SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2003

A Classical Comeback

Lisa Lenoir
Chicago Sun-Times

CHICAGO

Chicago Sinfonietta conductor Paul Freeman could be considered a musical archaeologist, digging beneath the surface for artists not known to the general public.

Discovering works by symphonic composers of African heritage has been a cultural expedition he has undertaken since the mid-'70s.

With the Chicago Sinfonietta, he has recorded pieces by black composers dating from the 19th century to the present as part of the three-volume "African Heritage Symphonic Series" by Cedille Records.

Even those who might be intimidated by classical music can enjoy the great works by the talented black composers

Musical greats such as David Baker, Chicago-based Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, William Banfield and the late Samuel Coleridge-Taylor are featured in a multifaceted collection.

"When I looked in the Schwann Music catalog, more than 25 years ago, there were more recordings of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 than works by black composers," Freeman recalls. "Today what we started has helped to introduce the public [to the music]. We wanted them to know that for 200 years works by black composers have been either buried or ignored."

The latest installment of the set--Volume III, released in late 2002--includes Baker, Michael Abels, Banfield and Perkinson.

"People will recognize that composers of African heritage create exciting, rhythmic and complex music," Freeman says.

Abels' "Global Warming," which has been played by more than 100 symphonies, is a work that has such attributes, Freeman says. "Most people like this work because it's repetitious, rhythmic and colorful, which is the backbone of popular music."

Inspired by the diverse cultures within Los Angeles, where Abels lives, the piece is filled with folk music from Irish and Middle Eastern rhythms. "Global was an exploration of my culture as a Angelino," says Abels, 40. "I grew up in Phoenix, and Los Angeles was my first international city. I noticed the similarites of sounds from different cultures. This allowed me write a piece to express the similarities I had heard."

The orchestral piece, written when he was 28, relates to his own experience as a mixed-race man of German, Irish and African-American heritage, he says.

"I feel, at age 40, I am a person who is still learning about my own cultural background as an American, an African American and a mixed-race African American. I have gained more understanding about that since 'Global Warming.'

" 'Global Warming' is not stereotypical of what you expect [from a black composer]. But it represents the African-American experience because it's my experience ... an experience where we are not the dominant culture. You are being influenced by outside cultures. My personal challenge is to discover my culture outside what is the natural expression of my culture as an African American and reflect it through my art."

To have his work selected by Freeman was a great honor, Abels says. "You feel like you represent a legacy and there are others who have come before you. You are a stone on a path leading to something greater."

For more about the series, go to www.cedillerecords.org, call (773) 989-2515, visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org or call (312) 236-3681.

 

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