輝けるマヘリア

Glorious Mahalia is Kronos Quartets third release for Smithsonian Folkways. It follows 2020s Long Time Passing: Kronos Quartet & Friends Celebrate Pete Seeger, and 2022s Mỹ Lai. Its an homage to gospel singer and activist Mahalia Jacksons work, music, life, and friendships. The idea for the album appeared to Kronos founder David Harrington in 2013 after seeing Clarence Jones, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s lawyer and speechwriter on TV discussing Kings "I Have a Dream" speech from the 1963 March on Washington. Jones provided King with written thoughts, about 15 paragraphs worth. As King spoke what he had been provided, Jackson, who had sung before him, was sitting near King and said, "Tell them about the dream. Tell them about the dream, Martin." After hearing these words, King responded to the exhortation and made history by improvising the rest of the speech. Glorious Mahalia features archival audio from two moments in Jacksons history: a 1957 live performance of gospel and spirituals in her adopted hometown of Chicago, and a 1963 interview with friend and broadcaster Studs Terkel, discussing her life, experiences, the roles of Black women, and Kings work. The five-part title suite was composed by Stacy Garrop in 2017. It features snippets of several radio conversations between Jackson and Terkel, friends since 1946. A droning string dirge introduces her speaking about hope, interspersed with singing and Terkels responses. "II: Stave in the Ground" reflects on her work in the South and the discrimination she continued to experience. Kronos performance is sympathetic and sonorous, channeling gospel and deep folk-blues. "III: Are You Being Treated Right" offers spirited playing and dissonance as Jackson and Turkel offer more strident discussion. The fourth movement finds Kronos playing atop a vintage gospel piano in her chilling rendition of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" before the closing movement finds the group sparsely framing Jackson, speaking about hope and perseverance. Its followed by the three-minute "God Shall Wipe Away All the Tears," composed by Antonio Haskell and arranged by Jacob Garchik. Kronos plays it with tenderness, empathy, and reverence. The final suite, "Peace Be Till," was composed by Zachary James Watkins of experimental duo Black Spirituals, rendered in five movements. Kronos and Watkins approached Jones about recording. He tells stories about his, Jacksons, and Kings work during the Civil Rights era. During the session, Jones shared the "I Have a Dream" tale, but also read from his original copy of the "Letter from Birmingham Jail." (Jones took the document out of Kings cell for publication.) Jones is clear-voiced and elegantly spoken in this composers "sound collage." Kronos offers lustrous, soulful accompaniment with various tones and dynamics amid audio samples of protest and ambient sonics. Glorious Mahalias package is adorned with rare photos, and liner notes by Harrington, Mary Lou Williams biographer Tammy Kermodle, along with composer bios and track notes. This is an important and deeply moving document resonating as a welcome addition to Jacksons biography and the art and history of the Civil Rights movement. ~ Thom Jurek