A moment of comedy at the beginning of the St. Louis Symphony’s IN UNISON Chorus annual Black History Month concert turned into a fulfilled prophecy Friday night at Stifel Theatre.
“If you thought this was the Lil Wayne concert, now would be an okay time to sneak out. No one will judge you,” IN UNISON director and the evening’s conductor Kevin McBeth told the audience after the show’s opening performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” “Although if you stay, you might learn something.”
McBeth’s premonition about imparting knowledge on the audience came true early in the concert – before the featured artist, Grammy winning gospel star Donald Lawrence and his ensemble of singers, took the stage. Lawrence brought the house down – and created both an “amen” and a “hallelujah” chorus.
IN UNISON leaned on history.
“You are in for a treat,” McBeth said. “And I just want you to know that we are continually committed to celebrating Black history – because as you all know, Black history is American history.”
After their annual tradition of performing “Lift Every Voice,” which has varied in arrangement and performance styles over the years, the concert paid homage to Black women. This happened through music, an acknowledgement of an icon within the Civil Rights Movement and an intersection of music and the movement composed by a Black woman.
Accompanied by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, IN UNISON performed “The Word Was God,” by Rosephanye Powell.
The selection was an homage to the 19th century Negro Spiritual. The perpetual canon – rounds of singing that include staggered starts among the choir’s voice ranges – and rigid staccato cadence were a throwback to the songs and performance style made famous by the Fisk Jubilee Singers and other groups from that era.
The concert’s tribute to Margaret Allison Bonds was a more literal celebration of Black History. The chorus and the symphony performed selections from Bonds’ “The Montgomery Variations.”
“It all began with a seemingly small gesture,” McBeth said as he introduced the portion of the performance composed by Bonds. “A woman on a bus. A driver with malice in his heart.”
He pointed out the upcoming 70th anniversary of the event that helped ignite a movement. “A few years after the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a young Black composer was visiting the city and was inspired to write a symphonic work telling this important Civil Rights story,” McBeth said.
“I Want Jesus to Walk with Me,” was the theme for the work. And IN UNISON’s performance included narration drawn from Bonds’ score notes and was performed by the chorus’ Program Manager Michelle Byrd.
“Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat in the Colored section of a Montgomery bus sparked the beginning of a 13-month boycott,” Byrd read. “Under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Negroes decided to boycott the bus company to fight for their rights as citizens.”
Byrd’s words along with the sounds of IN UNISON and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra gave the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott the musical embodiment of a sweeping epic story.
“I want Jesus to walk with me,” the choir sang in harmony of the highest possible register of each of the vocal groups against an orchestral crescendo. Then the strings and woodwinds tenderly carried the segment into its next movement.
After “The Montgomery Variations,” Lawrence and his troupe of singers emerged on stage with no spoken introduction. As they approached the microphones, the praises started before he did. The orchestra performed an interpretive introduction of one of his worship music standards that served as his official welcome.
“Thank you, Jesus,” a woman said as she leapt from her seat. She was ready to praise as soon as she recognized the intro music to be Lawrence’s “The Blessing of Abraham.”
“St. Louis is in the house tonight,” Lawrence said. He shouted with delight after he compelled the audience to their feet from the first song.
“I know we are at the symphony, and we are supposed to keep our composure just a little bit,” Lawrence said. “We are supposed to be sophisticated. But when you think about what God has done for you – and the things he brought you through – I don’t know if you can stay in your seat. This is going to be a gospel symphony tonight. This is going to be a praise symphony tonight.”
Friday night at the symphony became Sunday morning service thanks to performances such as “Jehovah Sabaoth” and “Encourage Yourself.”
The second half of the concert featured additional tribute to Black women composers through two more selections by Powell and a rendition of Brenda Russell’s “The Color Purple,” from the musical of the same name.
“Sometimes I do things for you. Sometimes I do things for me,” McBeth said as he introduced the selection. “This was for me.”
Lawrence and his singers returned and demonstrated power of gospel – including the skill required by those who compose, conduct and perform it – with
“Matthew 28” and “Bless Me (The Prayer of Jabez).”
“I love bringing gospel music into different arenas because as much as it is spiritual and as much as it is ministry, it is still a great art form,” Lawrence said. “And we have to continue to learn how to adapt this art form for rooms like this.”
The audience left feeling more encouraged than when they came thanks to his staple “The Best Is Yet To Come,” which served as the evening’s finale.
Living It content is produced in partnership with Regional Arts Commission.
I think that the “Lift Every Voice” concert has usually been free. This year it is at Powell Symphony Hall and the tickets are expensive. Somehow the orchestra has no seats available but everywhere else is available. Disappointed at the lack of clarity here and no explanation of what has happened.