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Let These Things Be Written Down by Michael Burnett

CSEC MUSIC SET WORK from 2011. Let These Things Be Written Down by Michael Burnett. Background to the work – Part One (1). Composer: Michael Burnett When composed: Between November 2006 and March 2007 Genre: Cantata Length: 90 minutes

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Let These Things Be Written Down by Michael Burnett

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  1. CSEC MUSIC SET WORK from 2011 Let These Things Be Written Downby Michael Burnett

  2. Background to the work – Part One (1) • Composer: Michael Burnett • When composed: Between November 2006 and March 2007 • Genre: Cantata • Length: 90 minutes • Significance: Commemoration of the bicentenary of the British legislation abolishing the trans-Atlantic slave trade in Africans

  3. Background to the work – Part Two (2) • First performances: (a) October 06, 2007 at the University of the West Indies Chapel, Kingston, Jamaica. (b) October 07, 2007 at the Civic Centre, Montego Bay, Jamaica. • Participants: Jamaica National Chorale, Methodist Chorale, University Singers, School of Music Choir and children from Cantabile and the Mona Preparatory School

  4. Overall Scoring – Part One (1) • Children’s Choir • Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass (SATB) Choir • Soprano and Bass Soloists • Flute • Keyboard • Bass Guitar • Rastafarian Drums (high-pitched repeater, medium-pitched fundeh and bass)

  5. Overall Scoring – Part Two (2) • Texts of relevance to slavery and its abolition have been taken from the following territories: (a) Jamaica (b) Other Caribbean countries (c) England (d) United States of America (USA)

  6. Musical facts • The work fuses traditional with contemporary and Western Classical devices. • A classical flute is used to echo the traditional bamboo flute.

  7. Reviews by the Jamaica Gleaner and Jamaica Observer newspapers” ‘… a fusing of disparate (different) elements to convey displacement, brutality, agony and the ultimate soaring of the human spirit.’

  8. Suite of Movements • Part One (1): (a) Jane and Louisa (b) The Slave Singing at Midnight (c) The Bound • Part Two (2): (a) Brown Baby Blues (b) Brown Girl in the Ring (c) Peace and Love (d) One People

  9. JANE AND LOUISABACKGROUND • Jamaican traditional song • Quotes music from first movement of cantata, the poem ‘Epitaph’ by Dennis Scott describing a slave’s hanging • Words ‘Am I not a man and a brother’ are taken from the Seal of the Anti-Slavery Society .

  10. JANE AND LOUISASCORING • Children’s choir • SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) choir • Flute • Keyboard • Bass guitar

  11. JANE AND LOUISASTRUCTURE • Four (4) sections – A1, B,C, A2 • Final section is a repeat and development of the first.

  12. JANE AND LOUISASTRUCTURESECTION A (BARS 1-78) • Three (3) verses are sung by Children’s choir • Repetition of verse one (1) with interruption by entry of SATB choir.

  13. JANE AND LOUISASTRUCTURESECTION B (BARS 79-93) • SATB (Adult) choir sings ‘They hang’d (hanged) him’ from Dennis Scott’s poem, ‘Epitaph.’

  14. JANE AND LOUISASTRUCTURESECTION C (94-118) • Bass solo ( 9 notes long) and soprano solo (10 notes long) of melodic motif ‘Am I not a man/woman and a brother/sister.’ • Motif sung by choir then doubled in speed.

  15. The Slave Singing at MidnightBackground

  16. THE BOUND

  17. BROWN BABY BLUES

  18. BROWN GIRL IN THE RING

  19. PEACE AND LOVE

  20. ONE PEOPLE

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