Afro-American Symphony-William Grant Still

Afro-American Symphony by William Grant Still’s

I had the opportunity to listen to the influential classical composer, William Grant Still’s Afro-African Symphony. I enjoyed this piece as it gave two different type of emotions. In the beginning of the video the Timbre is cheerful and upbeat feeling to it, as the video continues by the end it seems a little more serious and one could say a little dark as the tempo slows down.  Through out the piece you hear the melody and harmonies speed up and slow down and near the end the repetition of phrases of slower beats. I could imagine this in a musical,  seeing a cheerful performance interrupted by a villain or a sad scene. I believe his take on the end with more a dark feel had to do with the struggles of African Americans as he ends.  Very different from just upbeat and smooth classical music, this added more emotions and feelings making you think about what Still’s was thinking about.

Here is the Video

Afro-American Symphony