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Emancipation: The Dream
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As the title
indicates, this piece is based on Dr. King's famous "I have a dream"
speech given as the closing address of the March for Jobs and Freedom
held in Washington D.C. on August 23rd, 1963. While I certainly I hope I
have written music that can be enjoyed in-and-of itself, the piece
perhaps cannot be understood outside its relationship to the speech. The piece is
split into four movements, with the titles indicating the section of the
speech the music is meant to correspond to. That being said, it is perhaps
important to note that the music is not meant to correspond to the speech
exactly--i.e. the music does not "translate" each and every word of the
speech. Rather, I have attempted to garner the larger ideas Dr. King was
after in each section and somehow translate those into music. The purpose of
the titles, then, is not only to ostensibly link the speech to the music,
but to give a clue as to how they are related as well. The opening movement,
"I am happy to join with you today..." is for string quartet and the music
is meant to highlight one idea only: joining. The title is Dr. King's
opening words and, while this particular section of the speech is really
just introductory material and of little rhetorical importance, the idea of
joining is an important theme throughout the speech. So, though Dr. King's
remark is meant casually in the context of the speech, it nonetheless
introduces an important idea. The second movement, "Five-score years
ago...But one hundred years later..." is perhaps the start of the speech
proper, as Dr. King begins by stating the problem--a standard beginning for
any argument. The movement is for a jazz quintet comprised of a soprano sax,
guitar, piano, bass, and drums, and, of all the movements, this movement perhaps
has the most abstract--if not cryptic--connection to the speech. It is
entirely composed and uses a very restrictive musical language, however that
aspect is perhaps seen in analysis rather than heard in listening. The
intention being to write "jazz" that is not actually "jazz," mirroring Dr.
King's sentiments on the freedom of African-Americans in the USA at that
time. The third movement, "But we refuse to believe..." brings the
two groups together: the string quartet and the jazz quintet. Much of what
Dr. King talks about in this part of the speech is about moving forward in
the fight for civil rights (and for "brotherhood" in general) in a very
conscious and deliberate way. The music is meant to mimic that through an
extended use of functional seventh chords with an altered bass. Finally, the
fourth movement, also with both groups playing, corresponds to the
final part of the speech, which I deemed to begin with the line "...I still
have a dream..." In this movement, unlike the other three, what the
music "is" is not as important as what the music does--i.e. the
music's connection to the speech is rooted in the structure of the piece and
not the notes or the style. With all that said, I hope
you enjoy Emancipation. For those of you that would like to listen to
the speech, the link below is to a site that has an audio recording you
can listen to:
http://www.hpol.org/record.php?id=72
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