On this Music Sunday we will hear The Ballad of the Brown King, a cantata written by Margaret Bonds with a libretto by Langston Hughes. This piece looks at the Christian nativity story from the perspective of Balthazar, the “brown king”, who came from Arabia or Ethiopia. It is a really rich piece musically, rewarding both in the performance and the listening. Bonds blends the European classical tradition with jazz, calypso, and other musical traditions, there is even a hint of early Motown in the work. The piece is in nine movements and scored for choir, soloists, and arranged for piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, and bass.

Topics: Music