Charles Kaufmann: 'Coleridge-Taylor surpassed his mentors in his innovative compositions, yet he remains less celebrated'

[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List and a Bibliography by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com. We are collaborating with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation of the U.K., www.SCTF.org.uk]

On August 7, 2013 AfriClassical posted:  TheGuardian.com: 'The Song of Hiawatha – review' by Andrew Clements

Charles Kaufmann of The Longfellow Chorus of Portland, Maine promptly wrote a comment.  Today he again comments on the review:

Hi Bill,

Here's my additional comment about the Clements review. Please feel free to post:

Coleridge-Taylor was only as good as his composition teacher, Charles Villiers Stanford, so any criticism of Coleridge-Taylor should be directed also at Stanford and at the status quo of English music of the period. In many ways, Coleridge-Taylor surpassed his mentors in his innovative compositions, yet he remains less celebrated and misrepresented in such reviews as this.

CK

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Jazz News: 'Riverwalk Jazz' combines 'the music of Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller and James P. Johnson with the poetry of Langston Hughes'

Victory Stride: The Symphonic Music of James P. Johnson
The Concordia Orchestra
Marin Alsop, Conductor
Music Masters 67140 (1994)

Duke Ellington (1899-1974)

James P. Johnson (1894-1955), African American Pianist and Composer, and Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974), African American Composer, Pianist and Bandleader of Classical Music and Jazz, are featured at AfriClassical.com

Jazz News

Music And Poetry Of The Harlem Renaissance This Week On Riverwalk Jazz
This week Riverwalk Jazz captures the high spirit of the Harlem Renaissance with a program combining the music of Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller and James P. Johnson with the poetry of Langston Hughes, the "Poet Laureate of the Harlem Renaissance." The show features theater legend William Warfield and Broadway's Vernel Bagneris performing Hughes' poetry; and piano virtuoso Dick Hyman joining The Jim Cullum Jr. Jazz Band.

The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International, on Sirius/XM satellite radio and can be streamed on-demand from the Riverwalk Jazz website. You can also drop in on a continuous stream of shows at the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound.

There was a time when Harlem was the center of the universe for many African Americans. In the 1920s thousands of black families found a place to call home in this new suburb of Manhattan north of Central Park. Black churches and political organizations sprang up next door to black theaters, dance halls and dives. This coming together of poets and musicians, intellectuals and entrepreneurs gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance, a time when all things seemed possible. All along Harlem's bustling Lenox Avenue, optimism was in the air, and cash jingled in the pockets of stylish new suits. It was the world of the "New Negro" whose ideas and art are at the heart of the Jazz Age.

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'Colour of Music: Black Classical Musicians Festival' Comes to Charleston, South Carolina on October 23-27, 2013

Charleston, South Carolina will be the scene of an elaborate music festival in October 2013.  Orchestral Music will be entrusted to the  highly capable hands of Maestro Marlon Daniel. The website ColourofMusic.org introduces Colour of Music: Black Classical Musicians Festival,Charleston, South Carolina in these words:

In recognition of black classical composers, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Spiritual Ensemble is pleased to host a history-making event that will showcase masterworks by acclaimed composers such as William Grant Still and George Walker, who received the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1996.

[William Grant Still (1895-1978) and George Walker (b. 1922) are profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List for William Grant Still by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com Recordings, sheet music and books of William Grant Still are available at www.WilliamGrantStill.com, which is operated by the composer's daughter Judith Anne Still]

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"Prelude to a Dream" Mass Meeting & Concert in Washington, D.C. at Metropolitan A.M.E. & Baltimore at Enon Baptist

"One Chance" Prelude To A Dream

Mass Meeting, Performance and Concert

Published on Aug 1, 2013

"Prelude to a Dream: The Volatile Eve of the March on Washington" to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.

August 25, 2013 - 5:00 p.m.
Enon Baptist Church - 601 N. Schroeder Street - Baltimore, MD
Free Admission -- Ticket is required for entry
http://civilrightsopera.ticketleap.co...

August 27, 2013 - 7:00 p.m.
Metropolitan A.M.E. - Church 1518 M Street NW - Washington, D.C.
Free Admission: Ticket is Required for entry
Register for tickets at:
http://civilrightsopera.ticketleap.co...

Join The Movement.
www.CivilRightsOpera.com

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PennLive.com: 'Christyan Seay and Fred Dade to perform classical recital at Peace Church' in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

Tenor Christyan Seay

PennLive.com

Sean Adams

August 5, 2013

The Peace Church's Concert Series continues with a concert featuring two accomplished musicians of the area.

Tenor Christyan Seay and pianist Fred Dade will perform together on August 11 in "A Recital of Liszt, Da Falla and Selected American Composers." Said American composers include Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, John W. Work, Margaret Bonds, Richard Rogers and Gary Gelb.

Seay is a Harrisburg native who regularly performs with the Harrisburg Opera Association, the Wednesday Club, both the Harrisburg and Lancaster symphony orchestras and the Concert Operetta of Philadelphia. Dade is Assistant Professor of Music at Shippensburg University and director of the college's Women's Chorale, and a frequent accompanist for vocalists across the country.

[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) and Margaret Allison Bonds (1913-1972) are profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List and a Bibliography for each by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com.]

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TheGuardian.com: 'The Song of Hiawatha – review' by Andrew Clements

[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List and a Bibliography by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com. We are collaborating with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation of the U.K., www.SCTF.org.uk]

The Guardian

Monday 5 August 2013
Andrew Clements

Each year the Three Choirs festival tries to include a major work that has become unfashionable and fallen out of the regular choral repertory. Last year at Hereford it was George Dyson's The Canterbury Pilgrims; this time in Gloucester it was the work that made Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's name, The Song of Hiawatha.

Between the two world wars, Coleridge-Taylor's cantata-trilogy was so popular that each year the Royal Albert Hall devoted a fortnight to semi-stagings conducted by Malcolm Sargent, complete with costumes, scenery and involving up to 1,000 performers. Nowadays even the first part, Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, is rarely heard, so the complete performance in Gloucester cathedral with Peter Nardone conducting the Festival Chorus, the Philharmonia and soloists Hye-Youn Lee, Robin Tritschler and Benedict Nelson was a brave attempt at rehabilitation.

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African Diaspora Tourism Explorer: 'Pay Homage to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the 2013 Bimini Peace Retreat' Nov. 1-3, 2013

African Diaspora Tourism Explorer

BiminiPeaceRetreat.com

Bimini, Bahamas is set to host a one-of-a-kind peace retreat on November 1-3, 2013. Organization leaders from Atlanta, the US, Caribbean and beyond will gather on the serene island for a week-end of relaxation, renewal and the contemplation of world peace. They are coming to view the memorial bust of one of the greatest peacemakers of all times, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Retreat participants will get to network with leaders in the field of social justice and nonviolent conflict resolutions.             

                                              

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The memorial bust was erected in honor of Dr. King by the Bahamian Government because Bimini is where he came for refuge and to write two of his speeches.The peace retreat pays tribute to Dr. King and the 2013 Peacemaker Honorees: Ms. Naomi King, sister-in-law of Dr. King; Mr. Joe Beasley, international humanitarian and Mr. Ansil Saunders, Dr. King's companion when he visited the island. Gospel/R&B artist Fabrice "Breeze" Clerger will honor Dr. King's legacy with a performance of his song "The Dream Realized" that was written for the King family.

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