|
"A Universal Dream" commissioned by the Sister Singers Network |
|
|
|
A Universal Dream for SSAA choir, djembe, and piano
Premiered July 4, 2010 in Chicago
LISTEN to a recording from the premiere at the Sister Singers Network Festival! Jenni was commissioned by the Sister Singers Network, to compose and conduct her new choral work A Universal Dream to be premiered during the 10th Sister Singers Network Choral Festival over the Fourth of July weekend 2010 in Chicago, Illinois.
LISTEN to a recording from the premiere while following along with the text below in the Program Note section!
The 2010 SSN Festival, hosted by Artemis Singers, will begin Thursday, July 1 and continue through Sunday, July 4. The event will take place at Loyola University Chicago – Lake Shore Campus.
Jenni's new work will be performed by all the participating choirs in a large mass sing concert.
Read more about A Universal Dream for SSAA choir, djembe, and piano:
Program Note
The text of A Universal Dream comes from several sources. In putting together the text for this piece I wanted to express a universal message of liberty and freedom. This very idea is what Jane Addams herself wished for the people who came to the Hull-House in Chicago at the beginning of the 20th century. These people were looking for a better life, a chance to be heard, and the very rights promised to them under the Constitution of the United States. Addams provided this opportunity through combining social justice ideals with opportunities for working-class citizens that included education classes for children and adults.
Meta Hellman, a member of the Sister Singers Network, wrote some lovely text inspired by Jane Addams’ speeches and writings. I took some of Meta’s text and combined it with text from the preamble of the Constitution. I felt that Jane Addams own words and the words from this great document could be combined to express this idea of liberty and equality.
At the end of the piece a descant line enters with words in different languages that mean “liberty” or “freedom.” There were so many immigrants in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, and I thought it fitting to honor the rights they fought to create for the generations to come by letting their own languages be heard in the final moments of the piece.
This piece was commissioned by the Sister Singers Network and will be premiered on July 4th, 2010 – a very fitting day to sing a piece that speaks of liberty and freedom for all. -JB
LISTEN to a recording from the premiere in Chicago!
Follow along with a SCORE EXCERPT
Text by Meta Hellman, as inspired by Jane Addams (1860-1935)
Additional text written and compiled by Jenni Brandon
What is it the radicals seek?
Free speech and free thought,
Promises fulfilled,
Liberty guaranteed.
What is it the radicals seek?
the voice of the many
overcoming the rule of the few.
The end of suppression
is a cure for the spirit.
We the People
Establish Justice;
We the People
Insure Tranquility.
Secure the Blessings of Liberty,
Liberty, a universal dream.
What is it the radicals seek? We the People
Free speech and free thought, Establish Justice
What is it the radicals seek? We the People
A chance to be heard. Insure tranquility
What is is the radicals seek?
Libertad, Liberté, Freiheit, Svoboda, Inkululeko,
Liberta, H’ofesh, Eleftheria.
Liberty, a universal dream.
Words meaning “Liberty” or “Freedom:”
Libertad – Spanish
Liberté– French
Freiheit – GermanSvoboda – the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian and Ukrainian spelling of the Slavic word for "freedom.”
Inkululeko – South African
(pronounced in-coo-loo-lake-oo) (Zulu)
Libertà – Italian
H’ofesh – Hebrew
Eleftheria – Greek
Jenni conducts her new work with
the Mass Chorus
in Chicago on July 4, 2010.
|
