Conductor Jherrard Hardeman confessed to a surprising prejudice at Saturday evening’s “Celebrating Black History” concert by the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra.
He said when he was approached to lead the orchestra in a program celebrating the contributions of Black composers he wasn’t all that keen on one of the works to be performed.
“I wasn’t a fan of the Dawson symphony,” he said, referring to William Dawson’s “Negro Folk Symphony,” a 1934 composition that incorporates three relatively obscure gospel spirituals that were favorites of the composer as a child.
In spite of his reservations Hardeman said his preparations for the concert, delving deeply into the score itself, “made me understand the genius in the notes on the page in front of me.” He then promised he and the Tulsa Symphony would be serving “one masterpiece coming right up for you.”
For whatever reasons Hardeman initially dismissed Dawson’s work, once he got to know and understand the music itself, he realized the piece was truly a landmark work of American concert music.
It is a work of febrile energy, a patchwork quilt of musical themes and motifs built out of melodies that felt more than sounded familiar.
It was also highlighted by moments in which principal players of the orchestra could shine in solo passages — individual voices arising from the collective to make statements that were celebratory, ruminative, portentous and poetic.
It was, in other words, a truly American symphony, and under Hardeman’s direction the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra played it as if it had been written for them — which, in a very real way, it was.
Tulsa Symphony’s “Celebrating Black History Month” concert also featured works by William Grant Still, known as the first Black American composer to have his work performed by a major symphony orchestra, as well as contemporary composers Adolphus Hailstock, whose “Two Romances for Viola and Orchestra” TSO performed in 2021, and Grammy Award-winning composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery.
Joining the orchestra for the concert were soprano Keratin Piper Brown as soloist for Montgomery’s “Five Freedom Songs.” Tulsa author, historian and activist Hannibal Johnson and Philip Armstrong, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice, served as narrators for the evening, providing historical and personal context for the music being performed. Armstrong described the concert as an effort to “bring Tulsans together through history and music.”
One thing that did bind the evening together was all the music shared a grounding in gospel music, exemplified by a quote attributed to singer Mahalia Jackson, saying gospel is the music of hope as opposed to the despair inherent in the blues.
Hailstork’s Fanfare on “Amazing Grace,” which opened the evening, was a forceful, exhilarating piece — one influenced more by the joyous, ecstatic aura of the song’s lyrics than by its familiar melody.
Still’s Symphony No. 3, “The Sunday Symphony,” also drew from the composer’s love of spirituals as it sketched the activities of the faithful on a typical first day of the week, from the hustle and bustle of “The Awakening,” to the contemplative “Prayer,” with Kristin Weber’s English horn stating the rich and reverent opening theme that the strings and woodwinds developed into a kind of discussion.
The orchestra’s flute section set the mood for “Relaxation,” a bright, energetic movement that led into the finale, “Day’s End and a New Beginning,” a musical acknowledgment of all the gifts enjoyed that day — from prayer and praise to laughter and gaiety — and a recognition of the majesty of the Giver of those gifts.
Montgomery’s “Five Freedom Songs” took songs from a 19th century collection “Slave Songs of the United States” and created dynamic, often haunting settings for these songs for strings and percussion.
Microphone issues marred the opening number, “My Lord, What a Morning,” while an ill-advised attempt at an audience sing-along made for a jarring conclusion of the final song, “The Day of Judgment.” But when all the elements came together, as they did in “My Father, How Long?“ a paean of hope that built to a chillingly abrupt climax, and “I Want to Go Home,” with its mournful longing, Piper Brown’s performance brought forth the cornucopia of emotions Montgomery’s music contains.
James Watts is a freelance arts contributor for the Tulsa Flyer.
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