brea(d)th
Brea(d)th is a classical work, inspired by the enduring presence of George Floyd the Ancestor, asking America to consider an equitable future. We come to the resilient and root-rich Twin Cities as outsiders, but we composed this work from within the walls of Black emotion, curiosity, and dignity. The piece explores a historical timeline that stretches from the pre-colonial to the present condition, and perhaps further, into a post-pandemic America. Who would we be if we used covid-19 as an opportunity to focus on both public health, *and* public healing? Our entire country has endured a trauma… how do we publicly heal?...
Brea(d)th is a work in four movements ranging from the Pentecostal to the monastic. I created a libretto that considers bread, as in value, breath, as in lifeforce, and breadth, as in the radius of American promise. Encoded within the work is a reverence for local intelligence, sacrifice, loss, and strength. The Minnesota Orchestra is a citizen institution, and thus the work has an implied and imbued civic import. Truthfully though, our commitment was to make a work that emanated from and responded to a local experience, while recognizing the hollowing hope that vastly stretches across the body of African America.
Brea(d)th is a moving, yearning, admonition for repair. It was made by two American sons in honor of George, and in reflection of the fellowship of the gone too soon…
-Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Listen to the premiere recording of brea(d)th available now on all platforms
Perusal Score:
Premiere Recording:
One of America’s largest exports is our music. Our culture. And with the release of brea(d)th, a landmark classical-and-spoken-word album composed by Grammy-nominated Carlos Simon as a response to George Floyd’s murder in 2020 and America’s century’s-long embrace of anti-black bias, the struggle now has an extended soundtrack.
brea(d)th
35 minutes
for spoken word, orchestra, and chorus
Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra for George Floyd
Brea(d)th is a classical work, inspired by the enduring presence of George Floyd the Ancestor, asking America to consider an equitable future. We come to the resilient and root-rich Twin Cities as outsiders, but we composed this work from within the walls of Black emotion, curiosity, and dignity. The piece explores a historical timeline that stretches from the pre-colonial to the present condition, and perhaps further, into a post-pandemic America. Who would we be if we used covid-19 as an opportunity to focus on both public health, *and* public healing? Our entire country has endured a trauma… how do we publicly heal?...
Brea(d)th is a work in four movements ranging from the Pentecostal to the monastic. I created a libretto that considers bread, as in value, breath, as in lifeforce, and breadth, as in the radius of American promise. Encoded within the work is a reverence for local intelligence, sacrifice, loss, and strength. The Minnesota Orchestra is a citizen institution, and thus the work has an implied and imbued civic import. Truthfully though, our commitment was to make a work that emanated from and responded to a local experience, while recognizing the hollowing hope that vastly stretches across the body of African America.
Brea(d)th is a moving, yearning, admonition for repair. It was made by two American sons in honor of George, and in reflection of the fellowship of the gone too soon…
-Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Listen to the premiere recording of brea(d)th available now on all platforms
Perusal Score:
Premiere Recording:
One of America’s largest exports is our music. Our culture. And with the release of brea(d)th, a landmark classical-and-spoken-word album composed by Grammy-nominated Carlos Simon as a response to George Floyd’s murder in 2020 and America’s century’s-long embrace of anti-black bias, the struggle now has an extended soundtrack.