Improvisation on “We Shall Overcome”, arr. Carl Haywood

View the full concert here:    • Stephen Aber in Concert - LIVE in Duke Uni...   From the program notes: This stunning setting of We Shall Overcome was premiered at the 2011 Ministers’ Conference at Hampton University in Virginia. The song served as an anthem of hope and resilience during the Civil Rights Movement. Carl Haywood’s setting is immensely rewarding to play. It begins with a brisk repeated arpeggio and gradually moves to a more stately articulation of the theme in the middle section. Finally, the opening pattern returns as the phrase we shall overcome rises and repeats multiple times, echoing the resolve, urgency, and lengthy uphill journey of those fighting to overcome inequality and exclusion. After brief pedal cadenzas, the piece ends with the full resources of the Aeolian on display. ​ I’ve chosen to end the program with this piece for a variety of reasons. First, I love to play it, and it needs a large instrument to differentiate the sections. Second, I’ve included mostly living composers in this evening’s repertoire. I disagree with musical “purists” who often think the only acceptable music was written before we were all born. ​ Finally, I’ve begun and ended the program with arrangements by Black artists. You may recall the statue of Robert E. Lee that used to reside on the exterior of the Chapel. When it was defaced and then removed in the wake of the Charlottesville, VA rally (2017), Duke President Vincent Price said: ​ We have a responsibility to come together as a community to determine how we can respond to this unrest in a way that demonstrates our firm commitment to justice, not discrimination; to civil protest, not violence; to authentic dialogue, not rhetoric; and to empathy, not hatred. ​ Whether or not you and I agree on the removal of the statue, the renaming of Cameron Village, or such similar decisions is irrelevant. What is relevant is that responsibility to come together, like all of you wonderful people have done this evening. It’s also not lost on me that as I type these notes, the UMC has just reversed its ban on LGBTQ clergy and marriage. Again, our agreement is irrelevant. Our charge remains to work together in our differences, to find common ground toward peace and unity, to have authentic dialogue, not rhetoric, and to overcome the hatred and divisions that are sown all around us on a daily basis.