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Classical New EnglandLet Freedom SingBy Benjamin K. RoeManaging Director of Classical Services“Any good crusade requires singing,” reformers like to say, and in the19th century, no cause was more righteous than the decades-longcrusade to abolish slavery. This month, as American Experience presentsthe three-part, WGBH-produced special The Abolitionists (see page 12),Classical New England presents Let Freedom Sing: The Music of theAbolitionists. Let Freedom Sing chronicles the idealistic artists, uncompromisingpersonalities and powerful music of the era, and looks at howthese forces combined to turn abolitionism from a scorned fringemovement into a nation-changing force.An original WGBH-Classical New England production hosted by NPR’sNoah Adams, Let Freedom Sing will profile such powerful figures as HenryRussell, the barnstorming Anglo-Jewish pianist and singer dubbed themaster of “chutzpah and huzzah”; the Milford, New Hampshire-basedHutchinson Family Singers, remembered as America’s first protest singers;and abolitionist leader and newspaper publisher William Lloyd Garrison,whose “Song of the Abolitionist” (set to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne”)literally set the tone for the entire movement. Garrison believed stronglyin setting stanzas to familiar melodies—for poetry, he held, was“naturally and instinctively on the side of liberty.” And we’ll explain how“My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” evolved from a patriotic ditty penned in a half-hour by Andover Theological Seminary student Samuel Francis Smith to astirring anthem of equality famously sung by Marian Anderson in 1939on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial…and reprised by Aretha Franklinon the West Lawn of the US Capitol for the inauguration of PresidentBarack Obama in 2009.Join us this month for Let Freedom Sing, the story of these remarkable19th-century artists who, as one abolitionist song writer penned,exhibited “fearless advocacy, signal ability, and wonderful success onbehalf of their Brothers and Sisters in Bonds.”Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the AbolitionistsSat, 1/12 at 6pm; Sun, 1/13 at 12 noonSpecial segments of the program will airFri, 1/11, 1/18 & 1/25 at 7:30am“My Country ’Tis of Thee”“Song of the Abolitionist”26 Schedules, program info, playlists: classicalnewengland.org
Ten Years of Harmony onMartin Luther King, Jr. DayBy Benjamin K. RoeManaging Director of Classical Services“Life’s piano can only produce melodies of brotherhood (and sisterhood) whenit is recognized that the black keys are as basic, necessary and beautiful asthe white keys.”—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.The abolitionist songs of the 1860s were the direct forerunners of the protestanthems of the 1960s, particularly those associated with the civil rightsmovement, as exemplified by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.But music in King’s life wentfar beyond “We Shall Overcome.”The earliest evidence can be foundin his boyhood home in Atlanta,steps away from the celebratedEbenezer Baptist Church, pastoredby his father, Daddy King.King may have been the son ofa preacher, but he also was the sonof a choir director. When you walk in the King house, the first room you enteris an intimate front parlor, dominated by a battered old upright piano. Hereis where King’s mother would lead the Ebenezer choir through weeklyrehearsals, where his father first noted four-year-old Martin’s “fine, clearsinging voice,” and where Martin struggled through piano lessons.Later, King would take his own place in the Ebenezer choir, join theprestigious Glee Club of Morehouse College, and marry a young NewEngland Conservatory soprano named Coretta Scott. Forever after, it was thedistinctly musical style of speaking that made Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. oneof this century’s greatest and most persuasive orators. It’s no accident thathis speeches and writings are filled with references to music.It’s because there is a vital musical core to King’s life and message thatthe Boston Children’s Chorus and its collection of “fine, clear singing voices”began what is now a 10-year tradition of honoring what King referred to asthe “beloved community,” on the national holiday celebrating his birth onJanuary 21. “Arguably, there is no better way to celebrate the Martin LutherKing holiday than with diverse youth singing at levels of excellence,” saysBCC artistic director Anthony Trecek-King. “This concert is the embodimentof Dr. King’s dream: that young people of all colors can transcend racialbarriers to share their gifts and talents.”In recent years, organizers have stressed that the King holiday (still newenough to be spared car sales and mattress ads) should be a “day on, not aday off,” devoted to the spirit of civic action and community volunteerism forwhich King was known. In that spirit, Trecek-King and the choir will be pullingdouble duty, first joining Classical New England host Laura Carlo inWGBH’s Fraser Performance Studio at 9am on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day fora special preview of the choir’s 10th annual tribute concert in advance of thechoir’s performance at 12noon in New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall.In his Letter from the Birmingham Jail written almost 50 years ago,King expressed his belief that, “We are caught in an inescapable network ofmutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” I can’t think of a better wayof celebrating that mutuality than hearing voices joined together in song,performing music that inspired him and that he, in turn, inspired.Mon, 1/21 at 9am & 7pmWhat’s on Classical New England5am10am2pm7pm9pmMonday–FridayClassical Music with Laura Carlo8:30am Keith’s Classical CornerClassical Music with Alan McLellan12pm Café EuropaClassical Music with Cathy FullerThursdays: 4pm BSO PreviewsFridays: 4pm Drive Time LivePerformance Today with Fred ChildClassical Music with James David JacobsFridays: 9pm Concierto6am7am12pm5pm6pm7pm11pmSaturdayIn Performance with Cathy FullerClassical Music with Ray Brown9am Classics For KidsClassical Musicwith Cheryl WilloughbyLive from FraserNew England Summer FestivalsBoston Symphony OrchestraBSO on RecordClassical Online Channelsclassicalnewengland.org BSO Concert, Boston Early Music, Bach, and Kids ClassicalClassical New England is made possible by your contributions to the Classical Founders Fund.Online: classicalnewengland.orgOn-air: 99.5 Boston-NH | 89.7 HD2 Boston | 96.3 Beacon Hill89.5 Nantucket | 88.7 Providence6am7am11am12pm1pm3pm5pm6pm6:30pm10pm11pmSundayThe Bach Hour with Brian McCreathBaroque in Boston with Laura CarloFrom the TopNew England Summer FestivalsBoston Symphony OrchestraSunday ConcertThe Bach Hour with Brian McCreathArias & Barcarolles with Cathy FullerWorld of OperaLive from FraserPipedreamsSchedules, program Find info, your playlists: favorite classicalnewengland.orgBritish dramas on WGBH 44 27
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