The conclusion of a digital series by Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra, Carlos Simon: Four Symphonic Works brings together a collection of pieces by Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence, Carlos Simon. Tales-A Folklore Symphony delves into African American culture and folklore. The work touches upon a wide breadth of ideas-from Negro Spirituals sung by enslaved prisoners to comics by the Afrofuturist creative duo, Black Kirby. Simon's short orchestral study, The Block, takes inspiration from the visual art of the late Romare Bearden, an artist whose work reflected African American life in urban cities as well as the rural American south. Songs of Separation for mezzo-soprano and orchestra was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in connection with Simon's current residency as Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence. The work takes it's inspiration from a set of four poems by the 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Jalal al-Din Mu?ammad Rumi. Completing the album is the composer's Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra, which asks it's audience to consider their own awareness in an increasingly chaotic society.

Tracklist:

The Block
Tales - A Folklore Symphony: I. Motherboxx Connection
Tales - A Folklore Symphony: II. Flying Africans
Tales - A Folklore Symphony: III. Go Down Moses (Let My People Go)
Tales - A Folklore Symphony: IV. John Henry
Songs of Separation: I. The Garden
Songs of Separation: II. Burning Hell
Songs of Separation: III. Dance
Songs of Separation: IV. We Are All the Same
Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra

UPC: 810038861821
Label: National Symphony
Release Date: 8.23.24
Format: CD

National Symphony Orchestra / Gianandrea Noseda - Carlos Simon: Four Symphonic Works (CD)