Proms at Sage Gateshead (5) - African-American Spirituals

[bluestateprommer]

Sunday 23 July 2023
14:00
Sage Gateshead
Sage Two
St Mary's Square
Gateshead Quays
Gateshead, NE8 2JR

Traditional spirituals:
(a) 'My Lord, what a morning'
(b) 'Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen'
(c) 'Great Campmeetin''

Florence Price: 'Because' (first performance at The Proms)

Traditional spirituals:
(d) 'By and by' / 'There is a balm in Gilead'

Henry Thacker Burleigh: 'Jean' (first performance at The Proms)

Florence Price: 'Resignation' (first performance at The Proms)

Traditional spirituals:
(e) 'Steal Away'


interval


Traditional spirituals:
(e) 'Save me Lord'

Florence Price: 'Sunset' (first performance at The Proms)

Traditional spirituals:
(g) 'Deep River'
(h) 'I Got a Robe'

Hoagy Carmichael: "Georgia on my mind" (solo piano version)

Traditional spirituals:
(i) 'Were You There'
(j) 'Sometimes I feel like a motherless child'
(k) 'Bright Sparkles in the Churchyard'

[Encore: Duke Ellington, Eddie De Lange and Irving Mills: "In my solitude"]


Reginald Mobley, countertenor (Proms debut artist)
Baptiste Trotignon, piano (Proms debut artist)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/en59hn

https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/bbc-proms-a-musical-journey/

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

14:00 Sunday 23 July 2023
Sage Gateshead

Trad.: My Lord, what a morning
Trad.:Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
Trad.: :Great Campmeetin’
Trad.: Steal Away
Trad.:Save me Lord
Trad.:By and by / There is a balm in Gilead
Trad.:Deep River
Trad.:I Got a Robe
Trad.:Were You There
Trad.:Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Trad.:Bright Sparkles in the Churchyard
Florence Price: Because
Henry Thacker Burleigh: Jean
Florence Price: Resignation
Florence Price: Sunset

Reginald Mobley counter-tenor
Baptiste Trotignon piano

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I'm very much in favour of these Proms around the country, and this year, we've even been offered a few orchestral ones - not just chamber concerts.

[bluestateprommer]

More belated catching up on Proms missed earlier this season, to state the obvious. Given the lack of posts on this thread, there would seem to be very modest interest in this Prom mainly of African-American spirituals, with a few Af-Am art songs and a few jazz standards included. But if you have that interest, this is a very, very good recital indeed from Reginald M. and Baptiste T., who clearly make an excellent musical team. I'm not at all a spirituals aficionado, and I'll admit that the prospect of so many in succession might sound like too much in too short a time. However, one voice and one pianist made this work, with expert understatement and scale, as opposed to something like a big gospel church choir at overwhelming volume.

Per Alpie's point, and at the risk of making a poor prediction that won't come true, my guess is that at the very least, the "Proms at" outside-of-London Proms will continue at Sage Gateshead next summer, at the very least, after what looks like two consecutive successful summers of "Proms at" events there.. But it sounds as though other venues have reported success with their out-of-London events as well, so the general 'experiment' is likely to keep going.