Sinfonia No. 5 "Visions" (Version for Voices & Orchestra) [Live]
3/5/2021, 1 Track, 14:16
Featuring
Clayton Brainerd
Ed Morris
Shaina Shepherd
Stephen Michael Newby
Thomas Dausgaard
Seattle Symphony
George Theophilus Walker
Did you know?
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Recording & Production
The video imagery by Frank Schramm, a friend of George Walker, for Sinfonia No. 5 displays dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean and photographs related to the fate of Africans brought to the New World, which may explain the subtitle 'Visions.'
Compositional Technique
Sinfonia No. 5, 'Visions,' incorporates spoken verses from well-known songs like 'Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes,' 'I Dream of Jeanie,' 'Rock of Ages,' and 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,' each prompting a veiled musical reference.
Composition History
George Walker reportedly finished 'Visions' as an emotional response to the 2015 Charleston church shooting, despite not typically making programmatic statements in his work.
Composition History
The world premiere performance of George Walker's Sinfonia No. 5, 'Visions,' was presented by the Seattle Symphony in 2019.
Recording & Production
This recording of Sinfonia No. 5, 'Visions,' features a version with spoken text for five vocalists and includes provisions for accompanying projected imagery by photographer and filmmaker Frank Schramm.
Composer Biography
George Walker, the composer of Sinfonia No. 5, was the first African-American composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1996.
Composition History
Sinfonia No. 5, 'Visions,' was completed by George Walker in 2016 when he was in his 90s, demonstrating his creative longevity.
