Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances [...] impressed right away with the composer’s great orchestration. The rich first movement showcased the brilliant playing of every section of the Philharmonic, including a rollicking solo by concertmaster Sheryl Staples [...] the final section (“Holy Dance”) began with a mystical aura which devolved into a loud and jaunty display.
Simon’s dances came off as colorful vignettes from African-American history. 'Ring Shout' celebrated an ecstatic religious dance that enslaved people brought to the new world, with a syncopated tambourine propelling the brash, brassy sound that is a Philharmonic specialty [....] Religious ecstasy returned, American style this time, in 'Holy Dance,' a sassy, swirling toccata for orchestra that ended Simon’s suite with a bang.
Returning to this richly evocative score, I was impressed yet again by the composer's ability to write music of serious heft that's still broadly accessible.
This Concerto for Orchestra is yet another example of Simon's finely honed dramatic sense, which sustains and builds tension until the unexpectedly neat ending.
There was a typically exuberant new work from Carlos Simon, Hellfighters’ Blues, which invited the BBC Symphony Orchestra, brass especially, to show off its virtuosity.
... left the packed house enthusiastic: the "Shards Of The Light" by the composer in residence, Carlos Simon, was neo-romantic and warm.
It sounds a bit like Leonard Bernstein—colorful, eventful, and expressive. The orchestra showcases all its sound qualities here: radiant woodwinds, gleaming brass, and velvety strings. Above all, it unfolds a catchy melody with flowing tranquility.
...a wealth of irregular and shifting rhythms, which also finds room for attractive instrumental solos, such as those offered by flute and clarinet against a background of almost evanescent percussion, but the music, of a very cinematic coloring, displays an interesting variety of climates, including well-achieved lyrical backwaters.
Emotional, serene music with that melancholy touch so typical of many of these hymns. Warmly received by the audience, who gave a standing ovation to Simon, also present on the occasion.
Wake Up! is a showcase of the timbral and musical possibilities of a symphony orchestra. The composition combines brutal metallic chords, in fortissimo, that seem to evoke the sound of the order that gives the work its title, with the appealing ambience of film music.
Simon’s musical imagination and cultural intelligence — to say nothing of his talent for deft orchestration — were on thrilling display in this 20-minute offering, whose title, Wake Up!, works on many levels.
But one of the reasons [Shostakovich's Symphony] No. 5 made such a thoughtful bookend to Simon’s wake-up call is that both composers share a sense of bothness — an ability to say two things at once, thread angst through merriment, smiles through tears. [...] There’s a bit of a cinematographer and choreographer to this composer, and “Wake Up!” put his many sides into thrilling simultaneous motion.
An action-packed and intricately detailed history lesson — and a testament to his talent as one of the most dynamic composers going.
One of America’s largest exports is our music. Our culture. And with the release of brea(d)th, a landmark classical-and-spoken-word album composed by Grammy-nominated Carlos Simon as a response to George Floyd’s murder in 2020 and America’s century’s-long embrace of anti-black bias, the struggle now has an extended soundtrack.
He writes quickly, affectingly and invitingly... His scores often sound as if they believe, sincerely yet humbly, in their own power to make a difference.
As with Simon’s other works that have delved critically into the history of race in American life, this new piece, from its title down through its music, feels like a gesture of reclamation.
At the concert’s jubilant peak, reached in the frenzy of Carlos Simon’s "Amen!", inspired by the worshipful exultations of the Pentecostal church, the Barbican Hall shook with joy.
Expectations were high — and the concert did not disappoint. Simon’s score, at times searing in its intensity, draws from many disparate elements… the work played out as a single involving journey, at once a visceral sonic encounter and a powerful prompt for reflection
Part of the difference is Noseda’s attentiveness to dynamic nuance, which now and then borders on a kind of musical photorealism... This is evident even in works we haven’t heard before, like “This Land” by Carlos Simon. The composer’s tenure in residence at the Kennedy Center has been a string of highlights — if there’s a predictable aspect to Simon’s music, it’s that it will reliably strive to surprise.
For composer Carlos Simon, music is a place where communities can come together. “I want people to be inspired,” he says about his compositions over Zoom. But he also sees music as an opportunity for artists to initiate conversations about social issues and the things that are happening in our world.
Simon’s “Requiem,” a giant 10-movement work, stands out from the rest of the pack. It’s a 21st-century rendering comprised of a chamber ensemble, an improvised trumpet, spoken word from hip-hop artist Marco Pave — Georgetown’s first hip hop artist in residence — hints of Gregorian Chant, and Simon on piano.
Typically, an artist chooses his content. Occasionally, the content chooses her or him. Sometimes, the process is so fluid, organic and intuitive, it’s only discernible that the work was destined to be done. Carlos Simon’s musical debut,“Requiem for the Enslaved,” released on June 17, seems to fall into this category.
Saturday night’s concert opened with Carlos Simon’s “Motherboxx Connection,” an aptly chosen curtain-raiser for this all-American program... this confident, bright and rhythmically infectious music spoke for itself.
This composer and his music must be heard, not only because he speaks to important issues but because his music is deeply evocative.
In Requiem for the Enslaved, art and integrity triumph over controversy. The beauty of Simon’s music and the straightforward, impassioned eloquence of Pavé’s delivery of the text he wrote serve as a fitting memorial to those held in bondage. The work also recasts those people as heroes, as human beings deprived of their freedom but not their dignity… as bittersweet as it is beautiful.
Carlos Simon is a young composer on the rise, with an ear for social justice. Simon's new album, Requiem for the Enslaved confronts Georgetown University's troubled past and its ownership of enslaved individuals.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he is the Kennedy Center’s composer-in-residence and has some cinematically vivid and energizing music to his name.
If Simon has inherited any mission from his lineage, it appears to be a desire to build bridges between worlds, and use music to illuminate them.
“With additional textural influences of dark jazz, back-room blues, and film noir amour, Simon’s score could be described as hypnagogic (infra)vitalism.”
“As the center’s composer-in-residence, Simon has been creating works that have been brightening up programs with their sheen and sensitivity, and “Fate” was no exception.”
“Simon’s gorgeous writing packs grit and grace together into a melodic line that carries unmistakable determination, a drive to realize itself, no matter what.”
“Music is a physical, tactile thing, releasing that energy out. I went to the keyboard and improvised. I didn’t think; I just let my feelings go. It’s therapy for me.”
Wake up is like a Bartók concerto for orchestra where the orchestral sections are treated like the solo sections. It's very interesting. Whenever we play Simon there is always a positive reaction. People see it as new, but it has something you can always connect with.
Simon manages to find his own language, modern but without clashing with the classic. It is also a very successful fusion between European classicism and American modernity. It is a satisfaction to be able to affirm that contemporary music has names beyond John Williams.
a brilliant, well-constructed work, which fortunately combines a very personal and direct language with Afro-American spirituals and Catholic liturgical melodies.
(Shards of Light is ) a fine, sharp, fragile little piece for solo violin. Afterwards, the orchestral encore "Meditations on Grace" was smooth and entertaining without being banal.