LISTEN TO THE ANGELS SHOUTIN'
21st-Century Spirituals Hit Rural New England (No Casualties Reported)

By Beth Denisch, Boston Chapter Director

"How thrilling it is to have a composer in our own town. Erik's music is uniquely innovative, and he has added a musical spark to our growing artistic community. His three arrangements of spirituals … were groundbreaking and thought provoking." - Susan Becker, Herring Run ArtsFest Artistic Director

(Sounding Board, November 2002) One hour south of Boston, Middleborough, Mass., is the quintessential small New England town. Replete with an active village square, it is home to numerous farmers and at least one composer - Boston Chapter member Erik Lindgren.

In addition to making Middleborough his home, Lindgren works there as a musician and studio owner. As part of a Boston Chapter Community Partners project, he also had an opportunity to create "Innovative Arrangements of Three American Spirituals," a new work for his hometown's Herring Run ArtsFest - an annual, grassroots celebration of music, theater, poetry, crafts, and music.

Quiet as the town can be, on September 14, parking was trickier to find in Middleborough than it was in Boston, as people drove in to share an evening of performances at The Black & White Theater on Main Street, just a few blocks from the town square.

Among the evening's highlights was Lindgren's premiere. The composer's 20-year-old classical-rock-electronic fusion ensemble, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, performed the work, which incorporated taped recordings of the traditional spirituals "I'm A-Rollin'," "Oh Freedom," and "Listen to the Angels Shoutin'." Adding to the event's significance, the spirituals were recorded by Oral Moses. An artist and lecture who is internationally known for his performances of operas and oratorios, Moses has long-placed special emphasis on art-song repertoire by African-American composers.

The taped songs, often digitally transformed, wove in and out of the ensemble's rich instrumental textures, which included sax, piano, keyboards, electric guitar, and a fair amount of electronic processing. For the performance, the African drumming ensemble Khakatay joined Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. The powerful percussionists propelled the group into strong, rhythmic grooves that alternated beautifully with the composition's floating ambiance.

After the performance, Lindgren spoke with excited audience members, answering questions about the instruments used, the inspiration of the gospel tradition, and his compositional process.

The Community Parters project was made possible with support from the Cherbec Advancement Foundation.