the future people could look at that as potential road maps. … Thework that shewas doingwas always with an eye to the long view, which is why I’ve namedmy song cycle ‘The Long View.’ ”
The opus originated in 2013, when siblings James and Jane Ginsburgwere planning an 80th birthday celebration for their mother. They commissioned three composers— including Michaels herself
— to set a text fromJustice Ginsburg’s life, and “my mother-in-lawreally enjoyed the project,” Michaels told me last year.
Afterward, Justice Ginsburg sent her son and daughter-in-lawphotographs of the birthday party and included a note that read: “For James and Patrice, with appreciation for making 80 feel like 50, and love only music can convey.”
Then “it occurred to me that there could be an actual song cycle providing a more complete portrait of her, especially fromthe point of view of howothers have been affected by her, and howtheir experiences are part of our American experience of developing social equality,” Michaels toldme last year. “I asked her permission to create something larger.”
Justice Ginsburg agreed and the resultwas “The Long View,” which Michaels has been performing regularly since the album’s release in 2018. Her last concert before the pandemicwas of “The Long View” at the IllinoisHolocaustMuseum& Education Center, in Skokie (where a “Notorious RBG” exhibit is on view through Jan. 3).
The event reminded Michaels again of Justice Ginsburg’s wide reach in American life.
“I’ve enjoyed it immensely, seeing little girls and their families come to these performances, seeing elderly people who have some connection to where she grew up,” says Michaels.
“All kinds of people enjoying this has been phenomenally satisfying.” For listeners aswell. “Live with CarnegieHall: Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” a free event, will go online at 6:30 p.m. CentralNov. 19 at https:// www.carnegiehall.org/ events.