Hard Times Come Again

Music can be a balm for hard times, but what happens when we can't get close enough to each other to make it? Earlier this spring, as the pandemic set in, Musica Sacra came together virtually to sing the timeless tune, "Hard Times Come Again No More"—here beautifully arranged by Gerald Custer. This poignant song touches on the suffering and hardship of those who are poor in a land of privilege. Published in 1854, the piece was composed by Stephen Foster, a prolific songwriter known widely as "the father of American music". Foster was ultimately credited by abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass as raising awareness of the plight of enslaved people—but his journey there was complex. With many of his early songs popularized in blackface minstrel shows, his work was originally associated with an entertainment genre in which white performers impersonated, mocked, and denigrated the Black experience. Later in his life, Foster was drawn to the abolitionist movement; as his own understanding of the movement deepened, his compositions evolved to portray enslaved Black people in a more sympathetic way. In the weeks since we recorded this piece, there has come a renewed and impassioned urgency to address this country's long history of racial injustice. Marches and vigils have gathered us to unite around this critical cause, masked for safety against the pandemic that continues. At a time when so many continue to suffer these injustices, the message of this song feels as relevant as ever. May we, like Stephen Foster did, examine our role in standing on the right side of racial injustice. And may we all do all we can to end the systemic racism that holds our country in its grip to this day.