I don't sing (Maggie Furtak)
Music files
| ICON | SOURCE |
|---|---|
 |
|
 |
Mp3 |
 |
MusicXML |
 |
File details |
 |
Help |
(Posted 2024-04-20) CPDL #80334:
- Editor: Maggie Furtak (submitted 2024-04-20). Score information: A4, 7 pages, 130 kB Copyright: Personal
- Edition notes:
General Information
Title: I Don't Sing
Composer: Maggie Furtak
Lyricist: Katie Manyecreate page
Lyricist: Julian of Norwich
Lyricist: W. E. B. Du Bois
Number of voices: 4vv Voicings: SSAA or TTBB
Genre: Secular, Canon
Language: English
Instruments: A cappella
First published: 2024
Description: For four equal voices, a cappella, this will work equally well for men's or women's voices, or could be used for a mixed choir. Three voices are in canon for all but the end of the piece, while the last provides a verse in an additional musical layer. The score includes a piano reduction for rehearsal.
An excellent selection for a concert theme of civil rights, the text explores three different approaches to working toward justice: hands-on work in your community, peaceful self-sacrifice to earn respect and spread your message, and educating people about uncomfortable truths, so that they can base their future actions on an accurate picture of the situation.
In 1891, the African Jubilee Chorus embarked on an extended concert tour of England to raise funds to start a college in Kimberley, South Africa. They sang to sold-out crowds, but were also met with widespread racism. Member Katie Manye declined to participate in future tours, deciding hands-on work for her community was more valuable. She dedicated the rest of her life to a career in nursing.
An anchoress nun, Julian of Norwich was chosen to be walled into a tiny cell of a church until her death as a living sacrifice. At a time when women in positions of power were actively suppressed, Julian’s cheerful and calm acceptance of her fate earned the respect of her local community and gave her a voice that the authorities couldn't silence. Although she could not leave, a stream of important visitors came to her to seek her council, and her writings escaped and were published. Dating from the late 1300s, her books are the oldest known works by a female author in the English language and speak of comfort and hope in the face of adversity.
A prolific author, scientist, and activist, W. E. B. Du Bois believed speaking truth to power, especially when the truth was uncomfortable, was essential to achieving change. He felt that if we believe in a just society, we must speak up when society falls short, and teach both the good and the bad chapters of our history to have a clear picture from which to move forward. In addition to being one of the most important early voices for civil rights in America, Du Bois helped citizens in Africa and Asia organize for their rights against European colonialist powers.
External websites:
Original text and translations
English text
I don't sing for people who do not see me.
Katie Manye
All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
Julian of Norwich
Nations reel and stagger on their way; they make hideous mistakes; they commit frightful wrongs; they do great and beautiful things. And shall we not best guide humanity by telling the truth about all this…?
W. E. B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America (1935)