The combination of the sparse accompaniment and the singing nature of the above-shown melodic line haunts the whole of the second movement. One of my favorite moments in this movement occurs at letter “C”, when the English Horn begins the final phrase of the theme, but this time joined by an equally haunting obligato in the solo bassoon. The soft, subtle, almost un- settling ending of this movement is equally potent and effective as the violent and chaotic nature of the ending of the prior movement. “Moses,” the third and final movement, acknowl- edges the afore-mentioned nickname Tubman acquired during her many trips while leading an untold number of enslaved people north on the so-called Underground Railroad. This movement begins much like the first movement, symbolizing Harriet’s “resolve to return and help others escape the cruelty of captivity.” Douglas weaves together the thematic material from the second movement with the spiritual, and does so in remarkably innovative ways, which includes a wonderfully rhythmi- cally challenging solo for Eb soprano clarinet (“cued” in the Bb clarinet part). About one third into this move- ment, the composer asks the entire ensemble to sing a verse of Go Down Moses in its entirety. The decision to do this was not arrived at easily:
Originally, I had written this section in an in- strumental, choir-like fashion. After consult- ing with Dr. McCauley, I decided to have the ensemble actually sing the song in a quasi-call and response feeling. I was worried about a vo- cal section in a band piece, but it worked well, and the section is extremely haunting and effec- tive, especially after all of the turmoil that occurs before it. At the premiere Dr. McCauley’s group sang the section wonderfully; the best singing I’ve ever heard from a group of instrumentalists. Once I got that far I knew I needed some type of loud exclamation of at least the original theme. From there the idea was to finish the piece with a fast coda in the same style as the beginnings of both the first and third movements.
Since its premiere at Montclair State University in 2010, I have performed Douglas’ Harriet numerous
times: I programmed it with the 2013 New Jersey All- State Wind Ensemble, performed it an additional two times with my group at Montclair State University, and, most recently, the Montclair State University Wind Symphony performed Harriet on the concert program we presented for the 2019 College Band Directors Na- tional Association Conference, held at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. A recording of that con- cert performance can be found at https://banddirector. com (our archived concert recording can be found under the “Concert Band” heading). While reading this, one may be asking: Why write
now about a commission that happened over a decade ago? My answer: Because many in the United States of America are finally waking up, for more than just a few days at a time, to the systemic inequality present in the judicial system, the economy, and in the ways in which people who are other than white are sometimes treat- ed by society at large. Although Harriet was commis- sioned, composed, and performed long before the death of George Floyd and the #BlackLivesMatter movement, it is time—past time, really—to seriously consider pro- gramming and performing Harriet, and other composi- tions which reflect our society to help reveal its history. This sort of programming should be done as a matter of common practice, and not just as an occasional nod to what has come to be known as inclusivity, or only as a part of an itinerate, late-to-the-party, education-system based recognition of social injustice and inequality that has existed for centuries in our country. The fact that you are reading a special article dedicated to a wind band piece inspired by the life and work of Harriet Tubman is a testament to the fact that works by and/or inspired by people from often underrepresented groups are not yet standard programming practice. My hope is that, one day, they will be.
The more, and the sooner, we begin commissioning,
programming, and performing pieces by, or inspired by, people from underrepresented groups, the sooner such groups will cease to be demarcated as underrepresented, and the sooner we, as large ensemble teacher/conductors can, in our own small ways, help our country create a more perfect union…one student, one rehearsal, and one performance at a time.
TEMPO
48
MARCH 2021
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