Lexington Philharmonic | Two Black Churches by Shawn E. Okpebholo

SHAWN E. OKPEBHOLO - Two Black Churches (2024)
I. Ballad of Birmingham
II. The Rain

Mélisse Brunet, Music Director & Conductor
Will Liverman, Baritone

Filmed Saturday, May 18, 2024 at the Singletary Center for the Arts (Lexington, KY)

LexPhil is excited to share the official recording of Two Black Churches by 2023-2024 Saykaly Garbulinska Composer-in-Residence Shawn E. Okpebholo featuring baritone Will Liverman and the musicians of the Lexington Philharmonic under the direction of Music Director Mélisse Brunet.

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Program Notes from the Composer:
Two Black Churches is a song set in two movements for baritone soloist and orchestra. Originally composed for voice and piano, featuring baritone Will Liverman and pianist Paul Sánchez, this orchestration was co-commissioned by the Lexington Philharmonic during Shawn E. Okpebholo's tenure as the Saykaly Garbulinska Composer-in-Residence. Two Black Churches serves as a musical reflection of two significant and tragic events perpetrated at the hands of white supremacists in two Black churches, decades apart:

• The 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, which took the lives of four girls.

• The 2015 Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, taking the lives of nine parishioners.

The text of the first movement is a poem by Dudley Randall, titled “Ballad of Birmingham,” offering a narrative account of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing from the perspectives of the mother of one victim and her child. Stylistically, this movement incorporates elements of 1960s black gospel juxtaposed with contemporary art song. At times, there are subtle references to the civil rights anthem, “We Shall Overcome,” and the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” While the work adheres to the poem's structure with strophic elements, it also carries a rhapsodic and weighty tone.

The second movement features the poem “The Rain” by Marcus Amaker, poet laureate of Charleston, South Carolina, composed specifically for this piece. This poem poignantly reflects the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church, taking place in the coastal city of Charleston, which often experiences floods. “The Rain” serves as a haunting metaphor for racism and the inability of Blacks in America to stay above water due to the flood of injustice and the weight of oppression. Throughout the composition, the number nine holds significance, symbolizing the nine individuals who perished on that fateful day. This significance is evident in the meter and a recurring nine-chord harmonic progression. Additionally, the hymn “‘Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” sung during the first church service at Mother Emanuel after the shooting, is referenced in this movement, testifying to a community that embraced faith and hope over hatred and fear.

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Texts for Two Black Churches:

BALLAD OF BIRMINGHAM from Cities Burning
By Dudley Randall
(On the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963)

The Rain
by Marcus Amaker, Charleston, SC Poet Laureate

DEDICATION

Two Black Churches is dedicated to the four girls who lost their lives in the 1963 Birmingham church bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church.

Addie Mae Collins (age 14)
Carol Denise McNair (age 11)
Carole Robertson (age 14)
Cynthia Wesley (age 14)

Two Black Churches is also dedicated to the nine men and women who lost their lives in the 2015 Charleston church shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church.

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton (age 45)
Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd (age 54)
Susie Jackson (age 87)
Ethel Lee Lance (age 70)
Depayne Middleton-Doctor (age 49)
Clementa C. Pinckney (age 41)
Tywanza Sanders (age 26)
Daniel L. Simmons (age 74)
Myra Thompson (age 59)

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VIDEO CREDITS:
Director of Artistic Operations: Sarah Thrall
Production Manager & Sound Design: Seth Murphy
Lighting Designer: Tanya Harper
Stage Manager: Cameron Pellicore
Recording Engineer: Dave Henderson
Mix Engineer: Brian Porick
Video Production Executive Producer: Michael Breeding MEDIA
Camera Operators: Robert Tipton, Thomas McIntosh, Emilie Shuck, Sean Hall, Daniel J. Bowling
Executive Producer: Brooke Raby

The Two Black Churches: Okpebholo World Premiere concert was made possible with generous support from: The Lexington Philharmonic Foundation, LexArts, the Kentucky Arts Council, the Hamilton Saykaly Garbulinska Foundation, the Saykaly Garbulinska Composer-in-Residence Fund, Concert Partner VisitLex, and our donors!

Click here to learn more about supporting our work: lexphil.org/support