P R O F I L E S for orchestra
PROGRAM NOTE
Profiles is a short orchestral study in three separate movements based on the late visual art of Romare Bearden. Most of Bearden’s work reflects African-American culture in urban cities as well as the rural American south. Although Bearden was born in Charlotte, NC, he spent his most of his life in Harlem, New York. With its vibrant artistic community, this piece aims to highlight the rich energy and joyous sceneries that Harlem expressed as it was the hotbed for African American culture.
“The Block” is comprised of six paintings that highlight different buildings (church, barbershop, nightclub, etc.) in Harlem on one block. Bearden’s paintings incorporate various mediums including watercolors, graphite, and metallic papers. In the same way, this musical piece explores various musical textures which highlight the vibrant scenery and energy that a block on Harlem or any urban city exhibits.
At the height of her fame, blues singer Bessie Smith was really known as “the Empress.” So it was no joke when Romare Bearden titled his painting, Empress of the Blues. As a musician himself, Romare Bearden had a studio above the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem. There, the artist often heard live music—especially jazz and blues—and he met many musicians. To emulate the voice and character of Bessie Smith, this movement features several solos supported by musical idioms associated with the Blues.
Shortly before his death in 1988, Romare Bearden completed the project design for a stained-glass window in the Westchester Square station in the Bronx, New York. The work is based on a collage depicting an elevated train weaving in and out of a cityscape in Bearden's familiar Cubist interpretation of New York City street life. The experience of riding the elevated trains is central to Bearden's imagery. As he described, "To see the changing aspects of the city... the great buildings of midtown... and the tenements abutting the elevated lines. Like Edward Hopper, I drew inspiration from these sights." Likewise, I drew inspiration from the bright colors of the stained glass by composing fast moving music that feature the brass section stabbing and jabbing under a bed of perpetually driving arpeggios in the strings.
~Carlos Oliver Simon, Jr. (2022)INSTRUMENTATION
2 Flutes (2nd doubling Piccolo)
2 Oboes
2 Clarinet in Bb
2 Bassoons
2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in C
Trombone
Bass Trombone
Tuba
3 Percussionists
Percussion 1: Suspended Cymbal, Egg Shaker, Tambourine, Glockenspiel, Tubular Bells
Percussion 2: Drum set, Bass Drum, Two Sandpaper blocks
Percussion 3: Bell Tree, Vibraphone, Marimba, Triangle
Timpani
Harp
Piano
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
Double Bass
Duration: 15 minutes
Movements may be performed separately.
Transposed Score