Ethiopia's Shadow in America

Ethiopia's Shadow in America is an orchestral composition written by Florence Price in 1932. It received honorable mention for piano pieces in that year's Rodman Wanamaker Music Contest.[1][2]

Price looking into the camera
Price, date unknown

According to Florence Price, the three linked movements are intended to portray:

I. Introduction and Allegretto: The Arrival of the Negro in America when first brought here as a slave.
II. Andante: His Resignation and Faith.
III. Allegro: His Adaptation, a fusion of his native and acquired impulses.

Many of Price's works, including this, were lost for a long time and were found again in 2009. Ethiopia's Shadow was performed by the University of Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in January 2015.[3] On September 30, 2018, Jordan Randall Smith conducted the Hopkins Concert Orchestra in a performance he claims is the first East Coast performance.[4][5][6] On March 8, 2020, the Washington, DC, premiere of Ethiopia's Shadow in America was performed by the DC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Randall Stewart.[7] The work was performed by the Akron Symphony Orchestra on November 13, 2021.[8]

This work was included in an album by the New York Youth Symphony that won the 2023 Grammy for Best Orchestral Performance.[9]

Structure

Price divide the composition in three parts:[10]

I. The Arrival of the Negro in America when first brought here as a slave – (Introduction and Allegretto)
II. His Resignation and Faith – (Andante)
III. His Adaptation – (Allegro) – A fusion of his native and acquired impulses

References
  1. Horne, Aaron (1996). Brass Music of Black Composers: A Bibliography. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 60. ISBN 9780313298264.
  2. Jackson, Barbara Garvey (1977). "Florence Price, Composer". The Black Perspective in Music. 5 (4): 37. doi:10.2307/1214357. JSTOR 1214357.
  3. Curtis, Liane (2015-02-26). "New Discoveries of Florence Price's Music revealed in Arkansas Festival!!". Women's Philharmonic Advocacy. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  4. McCabe, Bret (2018-09-27). "Jordan Randall Smith on conducting, community, and concerts". The Hub. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  5. Smith, Jordan Randall (2018-11-26), Florence Price: Ethiopia's Shadow in America: II. Andante, retrieved 2019-02-18
  6. Smith, Jordan Randall (26 November 2018). "Ethiopia's Shadow in America". Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  7. "DC Concert Orchestra - List of Performances".
  8. "Spouses among Akron Symphony musicians anticipating long-awaited return".
  9. Administrator, NYYS (2023-03-02). "Sunday Today with Willie Geist Congratulates Us on The Grammy Win". New York Youth Symphony. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  10. Smith, Jordan Randall (November 26, 2018). "Ethiopia's Shadow in America". Conductor's Notebook. Retrieved 2018-11-26.


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