Maude Jennings played the part of Sojourner Truth.
She was joined by Daniel
McCloud, percussion, Kent Craig, percussion, Kevin Purrone, piano and
Briar Towers, flute.
Notes
"Sojourner Truth, The Story of her Remarkable Life" is a theater piece written for Female Actor, with instrumental interludes composed for piano, marimba, vibes, snare drum and flute. The musical interludes evoke the mood of the events, joys and tragedies Sojourner Truth's life.
Biographical Information about Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was a strong woman. At six feet tall with a strong physique from years of hard labor, her presence was impressive. She was emotionally strong as well, having experienced many tragedies and joys during her long life. She had five children. Intellectually, she was quick, witty, and she memorized a good portion of the bible. She developed a good measure of economic sophistication, supporting herself from her lectures, books sales and profits from reproductions of her photographic portrait. She owned two houses during her lifetime. She had many religious visions, and felt that God talked to her, and that she talked to God. She journeyed, mostly on foot, over most of the Northeastern United States, covering more than 1,500,000 square miles.
Although this famous woman accomplished all these things, she had no formal education. She carried herself not as a society lady, but as an earthly self-made woman of strong convictions. She spoke with presidents, congressmen, and untold thousands of Americans during her lecture tours, and her untiring activities helped pave the way for the social and economic emancipation of slaves as well as the equal rights for all woman.
Notes on the Musical Interludes
1. The musical elements of this piece are derived from the traditional components of African music: rhythmic syncopations, simple and compound triple meter, and heterophony (a technique where two or more instrumentalists base their material on the same melody, playing variations simultaneously. This last technique appears in the piano and flute lines during the second statement of the melody. These African techniques are symbolic of Sojourner Truth's heritage, while the theme played by the piano solo towards the end is symbolic of Truth's legacy and contribution to American history.
2. The beautiful bell-like sound of the vibraphone is used to represent the points of light Sojourner talks about. The rising lines in the accompaniment suggest her upward gaze towards the heavens.
3. The minor key of this piece suggests the sad occasion of Sojourner's father's funeral, and some of the harmonic progressions convey the questions and confusion that the death of a loved one can bring.
4. The primary mood of this piece is bubbling enthusiasm, a celebration of Sojourner Truth's first, but not last, taste of justice and truth.
5. The time for love in Truth's life had come--not a passionate love, for her marriage was arranged, but a noble love nevertheless. The lullaby style in the piano at the end suggests the coming of her children into the world.
6. A moment of silence was the most appropriate sound for Sojourner Truth's vision.
7. This piece is a march of victory. There is a certain quirky humor in the music, as the circumstances of Sojourner's first communications with the members of the "grand jury" were comic and amusing.
8. The scale of the melody is the same type which appears in many spirituals. The inspiration of the parallel lines in the middle section comes from the syncopated rhythms and modes of plantation work songs.
9. This piece is a reprise of no. 2, with the flute now in the texture.
10. Designed to resemble typical hymns from the era, the melody goes into the minor key when the words speak of trouble. The five repeated notes in the first phrase symbolize Truth's steadfast faith.
11. Truth's financial, spiritual, and political success, and the constant movement and travel it required are represented by this piece. Her legacy theme appears towards the end.
12. This piece is a reprise of no. 1, with the parts distributed differently.
13. The snare drum and flute convey a time of war, and of victory. This is the only piece where preexisting material becomes part of the texture--two spirituals ("The Gold Band" and "Oh Freedom") are a starting point for their variations in the flute part.
14. The somber mood of the occasion is conveyed by the slow march-like tempo. The snare drum conveys a time of war, the vibraphone the tolling bells of death, and the open harmonies and texture the dignity of President Lincoln's legacy.
15. Sojourner's theme is now presented for the last time as a piano
solo.
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Kevin Purrone