Sphinx Virtuosi - Songs for Our Times (2023)

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Sphinx Virtuosi - Songs for Our Times (2023)

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This debut album represents the rich history of the Sphinx Organization and the vibrant future of classical music by centering the artistry of extraordinary composers and artistic visionaries of color.

Focused on increasing representation of Black and Latinx artists in classical music and recognizing artistic excellence, Sphinx is a leading national social justice and arts organization with the mission of transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts.

Now in its 27th year of programming, Sphinx envisions a world where the classical music field looks like our communities: where every young person has the opportunity to express themselves and learn classical music; where audiences reflect the people we see on our streets; and where leadership—on stage and off—includes all deserving voices. With 1,100 alumni, a digital reach of 60 million through social media and other online platforms, and more than $10 million invested in the careers of Black and Latinx classical musicians, Sphinx has followed a vision to empower its premiere touring ensemble, Sphinx Virtuosi, to lead the way in evolving the classical music canon.

Woven through the most recent compositions presented here are thematic threads of shared humanity, resilience, protest and conflict. Songs for Our Times opens with Global Warming by Michael Abels, winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Though the work’s blend of styles was originally influenced by the thaw in international relations after the fall of the Berlin Wall, its title has a new resonance today, and the music’s ambiguous ending leaves its meaning open to interpretation. This work was one of the first by an African-American to be performed in South Africa after the election of President Nelson Mandela, and has been presented by over 200 of this country’s professional and youth orchestras. Originally written for a full orchestra, the work was rearranged by Abels for string orchestra and percussion in 2018.

Carlos Simon’s Between Worlds, for solo violin, performed here by 2021 Sphinx Competition Junior Winner Amaryn Olmeda, was inspired by the work of artist Bill Traylor, who was born into slavery and later endured the privations imposed by segregation. Between Worlds is filled with, in Simon’s words, “elements of mythical folklore, race, and religion.” Musically, this is a truly virtuosic and cinematic work. The plaintive and wandering opening becomes a restless, energetic, and almost phantasmagoric musical portrait of an ancestral spiritual conjurer.

Valerie Coleman’s two-movement Tracing Visions was written to remind us of our shared humanity. The first movement, titled “Till,” is both a reflection on the domestic terrorism enacted upon Emmett Till, Ruby Bridges, and the children of the Uvalde massacre and, in the composer’s own words, the “fierce parental statement” that children should be protected. The darkness and rage of “Till” is followed by “Amandla!” (the Zulu word for “power”). Like Michael Abels’ Global Warming, this movement depicts world consciousness and cultural unity. To celebrate this global unity and the depth of the Sphinx Organization’s transformative work, Coleman craftily uses International Morse Code to spell “Sphinx,” with that rhythmic motive serving as the movement’s foundation.

Showcasing the talents of Cuban-American cellist Tommy Mesa, Divided is a response – to quote its composer, Jessie Montgomery – to “the sense of helplessness that people seem to feel amidst a world that seems to be in constant crisis, whether it is over racial injustice, gender or religious discrimination, greed, power and poverty, or climate change”. This helplessness is first expressed in the opening statement, a tense gesture based on half-steps (B-flat – A – B natural – B-flat – A). As the orchestra joins, helplessness becomes a combination of rage and profound questioning – echoed through aggressive interjections from the orchestra and an unrelenting rhythmic urgency Struggles of perhaps a more purely musical nature are to be found in Sísifo na Cidade Grande (Sisyphus in the Big City) by Brazilian violinist and composer Ricardo Herz. The displaced rhythmic punctuation immediately recalls Stravinsky and the changing meters found in his Rite of Spring; however, Sisifo is written with a consistent time signature of 25/16 (4+4+4+4+3+3+3), the conquering of which is no mean task. The challenging time signature, combined with melodic material hovering between the keys of C Major and C minor, is used by Herz to convey the futility of the mythological Sisyphus’ struggle to reach a pinnacle.

Songs for Our Times also presents two 20th-century works. Fuga con Pajarillo by Venezuelan composer Aldemaro Romero combines fugal writing with the rhythm of the pajarillo, a dance in which the emphasis is placed on the second beat of each bar, while at the heart of the album lies a moving arrangement of the exquisite “Andante cantabile” from Florence Price’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor.

Finally, bringing the album to a dazzling conclusion is the finale of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9, arranged by Venezuelan violinist Rubén Rengel, a member of the Sphinx family. This sonata was originally dedicated to the biracial violinist George Polgreen Bridgetower (1778-1860). Bridgetower held a prestigious position in European society for a time, regularly performing for royalty and on series including a highly regarded 1789 Parisian Concert Spirituel (placing him in Paris during the life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges). Honoring the work’s original dedicatee, Rengel’s version was described by ConcertoNet as “seamless, melodic, with Beethovenian propulsion”.

The Sphinx Virtuosi is the premier touring entity of the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization. Founded by violinist, social entrepreneur and poet/journalist Aaron P. Dworkin in 1996 and now led by violinist and educator Afa Dworkin, this non-profit social justice enterprise is dedicated to increasing representation of Black and Latinx artists in classical music, recognising artistic excellence and transforming lives through the

power of diversity in the arts. The Sphinx Virtuosi champions these aims and ideals and is passionate about undertaking widespread outreach and engagement work as it tours the US and beyond.

“Their music spoke for itself. In fact, it sung for itself … Each of these works had a radiance … It was … a concert of inventiveness, virtuosity, and joy, real joy” (ConcertoNet)

“…true to their name, the Sphinx Virtuosi call up the vision of an iconic mythological feline with its immeasurable power, unwavering command, and soulful beauty.” (The Washington Post)