(4th and last part in a series – the whole symphony will be played throughout the month)

William Grant Still was the first African-American to conduct a symphony orchestra as well as the first to have his symphonic music and operas played by a major orchestra. It’s no wonder he’s known as “the Dean” of African-American Composers.

Back when I was in college (music conservatory), a major component of American music history was finding a true American voice, distinct from European Art Music. Some composers simply copied the European style. Dvorak was convinced the American voice would come from the melodies of the Native Americans. Then there’s Copland‘s very popular “American” sound and style of composition (might Daugherty, whom we heard yesterday, be the next Copland?) And of course, there are the composers like Gershwin who adopted African-American styles as their own.

So where does that leave William Grant Still? His first symphony, “Afro-American”, is in four movements, and has more character than the Second New England School, all the richness of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony”, far more depth than any of Copland’s popular works, and can claim the African-American heritage better than Gershwin can. Everybody should know this music.

The last movement was inspired by a section of the poem “Ode to Ethiopia” by Paul Laurence Dunbar:

Be proud, my Race, in mind and soul,
Thy name is writ on Glory’s scroll
In characters of fire.
High ‘mid the clouds of Fame’s bright sky,
Thy banner’s blazoned folds now fly,
And truth shall lift them higher.

We really have it lucky nowadays. If I want to hear a piece of music – any piece of music – all I need to do is search for it on my phone, and less than 10 seconds later, I’m listening. 15 years ago, it would take a 5-minute download on a 56k modem. 25 years ago, it would be a 1-hour trip to the store. 150 years ago, if you wanted to hear music, you either had to make it yourself or listen to a live musician.

In this video, the audio is an actual recording of the one and only Scott Joplin playing his own composition, “The Easy Winners.” Joplin was, of course, known for his ragtime piano compositions, which are studied and played by pianists of all ages.

Note the slow, relaxed tempo.

Most performances today are nearly twice as fast. (If you MUST hear it fast, you can set the play speed to 2x – and hear it become inappropriately comedic.)

The end of the 19th century saw a sudden explosion of interest in folk music, especially of non-Western-European cultures. From the spicy Spanish-Gypsy flavor of Bizet‘s Carmen, through the Hungarian dances of Liszt and Brahms, to the misty temples of Debussy‘s Pagodas, audiences soaked up music that they had never heard before.

Harry T. Burleigh was an African-American musician who helped to bring the folk music and spirituals of African-Americans to the concert stage. He achieved fame as a singer and arranger in New York, where he met and sang for Dvořák. It is said that Burleigh’s singing influenced Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony.

This cheerful little piece for violin and piano is a perfect example of Burleigh’s skill at blending African-American melodies and rhythm with the European style of composition.