European Premiere
BLACK PEARL SINGS!
by Frank Higgins
10 Sept – 21 Oct 2012
About the Music in Black Pearl Sings!
Music has an array of attributes that is a gift to humanity. It invokes memory, transforms emotional states into bliss or sorrow, and has been proven to have healing aspects. If several people were interviewed and asked to respond to and interpret a particular melody, everyone’s answer could be different and certainly specific and related to their individual experiences.
In Black Pearl Sings! the power of music is the foundation of the relationship between the two characters Pearl and Susannah. The music is the basis that brings forth an understanding of the possibilities each woman can experience in their lives; as a result leading to their greater purpose. These two characters eventually evolve to accept that music transcends the boundaries of their own distinct cultural perspective.
The playwright, Frank Higgins, has chosen folk music as the catalyst for the play. The particular focus is the African-American folk songs of ex-slaves, field workers, and the ancestral legacy of their African heritage. I recognize the music of my ancestry as an American whose ancestors are from West Africa. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the USA. As a child I was spiritually raised up in the Black church. The music of the black church is steeped in African roots. I have fond memories of the call and response, polyrhythmic spirituals, and the ring shouts music that was sometimes performed at funerals.
My father was born in Charleston, South Carolina and we are known as the Gullah or nicknamed “Gee chee” people. The Gullah people were known to hold on to their customs when they were brought over to America as en-slaved Africans. As a result several of those practices have been maintained as traditions that are embedded in the cultural consciousness of many African-Americans today. As the stage and musical director of Black Pearl Sings! these memories were consistently evoked in me. The kernel of ancestral memory was often revealed, as is with the character Pearl, when several of the folk melodies were familiar to me. My unique discoveries were the memories of tragedy, triumph and transformation that these melodies have granted me. My discoveries parallel Pearl’s.
I trust that the musical landscape of Black Pearl Sings! will allow one to experience this essential story of the significance of human relationships. The story of Black Pearl Sings! makes us aware of the gift of communication; that through honesty, open-mindedness, and a willingness to transform we arrive at understanding.
Music has an array of attributes that is a gift to humanity. It invokes memory, transforms emotional states into bliss or sorrow, and has been proven to have healing aspects. If several people were interviewed and asked to respond to and interpret a particular melody, everyone’s answer could be different and certainly specific and related to their individual experiences.
In Black Pearl Sings! the power of music is the foundation of the relationship between the two characters Pearl and Susannah. The music is the basis that brings forth an understanding of the possibilities each woman can experience in their lives; as a result leading to their greater purpose. These two characters eventually evolve to accept that music transcends the boundaries of their own distinct cultural perspective.
The playwright, Frank Higgins, has chosen folk music as the catalyst for the play. The particular focus is the African-American folk songs of ex-slaves, field workers, and the ancestral legacy of their African heritage. I recognize the music of my ancestry as an American whose ancestors are from West Africa. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the USA. As a child I was spiritually raised up in the Black church. The music of the black church is steeped in African roots. I have fond memories of the call and response, polyrhythmic spirituals, and the ring shouts music that was sometimes performed at funerals.
My father was born in Charleston, South Carolina and we are known as the Gullah or nicknamed “Gee chee” people. The Gullah people were known to hold on to their customs when they were brought over to America as en-slaved Africans. As a result several of those practices have been maintained as traditions that are embedded in the cultural consciousness of many African-Americans today. As the stage and musical director of Black Pearl Sings! these memories were consistently evoked in me. The kernel of ancestral memory was often revealed, as is with the character Pearl, when several of the folk melodies were familiar to me. My unique discoveries were the memories of tragedy, triumph and transformation that these melodies have granted me. My discoveries parallel Pearl’s.
I trust that the musical landscape of Black Pearl Sings! will allow one to experience this essential story of the significance of human relationships. The story of Black Pearl Sings! makes us aware of the gift of communication; that through honesty, open-mindedness, and a willingness to transform we arrive at understanding.
Akin’ Babatunde’
V.E.T. recommends
