PROGRAM
Song of the Seasons - Valerie Capers
Pieces pour Chant et Piano - Robert Durant
Twelve African Songs - Fred Onovwerosouke
Xhosa Song - Benjamin John Peter Tyamzashe
Zulu Lullaby - Traditional
Miss Wheatley’s Garden - Rosephanye Powell
Then, Here, & Now - Rosephanye Powell
A song cycle for voice and piano - Felix Jarrar
Watch and Pray - Undine Smith Moore
Ride Up in the Chariot - Betty Jackson King

Valerie Capers (b. 1937) was born in the Bronx and received her early schooling at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. She went on to obtain both her bachelor's and master's degrees from The Juilliard School of Music. She served on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, and from 1987 to 1995 was chair of the Department of Music and Art at Bronx Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY), where she is now professor emeritus. Her outstanding work as an educator has been lauded throughout the country as being both innovative and impressive. Susquehanna University awarded her the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts in 1996, and Doane College (Crete, Nebraska) and Bloomfield (New Jersey) College (along with Wynton Marsalis) both awarded her honorary doctorates in 2004. Throughout her career, Dr. Capers has performed with a roster of outstanding artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Brown, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Slide Hampton, Max Roach, James Moody, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jerry Weldon, among others. Credit: Valerie Capers’ website https://valcapmusic.com/bio/

Robert Durand (1917-1995) is credited as “the initiator of chamber music in Haiti” by Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s longest standing newspaper. Born in the south of Haiti to a family of amateur violinists, Durand played the cello while his younger brother played the viola. Together with their father, they formed the Durand String Trio. In 1953, in collaboration with Werner Jaegerhuber, Durand created the Pro-Arte Orchestra, which set itself apart by performing the works of Haitian composers and arrangers, and paved the way for a number of now well known Haitian classical musicians. Durand’s body of composition work includes pieces for string trio and quartet, and five songs for voice and piano.
Credit: Jean Bernard Cerin, DMA Blume Haiti Recital 2021

Fred Onovwerosuoke (b. 1960) Born in Ghana to Nigerian parents, Onovwerosuoke grew up in both countries and eventually naturalized in the United States. FredO", as friends call him, has traveled in more than thirty African countries doing field work and analyzing some of Africa’s abundant music traditions as well as in the American Deep South, the Caribbean and South America for comparative research in what he likes to call "traceable musical Africanisms." His Twelve African Songs for Solo Voice & Piano (distributed by AM Publishers) also sets a similar pace, globally. Fred Onovwerosuoke has served as Editor of the Voice of African Music newsletter (ISSN: 1938-2332) since 1993, serves on the boards of various professional bodies and maintains an active schedule as composer, scholar and choral conductor.
Credit: African Diaspora Music Project
http://africandiasporamusicproject.org/fred_onovwerosuoke

Mshila
A-yi we ye-ye! Di-ba dia’m-shi-la Ten-da’n-gun-gu. O, ya-ya ten-de, e Ten-de ye-ye,
Ye-i ye a-yi-we!
Mshila
Scat syllables
May the Spirits / Ancestors protect Protect you gently
In my arms
Gently in my arms
Scat-singing

Benjamin John Peter Tyamzashe (1890 - 1978) was a South African Xhosa music composer, teacher, principal, choir conductor and organist. As Tyamzashe came from a musical family, he learned to play the organ from the age of 10. His uncles also exposed him to Xhosa traditional music from an early age. During his spare time while working at the Tiger Kloof Educational Institute, he obtained an Associate Diploma via correspondence from the Tonic Solfa College in London, England with distinction. This degree included instruction in solfa notation, elementary harmony, counterpoint, form and style. His colleagues encouraged him in his music career and he started composing music during his time at Tiger Kloof. The majority of Tyamzashe’s compositions are choral works. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that the first song he composed was ‘Isithandwa sam’ (My beloved) in 1917. He received an Honorary Masters of Arts degree from the University of Fort Hare in recognition for the contributions he made to Xhosa music.
Credit: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Tyamzashe
The Life and Work of Benjamin Tyamzashe: A Contemporary Xhosa Composer by Deirdre D. Hanson https://vital.seals.ac.za/vital/access/services/Download/vital:550/SOURCEPDF

Isithandwa Sam
Oh! Ndakucinga ngezomini ezadlulayo Intliziyo yami iske ibhadule
Njengebhadi lifun’ umthombo.
Ndosuka ndithini na Msindisi
kodwa ngaphandle kwesithandwa sam? Ndihluthiwe isithandwa sami Ndosuka ndithini,
Ndosuka ndiyephi
Xa ndishiywa nguwe,
Undishiyeleni sithandwa sam? Buyela kum wena sithandwa sam.
My love
Ah! When I think of days gone by My heart simply wanders
Like a deer searching for spring.
But what shall I do Lord
without my love?
He has been taken away from me What shall I do,
Where should I go
When you have forsaken,
Why have you abandoned me? Come back to me my love.
Thula baba
Thula thu, thula baba, thula sana, Thul’umam’ uzobuya, ekuseni. Thula thu, thula baba, thula sana, Thul'ubab uzobuya, ekuseni. Sobe sithini xa bonke bashoyo, Bayathi buyela, Ubuye le khaya.
Thula thula thula baba,
Thula thula thula sana.
Hush baby
Hush, hush, baby , hush my little one Be quiet, mommy will be back in the morning. Hush, hush, baby , hush my little one Be quiet, mommy will be back in the morning. We will all say come back home,
There’s a star that shines for you
Hush, hush baby
Hush, hush my love

Rosephanye Powell (b. 1962) is one of the leading contemporary voices in choral music. Dr. Powell is commissioned yearly to compose for university choruses, professional, community and church choirs, as well as secondary school choruses. Her work includes sacred and secular works for mixed chorus, women’s chorus, men’s chorus, and children’s voices and are performed regularly at choral festivals around the country. Her choral compositions have been published through the Hal Leonard Corporation, the Fred Bock Music Company/Gentry Publications, Oxford University Press, Alliance Music Publications, and Shawnee. Dr. Powell served on the faculties of Philander Smith College (AR) and Georgia Southern University prior to her arrival at Auburn University in 2001, where she currently serves Professor of Voice.
Credit: African Diaspora Music Project
http://africandiasporamusicproject.org/rosephanye_powell

Felix Jarrar (b.1995-) With music described as “dreamlike” by the Boston Globe, composer/pianist Felix Jarrar’s list of accomplishments includes performances at (le) poisson rouge, the BAM! Fisher Hillman Studio, Feinstein's/54 Below, and Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. Amongst his approximately 220 works, he’s written over 189 art songs, 12 operas, 2 string quartets, 2 cantatas, and an oratorio. He is the assistant music director for BARN OPERA in Brandon, Vermont and a vocal coach at Mannes School of Music. He completed his Bachelor of Arts at Marlboro Collegeand his Master’s of Music degree at Brooklyn College. Credit: Felix Jarrar https://www.felixjarrarmusic.com/about-felix.html

Undine Smith Moore (1904 -1989), known as the Dean of Black Women Composers, was born in Jarratt, Virginia. Her family moved to Petersburg in 1908, and at age seven, Undine began piano lessons with Lillian Allen Darden. In 1924 she received the first scholarship from the Juilliard Graduate School to study music at Fisk University, where she began composing. She graduated cum laude in 1926 and became supervisor of music in the Goldsboro, North Carolina, public schools. Smith began teaching at Virginia State College (later Virginia State University) in 1927, where she remained on the faculty until her retirement in 1972. Between 1929 and 1931 Smith commuted to New York to study for her Master of Arts degree at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Moore is best known for her choral works, including “Scenes from the Life of a Martyr”, based on the works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She received numerous awards, including the National Association of Negro Musicians Distinguished Achievement Award in 1975 and the Virginia Governor’s Award in the Arts in 1985. In 1977 Moore was named music laureate of Virginia. As a direct result of her innovative and influential teaching, many of her students have become celebrated musicians and composers.
Credit: African Diaspora Music Project
http://africandiasporamusicproject.org/undinesmith_moore

Watch and Pray
Mama, is Massa goin’ to sell us tomorrow?
Yes, Yes, Yes.
Mama, is Massa goin’ to sell us tomorrow?
Mama, is Massa goin’ to sell us tomorrow?
Yes, Yes, Yes.
Oh watch and pray.
Is he a-goin’ to sell us down to Georgia?
Mama, is Massa goin’ to sell us down to Georgia?
Is he a-goin’ to sell us down to Georgia?
Yes, yes, yes.
Oh! down to Georgia,
Watch and pray.
Oh mama don’t you grieve after me.
Oh mama, don’t you grieve after me.
Oh, watch and pray.
Betty Jackson King (1928-1994) has a rich and varied background. She received the B.M. on piano and the M.M. in composition from Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois, with further study at Oakland University, Glassboro College, and others. King pursued careers in composing and teaching and served as a choral conductor-clinician and lecturer in churches and universities. Her honors include a scholarship from the Chicago Umbrian Glee Club, awards from the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc., "Outstanding Leaders in Elementary and Secondary Education", and "The International Black Writers Conference". King was past president of NANM, Inc. Her compositions include sacred, secular novelty, choral compositions, and spiritual arrangements.
Credit: African Diaspora Music Project http://africandiasporamusicproject.org/bettyjackson_king
Ride up in the chariot
Gonna ride up in the chariot,

Soon-a in the mornin',
Ride up in the chariot,
Soon-a in the mornin',
Ride up in the chariot,
Soon-a in the mornin',
And I hope I'll join the band.
O, Lord, have mercy on me, O, Lord, have mercy on me, O, Lord, have mercy on me, And I hope I'll join the band.
Gonna walk and talk with Jesus Soon-a in the mornin',
Walk and talk with Jesus Soon-a in the mornin',
Walk and talk with Jesus Soon-a in the mornin',
And I hope I'll join the band.
O, Lord, have mercy on me, O, Lord, have mercy on me, O, Lord, have mercy on me, And I hope I'll join the band.
Gonna chatter with the angels, Soon-a in the mornin',
Chatter with the angels, Soon-a in the mornin',
Chatter with the angels, Soon-a in the mornin',
And I hope I'll join the band.
O, Lord, have mercy on me, O, Lord, have mercy on me, O, Lord, have mercy on me, And I hope I'll join the band.

Additional Sources:
Mshila
1) Dr. Louise Toppin
2) African Music Publishers
Tula Baba
1) https://thecreateescape.co/blog/thula-baba-an-african-lullaby
2) https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3183
3) Goitsemang Lehobye, DMA
Isithandwa Sam
1) https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/B-P-J-Tyamzashe-feat-Sibongile-Khumalo/Isit andwa-Sam
2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Tyamzashe
3) An Analysis of Oral Literary (core.ac.uk)
4) Goitsemang Lehobye, DMA