Requiem for the Enslaved
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the hope and dream of a slave.
- Maya Angelou
Almost an entire year has passed since I first set foot on the Georgetown University campus as a candidate for professorship in the Performing Arts Department— a hope and dream of my ancestors. Since being hired as an Assistant Professor, I have grown to love the Georgetown University community and culture. It is a community that is steeped in a tradition of excellence and a rich history. In learning of the university’s involvement in slavery, I am deeply grateful for the collective efforts taken to understand and attempt to reconcile its tainted past. Now as a member of the Georgetown University community, I wish to join in the journey of expanding the discussion. This musical piece honors the men, women, and children owned and sold by the University.
requiem for the enslaved features music that evoke the spirit of those in captivity featuring the internationally known new music ensemble, the Hub New Music Ensemble, rapper and spoken word artist, Marco Pave ́and trumpeter, Jared Bailey. Using the musical structure of a liturgical mass, requiem for the enslaved artistically explores the sacred and historical ideology of the sale of those enslaved by Jesuits by infusing of the music of the Catholic Church and African American Spirituals into an original composition.
-Carlos Simon (2020)
Listen on Spotify:
Perusal Score:
Requiem for the Enslaved was nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
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.
Requiem for the Enslaved
For Violin, Cello, Flute/Piccolo/Alto Flute, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet in Bb, Trumpet, Piano Spoken Word Artist
Carlos Simon, Marco Pave, MK Zulu, and Hub New Music Ensemble
Commissioned by Georgetown University with support from the President’s Office and the committee for Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation with support from the Department of Performing Arts
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the hope and dream of a slave.
- Maya Angelou
Almost an entire year has passed since I first set foot on the Georgetown University campus as a candidate for professorship in the Performing Arts Department— a hope and dream of my ancestors. Since being hired as an Assistant Professor, I have grown to love the Georgetown University community and culture. It is a community that is steeped in a tradition of excellence and a rich history. In learning of the university’s involvement in slavery, I am deeply grateful for the collective efforts taken to understand and attempt to reconcile its tainted past. Now as a member of the Georgetown University community, I wish to join in the journey of expanding the discussion. This musical piece honors the men, women, and children owned and sold by the University.
requiem for the enslaved features music that evoke the spirit of those in captivity featuring the internationally known new music ensemble, the Hub New Music Ensemble, rapper and spoken word artist, Marco Pave ́and trumpeter, Jared Bailey. Using the musical structure of a liturgical mass, requiem for the enslaved artistically explores the sacred and historical ideology of the sale of those enslaved by Jesuits by infusing of the music of the Catholic Church and African American Spirituals into an original composition.
-Carlos Simon (2020)
Listen on Spotify:
Perusal Score:
Requiem for the Enslaved was nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
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.