Shawn E Okpebholo: Songs in Flight

by Paul Sanchez, Rhiannon Giddens, Karen Slack

Overview

Shawn E. Okpebholo's Songs in Flight are exactly what the title implies; the songs in flight are not abstract images but depictions of African Americans who fled their enslavement. The texts come from a Cornell University collection of advertisements placed by slave owners trying to recapture those in flights. Okpebholo thus faces the problem of converting textual material into music in addition to handling material that, as he points out in his own note (the physical album is recommended here), had crushing emotional impact. His solutions are inventive and are unlike any other set of songs based on written prose texts. Okpebholo deploys his material in various ways. He calls for some of it to be read in speech. He features four of the advertisements boiled down into poems by Crystal Simone Smith and also uses other poems that admit layers of emotional reaction susceptible to musical setting; these add references to the slain teen Trayvon Martin and other contemporary resonances. The settings make use of an impressive variety of musical genres, many but not all from African American folk traditions; "Asko or Glasgow" is a fusion of the spiritual and the Baroque chaconne. All this is distributed among soloists that, by themselves, would be reason enough to seek this album out. Classical listeners may be less familiar with Rhiannon Giddens; she is active in folk and bluegrass, but her initial training was in opera, and one should hear her voice wherever one can. Countertenor Reginald Mobley, soprano Karen Slack, and baritone Will Liverman all have records of individual accomplishment, and there is a satisfying feeling of seeing them collaborate on a project of great power. Beyond its gripping subject matter, this is a composition of considerable sophistication. The album ends with four other songs by Okpebholo that cover more recent situations and suggest new paths for development. An impressive release from the Cedille label. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	02/14/2025
Label:	CEDILLE
UPC:	0735131923422

Tracks

1. Songs in Flight~Prologue: Oh Freedom. a spiritual
2. Songs in Flight~In Flight. a quiet song
3. Songs in Flight~Asko or Glasgow. a chaconne
4. Songs in Flight~Peter. a work song
5. Songs in Flight~Mud Song. a folk song
6. Songs in Flight~Jack (and Paul). a field holler
7. Songs in Flight~Mariah Francis. a waltz
8. Songs in Flight~Matilda's Tom. an anthem
9. Songs in Flight~I Go by Robert. a protest song/reprise
10. Songs in Flight~Ahmaud. an elegiac lullaby
11. Songs in Flight~Four Martins. a dirge
12. Songs in Flight~Jubilee: Thomas Rutling (1854? - 1915). a lament/quasi reprise
13. An Echo, an Ending (from Unknown)
14. Time (from Three Psalmic Meditation)
15. Sing, O Black Mother (from Words Like Freedom)
16. I'm Sure (from Four Songs on Love)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Paul Sanchez   Primary Artist,Piano
Rhiannon Giddens   Primary Artist,Vocals
Karen Slack   Primary Artist,Soprano (Vocal)
Shawn Okpebholo   Primary Artist
Julian Velasco   Saxophone
Will Liverman   Baritone (Vocal)
Reginald Mobley   Counter Tenor (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Elliot Mandel   Cover Photo
Marcus Amaker   Text
Tyehimba Jess   Text
Beatrice Holz   Text
Crystal Simone Smith   Text
Tsitsi Ella Jaji   Text,Liner Notes
Langston Hughes   Text
Brian Porick   Engineer
Shawn Okpebholo   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes