Reflective. Serene. A perfectly balanced afternoon.
Who’s on stage
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, one of the seven Kanneh-Mason siblings who’ve wowed the world with their musical talents.
What they’re playing
Enjoy music that’s like an old friend, like Bach’s Partita, alongside new discoveries including William Grant Still’s beautiful, hazy, Summerland.
What you’ll hear
Johann Sebastian Bach Partita No. 5 (15’)
Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No. 17 (25’)
Frédéric Chopin Nocturne No. 7 (5’)
Frédéric Chopin Nocturne No. 8 (6’)
William Grant Still Summerland (5’)
Claude Debussy Prèlude Book 1: La fille aux cheveux de lin (3’)
Claude Debussy Prèlude Book 2: Bruyères (3’)
Florence Price Fantasie Nègre No. 1 (10’)
Who’s playing it
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason piano
What’s happening in the music?
Bach’s Partita No.5 is a torrent of gorgeous melody right from the off, William Grant Still’s nostalgic Summerlandtakes the afternoon to a moment of reflection, while Florence Price’s Fantasie Negre both chills and swells the heart, its blues-inflected harmonies based on the spiritual Sinner Please Don’t Let This Harvest Pass.
A Spiritual Transformed
That spiritual has been sung by countless singers and musicians. In today’s concert it’s adapted by composer Florence Price, the first black woman to have composition premiered by a major American orchestra. In this video you’ll hear soprano Yolanda Rhodes sing the spiritual before the pianists take over with Florence Price’s version of it – described by WQXR’s (a US radio station) James Bennet as ‘at times melancholy, at others turbulent, but always heartbreakingly beautiful.’
