A Song Cycle for Choir
Narrator, SATB, and Congas (2019)
I. Red
II. Sold
III. Dance
IV. Trinkets
V. Red
VI. 13th
PERUSALSCORE
By Damien Geter
1619 Narration
“The first documented Africans in Virginia arrived here in Aug. 1619 on the White Lion, an English privateer based in the Netherlands Colonial officials traded food for these ‘20 and odd’ Africans, who had been captured from a Portuguese slave ship ”
These words are inscribed on a historical plaque in Hampton, VA, formerly (and ironically) known as Port Comfort, VA Little did anyone know that this arrival would mark the beginning of a 400 year battle which would mar the United States with a war that still rages today
The five excerpted narratives in this song cycle for choir are mostly centered around the theme of enticement, the manner in which Africans were coerced on a ship and brought westward
Red.
Some Europeans used bright red fabrics - “pretty red handkerchiefs” - and jewels as a means of luring curious individuals towards the shore. One formerly enslaved woman recounted the story of her grandmother’s enticement.
Martha King, enslaved in Virginia and Alabama.
(Choir sings “Red”)
Generations of enslaved humans passed down first hand accounts of their voyage to the United States According to one man’s grandmother, once on board, Africans were “herded like cattle” and “placed in stalls ”
Luke Dixon, enslaved in Virginia
(Choir sings “Sold”)
Dance traditions are steeped firmly in the cultures of many nations in Africa. It is used as a means of telling stories, communicating, celebrating and mourning, entertaining, and a way of connecting socially. It was also used, however, as a tool of enticement, inviting Africans on board to dance with, unbeknownst to them, business men who would later sell them at auction. Thomas Johns’s aunt said it was early in the morning before she realized there was nothing but water around her after being on the ship all night
PERUSALSCORE
Thomas Johns, enslaved in Alabama
(Choir sings “Dance”)
Just as with “red handkerchiefs”, “bright trinkets” that were scattered along the beach attracted individuals to move closer to the ship as their level of comfort increased. This eventually lead them to the gangplank, and ultimately trapped on the ship.
John Brown, enslaved in Alabama
(Choir sings “Trinkets”)
These stories are ancestral, and so is the devastation attached to them - which brings us back to red; a color that for many enslaved, and formerly enslaved individuals conjured feelings of dread - an association with how they were enticed from their home to an unwanted journey towards a strange land
Shack Thomas, enslaved in Florida.
(Choir sings “Red”)
The 13th amendment was officially adopted and made a permanent fixture of the Constitution in 1865. While this technically outlawed slavery in the United States, its careful wording, “except as punishment for crime,” gave birth to measures that were used to keep African Americans from advancing These include but are not limited to black codes (laws that forced African Americans to sign yearly labor contracts) and convict leasing (the process by which white farmers, could hire people in prison to perform cheap labor without paying the convicted ) We see other systems of oppression over the years through mass incarceration, the “war on drugs,” the school to prison pipeline, Jim Crow laws, and redlining Was the 13th amendment on its own enough to grant freedom to those individuals who were formerly enslaved?
(Choir sings :13th”)
(To be read during the da capo)
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
PERUSALSCORE
Narrator: "Martha King. Enslaved in Virginia and Alabama."
A Song Cycle For Choir
I. Red
& V ? & ?
Please do not copy without permission of the composer. :)
Damien Geter
? &
hand ker chiefs hand ker chiefs.
* In the tenor line, you may substitue the word "them" for "us" when appropriate.
& V ? &
Herd
Narrator:
III. Dance
PERUSALSCORE
Narrator: "John Brown. Enslaved in Alabama."
IV. Trinkets
Damien Geter
& & V V ? & ?
& & & V V ? & ?
b
Narrator: "Shack Thomas. Enslaved in Florida."
& & V V ? & ?
& & V
PERUSALSCORE
Hum the chorale at a slower tempo the second time with narrator speaking the text of the 13th amdenment.
VI. 13th
& V ? & ?
PERUSALSCORE
1st