PERUSALSCORE
ABOUT A LITTLE HISTORY
ABOUT A LITTLE HISTORY & PERFORMANCE NOTES
-
A Little History tells the simplified stories of nine legendary figures in Black history, from artists, to scientists, politicians, and more. Wanting to give a teaser about the main points of each figure’s life with the purpose of stirring up a curiosity to learn more, I composed short, catchy poems for the violist and volunteers to speak while playing music underneath. However, as the violist will find, there is quite a bit of room for audience participation in this work; they are free to tailor their performance to each new event/venue/audience. A Little History was commissioned by violist Ashleigh Gordon who premiered it in February 2014 for educational outreach projects affiliated with Castle of our Skins.
This piece is meant to be performed for audiences of mostly elementary-aged children (grades 2-6). Please adapt as you see fit for your educational purposes. The text for each character is light with the music helping to illustrate it in various ways. As a work for solo, narrating violist, it is suggested to orient the students by inviting them to describe what the words "solo" and "narrator" mean. Feel free to do a brief demo to familiarize them with the sound and uniqueness of the viola. As much of the piece involves speaking and playing simultaneously, the violist may find the use of a mute and/or amplification (which can be applied appropriately to any of the movements as needed) helpful for audience comprehension. Visual enhancements, including portrait cards, a powerpoint presentation, and worksheets have been included to ensure that students see as well as hear A Little History in action. Given the level of recall and writing involved, the worksheets are designed for upper elementary-aged students. The accompanying curriculum guide includes activities for learners, ages 6 through 11.
Anthony R. Green, composer & Ashleigh Gordon, violist & editor
GOALS & OB ECTI ES
To provide educators with culturally responsive pedagogical tools and materials.
To expose young minds to the power of Black history, people, and their achievements.
To encourage students to draw inspiration from and find relatability to Black history, historical figures, and modern day Black contemporaries.
To familiarize students with classical music, emphasizing its ability to artfully communicate and its role in Black lives, both past and present.
To offer students a mixed media panoply of ways to engage in complex histories.
To facilitate creative thought and interaction with the themes present in each of the Black historical figures.
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
PERUSALSCORE
Use the music score and powerpoint to lead an interactive workshop. Add the A Little History In Review worksheet as a group activity or take-home assignment.
Have a classroom? Hang the portrait cards on the wall! Or turn the cards into “flash cards” and have the students write 3-5 important pieces of information on the backs of the cards for review.
Take a deep dive into each of the historical figures using the suggested lesson plans to build a nine-week (i.e. one figure each week) lesson unit.
Mix and match! Create a civil rights lesson, focusing on Bayard Rustin, Angela Davis and Barack Obama. Create a poetry and music unit, focusing on Phillis Wheatley Peters, Margaret Bonds, and Ed Bland. Create an invention unit, focusing on Garrett Morgan, George Washington Carver and Madam C. J. Walker.
Let your imagination run wild!
TABLEOFCONTENTS
PERUSALSCORE
Phillis Wheatley Peters
Garrett Morgan
Madam C. J. Walker
George Washington Carver
Margaret Bonds
Ed Bland
Angela Davis
Bayard Rustin
Barack Obama
Enhance your ensemble’s experience!
Worksheets, posters, and other curriculum materials for this piece are available online at www.justatheorypress.com.
Redeem code LittleHistory-Curriculum to access these additional learning resources.
PERUSALSCORE
PHILLIS WHEATLEY PETERS
Relaxed,likeBach;~60-80
Phillis Wheatley Peters, genius through and through
espressivo, ma accompagnato
She wrote amazing poems,
She was born in Africa; she was very brave
PERUSALSCORE
When she was brought to Boston, she became enslaved
She started learning English at just seven years old q qq
And practice made her perfect; she was bright and bold
Her writing style is complex; her poems are hard to read
But when you understand them, they're beautiful indeed
She lived much long before us; of this you can be sure
She was born in 1753 and died in 1784
Yes! Phillis Wheatley Peters was smart and very clever (free)And she's the first Black American woman to be published ever!
GARRETT MORGAN
~80-90;Inthismovement,theviolistplaysagesture,andtheaudience beatstheirbody(slappinglegs,pattingbelly,etc...)inthesamerhythmofthis gesture.Afterfourpoeticlines,thegesturechanges, and theaudiencemust changetheirrhythmalongwithyou.Attheend,theviolistfadesout(dim.).
Repeat through gesture speech, "p" when speech starts 1 p
pizz. sempre (opt. bow down, guitar-style)
(audiencerhythmicallyjoins) (1"shh"3"shh")
2
3
(audiencechangesrhythm) (123"shh")
4
(audiencechangesrhythm) (1"shh"34)
PERUSALSCORE
(audiencechangesrhythm) (1234)
Have any of you in your whole life ever invented anything before? Well, Garrett Morgan did! He made a hair product, and SO MUCH MORE!
He invented something we see every day on the street. Garrett Morgan invented the stoplight! Isn't that neat?
There is another thing that he invented that you may know It protects you from breathing bad things from above or below Inventing this thing must have been a terribly difficult task This thing that I speak about is called a gas mask.
Can you imagine how smart and intelligent he was? All of his great inventions stirred up quite a buzz! With his gas mask and stoplight, he has stopped many accidents! I bet during his lifetime he received so many compliments!
He was a community leader, and he received prizeshe was truly a star!
And he was the first man in Cleveland to own a car.
MADAM C. J. WALKER
Inthismovement,theaudienceisencouragedtomarch.Lightsnappingis alsooptional.Duringthetravelmusic,theviolistwalks to a different location. Theviolistcanencouragetheaudiencetoimitatemovementsbeforecontinuing onwiththerestofthepiece.Thetravelmusicshould be memorized for ease.
BoldMarch;~106
Butshedid-n'tknowshewouldre-
‰ œ ‰ œ ‰œ œ œ ã B ¿ j ¿ ¿ j ¿¿ ¿
Whenshegrew,shemar-riedaman:
CharlesJo-sephWalk-er.
Thenshechangedhername,andbe-
"Travel Music" - walk to next location, spin, move up and down, etc ... repeat as necessary
Ma-damC.J.Walk-er,shemade
hun-dredyearsa-go,therewas-n'tgood
C.J.Walk-ermadea
madepeo-ple'shairhealth-yand
Withherma-gi-calhairsup-plies,she
madesomuchmo-ney!Her
ã B Œ‰Œ‰Œ‰Œ j ¿ With œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ . œŒ j œ p ¿‰ ¿ j ¿ ¿‰ ¿ j ¿ muchofherwealth,shegave
ã B ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿‰ ¿‰ ¿ j ¿ or-phan-a-ges,Blackschools,and
ã B ¿ j ¿ ¿ j ¿
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
Inthismovement,theviolistencouragesthechildrentorubtheirhandstogether. Whilespeaking,therubbingissoft;however,whencued,therubbingundergoesa crescendo and a diminuendo. This movement should besoft,sothenarrationcan alsobequasi-whispered.
* bow on the bridge, pitchless p
PERUSALSCORE
* bow on the body
* bow on the tailpiece
p
startnarratingafter5-15seconds:
George Washington Carver - what an intelligent man He knew how to use his heart, brain, and hands As a young boy, George Carver was enslaved But he overcame his hardships, and he didn't misbehave
start afterthediminuendo:
He educated himself in high school and in college
Though his skin color almost stopped him from gaining more knowledge He then taught botany and farming throughout the United States
As a lecturer, mentor, and researcher, he was definitely one of the greats
* bow on muted strings
p
He helped save cotton farmers by telling them to plant other crops And by doing so, their problems of having bad soil would stop He created many different products from the peanut and the sweet potato Like oils, milks, bleach, cleaning products, and more - just like so!
He did so much for America, and helped us work harder
Repeat his name after me: George Washington Carver!
*note:bowingpositionscanbeimprovised,aslong asthesoundproducedisrelativelypitchless. Additionally,"ff"isrelative!
MARGARET BONDS
Slow,free-alternatebetweenmelodyandnarration,neversimultaneous
The music of Ms. Margaret Bonds is not so widely known But in terms of Black, female, classical composers - she is not alone
Margaret Bonds - talented in composing and performing! When people hear her music, their hearts start warming!
She lived in New York, Los Angeles, and her hometown Chicago Performing with orchestras, chamber groups, and (like me) solo
She really liked the poetry by a man named Langston Hughes And this great poet said it was okay if his text she wanted to use
She studied with great teachers at really great places of that time Like the Juilliard School and Northwestern University - mighty fine
She was a great pianist, and you can probably imagine Her piano music is difficult, but with a sophisticated fashion
She left this world before she reached the young age of sixty But her legacy will last even after the year ninety-fifty (9050)!
Melody:MargaretBonds;text:"DreamVariations"(firsthalf)byLangstonHughes
ED BLAND
Inthismovement,audiencemaysnap,flickfingers, orclicktonguethroughout;ifso,cuestop!
Relaxedswing;~115-125
snap (opt. col leg. batt.):
ã4 5 . . . . Viola Œ ¿Œ ¿ ¿
* repeat as needed; encourage audience q qq q
ã B ¿ ¿Œ¿ ¿ ¿
B pizz.
EdBland,hecom-posed
>
P
B ¿ ¿ ¿¿ ¿ ¿Œ
Ifhelikedwhatheheard,
InWorldWar2,he
Oncehehadthetime,
ã B ‰ ¿j ¿Œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ andlifedid-n'ttellhim
œ > œ# œ > œ œ# Œ ¿ ¿ ¿¿ ¿ wherehewasgo-ing. œ > œ# œ > œ# œ
ã B Œ‰ j ¿ ¿ ¿¿ ¿ Hewrotegreatmu-sic,
œ > œ# œ > œ œ# ‰ j ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿Œ butthat'snotall. œ > œ# œ > œ œ
ã B Œ¿ ¿ 3 ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ‰ ¿j Hecre-a-tedamo-vieaœ > œ# œ > œ œ# ¿ ¿Œ¿ ¿ ¿ boutJazz,Ire-call. œ > œ# œ > œ# œ
ã B Œ¿ ¿ ¿ 3 ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ Hecom-posedclass-i-calmu-sic, œ > œ# œ > œ œ# ‰ ¿ j ¿¿ ¿ ¿Œ jazz,andswing-in'beats. œ > œ# œ > œ œ
ã B ‰ j ¿¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ‰ j ¿ ¿ Andhein-spir-edto-day's
œ > œ# œ > œ œ# ¿ ¿ Œ¿ ¿ ¿Œ mu-sicofthestreets. œ > œ# œ > œ œ ã B ŒŒ‰ j ¿¿ ¿ Œ Hismu-sic
PERUSALSCORE
Œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ Œ canberoughanded-gy. œ > Œ œ > ŒŒ sim. sim. ã B ‰ j ¿‰ j ¿ ¿¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ butheleftBlackcom-po-sers
¿ ¿ ¿ œ > Œ œ > ŒŒ opt. opt. snap
œ > Œ œ > ŒŒ ‰ j ¿‰ j ¿ ¿ 3 ¿ ¿ ¿ Œ withagreatle-ga-cy!
œ > Œ œ > ŒŒ
Note:Thismvt.canbeperformedtwice-oncewithouttheaudience,andrepeatedwiththeaudience.
ANGELA DAVIS
Thismovementisacallandresponse.Audienceisencouraged toclaponallfourbeatsthroughoutmovement.Cuestop!
violist:
ã B œ œ œ œ œ œ œ E-veninthismo-dernday,
violist:
Therearethingsyoucan-notsay.
B
audience:
audience: violist: ã B œœ œ ‰œ œ œ thiswo-man,yes,shefights
B
bat-tleo-verci-vilrights.
audience: violist:
B Ÿ~~~~~~ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ stu-diedinFranceandGer-ma-ny,
ã B
gra-du-a-tedwithde-grees.
violist:
B œ œ œœ œ œ œ Shewasjailedfornorea-son.
B
lovesherlife,sodonotfret!
BAYARD RUSTIN
Audienceor4-6volunteerssingadrone(perfectfifth).Cuedynamics,andfadeout.
Slow,free
B 4 4
PERUSALSCORE
A private, powerful man whom you could trust in A great political activist - his name was Bayard Rustin He fought and worked very hard, so every person that you see Could live more peacefully together, more equally (releasenote,drone:mf)
(drone:p)
Remember that famous speech by Dr. Martin Luther King? He and Bayard Rustin were friends, and they both could sing! Dr. King gave his I Have a Dream speech in Washington, D. C. Bayard Rustin was the head organizer of that march in 1963 (releasenote,drone:f)
He helped many people get jobs, but he did it all non-violently He wrote essays, organized marches, and worked sometimes silently Bayard Rustin was trustworthy, and many people believed in him And after he died, he received a Presidential Medal of Freedom (releasenote,drone:mf)
PERUSALSCORE
(spokenonlywithdrone)
His work helped Black Americans gain their civil rights together And Bayard Rustin's great legacy will be felt forever
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
Textcanbereadbeforethemusic,beforetheTheme,orduringthemusicAFTER theThemestarts(readbyaguestnarrator).Repeatsareoptionalasneeded.
Intro:BoldMarch;~106
Note:Ifthereisaguestnarratorandtheyarenotfinished,returnto"Theme" andrepeatasnecessary."Finale"shouldbeplayedalone(andendwithabang)!
Var. III: Finale! ~ 100 f q bring out notes with stems up! (Doubled unisons are NOT double-stops!)
PERUSALSCORE
molto rit., grande!
A Nobel Peace Prize winner, the 44th US President - he truly has enormous fame
He's the first Black American President. Who is he?
(Audience responds: Barack Obama) That's his name!
He was born in Hawaii, and traveled often as a boy
His childhood in Indonesia gave him much joy
President Obama went to great schools, and earned top degrees
From Harvard Law [here (opt.) ] in Boston! And also Columbia University
By being a law professor, civil rights attorney, and state senator, he gained much credit!
That's why, in 2004, he was elected to the United States Senate
And as a Senator representing Chicago, he was one of the greats
Then he beat John McCain for President of the United States!
During his first term, he worked hard and gained many friends
That's why, in 2012, he was elected again!
With his smart approach to economics, health care, and equality
He's already one of the best presidents in history!
PERUSALSCORE
PERUSALSCORE
Composer Anthony R. Green
The creative output of Anthony R. Green includes musical and visual creations, interpretations of original works or works in the repertoire, collaborations, educational outreach, and more. Behind all of his artistic endeavors are the ideals of equality and freedom, which manifest themselves in diverse ways in a composition, a performance, a collaboration, or social justice work. As a composer, his works have been presented in over 25 countries across six continents by various internationally acclaimed soloists and ensembles. Through music, text, and entrepreneurship, Green comments on many issues related to social justice, and more. For more information, please visit www.anthonyrgreen.com.
Curriculum Developer Taylor Lena McTootle
Over the last 10 years, Taylor Lena McTootle has worked with students of color ranging from elementary to high school. Her commitment to education began at Spelman College where, outside of her undergraduate studies, she taught chess and tutored math. Since then, she has been finding inventive ways to reach high educational standards and enrich lives. With charter schools in DC and Boston and with teachers in Colombia, South America, she has worked to execute and build curriculum using poetry, rhythm, and historical context. She serves as Director of Education for Castle of our Skins, using Black musical genius as a portal for young minds.
ABOUT THE CREATORS PERUSALSCORE
Teaching Artist Ashleigh Gordon
Ashleigh Gordon is co-founder, Artistic/Executive Director and violist of Castle of our Skins, a Boston-based concert and educational series devoted to celebrating Black Artistry through music. In recognition of her work, she has been featured in the International Musician and Boston Globe, and was awarded the 2016 Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award from the American Federation of Musicians. She is a 2019 Brother Thomas Fellow, a nominee for the 2020 "Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities,” and named one of WBUR’s “ARTery 25”, 25 millennials of color impacting Boston’s arts and culture scene.
Illustrator Aaliyah Lachel’e
Aaliyah Lachel’e, otherwise known as PeanutbuddarArt, is a Chicago based author and illustrator. Influenced by the world around her, Aaliyah’s art focuses on inclusion and the importance of seeing oneself represented in media. With a limited selection of brown characters in television and modern literature, it’s hard to find a character to relate to. This is especially true if you’re a person of color. Through different shades and warm hues, Aaliyah hopes to create art that makes the viewer feel recognized and appreciated, especially in a world where the representation is limited.
Castle of our Skins
Castle of our Skins is a Black arts institution dedicated to fostering cultural curiosity and celebrating Black artistry through music. In classrooms, concert halls, and beyond, Castle of our Skins invites Black heritage and culture exploration, spotlighting both unsung and celebrated figures of past and present. Learn more about Castle of our Skins' educational and performing work by visiting www.Castleskins.org.
PERUSALSCORE
