Revisiting Quilt Song
In response to current events I have returned to the reasons behind creating my opera Quilt Song which premièred at The Birmingham Old Rep two years ago. This is because some colleagues on social media have suggested that words are empty gestures when not backed up by action.
So what can I or have I done that shows I am prepared to put myself on the line? As an artist I have a unique opportunity to create work that conveys empathy and a call to action. I have always felt that socially reflective opera can be incredibly powerful and uplifting such as Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk which reveals the rot in the society of his time or Mozart's Marriage of Figaro which addresses the heinous tradition of the droit du seigneur when a count was allowed to have sex with a maid as his right before she got married. In both operas the oppressed win over fascism and I believe that the passion of a composer's ethical conviction can lead to creating transformative music.
'A wind blows in the night' from Quilt Song
As a composer I want to create socially interactive operas that respond to the issues generated by current events. However issues raised are often better examined through similar past events than current ones. This is because of the ethics of not wanting to exploit people involved in a current tragedy. In addition I am always looking to present powerful female leads since the body of new operas are still unable to provide this. With all of this mind it occurred to me a few years back that Rosa Parks, who refused to move on a bus for white people in USA in 1965, would be an incredibly moving protagonist. Her non-violent action resulted in a bus boycott for a year and inspired Martin Luther King Junior to action. When Rosa refused to move on this bus she said that she felt like she wanted to cover herself with a quilt like you would on a winter's night. Her words led me to an 'ah ha' moment so that the opera's title became Quilt Song.
I then went on to employ a methodology of composition and integration of stories and actions that drew on the principles of quilting as inspired by Rosa's quote. This meant that many contrasting facets could be held together in the grid of a quilt. Therefore the symbol of a quilt showed that diverse elements collected together can enhance and co-exist. This went on to become metaphor to describe the positive facets of a diverse society.
Rosa Parks when she was arrested
I then went on to employ a methodology of composition and integration of stories and actions that drew on the principles of quilting as inspired by Rosa's quote. This meant that many contrasting facets could be held together in the grid of a quilt. Therefore the symbol of a quilt showed that diverse elements collected together can enhance and co-exist. This went on to become metaphor to describe the positive facets of a diverse society.
The dress that Rosa Parks was working on in the bus when she was arrested
In addition to featuring Rosa Parks I was at the time incredibly shocked over the death of the MP Jo Cox. It was terrible that her assassin's action was driven by racist ideas illogically connected to Brexit. I decided to allude to her situation in Quilt Song through the character of The Muse. I specifically chose not to directly represent Jo as I felt it was too soon after the tragedy to be ethical.
At her parliamentary maiden speech Jo Cox said "We have more in common than that which divides us". Her words, alongside Rosa Parks' refusal to move, became the backbone of Quilt Song. They sing together about their call to action at the end of Rosa's bus scene. This blending of the characters' separate stories is one of the key features available within the form of opera because it has the ability to feature different time frames simultaneously in music.
The murder of The Muse in Quilt Song
At her parliamentary maiden speech Jo Cox said "We have more in common than that which divides us". Her words, alongside Rosa Parks' refusal to move, became the backbone of Quilt Song. They sing together about their call to action at the end of Rosa's bus scene. This blending of the characters' separate stories is one of the key features available within the form of opera because it has the ability to feature different time frames simultaneously in music.
Jo Cox
Rosa Parks and Jo Cox as two profound freedom fighters are contextualised within Quilt Song's dramatic framework by being grounded in the play Abraham Lincoln, written by the Birmingham-based playwright John Drinkwater in 1918. As a secret pacifist the play's subject provided a vehicle for Drinkwater's outpouring of grief at the futility of WW1. Through Abraham Lincoln's actions and his quest to stamp out slavery he established hope for a better world. Unexpectedly the play was a big success in Birmingham, eventually transferring to London and touring to the USA. Perhaps this was because the atrocities of WW1 left everyone hoping for human kindness. The humble but decisive of character of Lincoln captured the zeitgeist.
Through a synchronistic twist I found myself in 2016 with a three-year stipend to carry out my practice-based research as a composer at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The 1918 centenary of the first performance of the Abraham Lincoln play in Birmingham was looming. I intimately knew about this and the reasons behind its content because Drinkwater is my grandfather. The secret of his pacifism was only ever shared orally within my family because to be honest I think some felt ashamed. In WW1 pacifists could be sent to prison or even executed. As I reflected on the play I found myself empathising with this grandfather whom I had never met (he died when my Mum was only 8). I felt his deep grief over war and his specific horror at slavery. Incrementally as I explored related subjects I became appalled to see that racism especially in USA is still rampant. Lincoln's legacy has in many respects largely failed. I am politically active however the only way I know to make an impact is as an artist so I decided to create an opera about freedom fighters.
Abraham Lincoln
John Drinkwater (right) with James Joyce
My doubts about my own motivations led me to create a scene in Quilt Song when The Poet shares his concerns with Rosa about whether it is ethical for him to write a play about slavery. She responds by saying that he was right to reveal the brutality of slavery to everyone. The text for this scene was originally spoken in the Drinkwater play between Abraham Lincoln and Custis, a slave who comes to thank him for abolishing slavery. It makes me shudder to realise that this was not the end of the story but only the start of a continuing battle.
By interfacing Rosa's story with Jo Cox's story I further wanted to enhance the message that actions speak louder than words and that standing against racism needs to be done by people of all races. When I asked the soprano Maureen Brathwaite to play Rosa she said that her heart 'missed a beat' because she had wanted all her life to sing the role of a heroic black woman. There are hardly any such roles in new opera although we can clearly see that there are many contemporary role models to choose from. I feel that I was brave to chose this subject. However I was compelled to engage on this level because the communities that I worked with in Birmingham wanted tough stories to be presented as long as they contained a feeling of upbeat hope.
The Poet and Rosa Parks in Quilt Song
By interfacing Rosa's story with Jo Cox's story I further wanted to enhance the message that actions speak louder than words and that standing against racism needs to be done by people of all races. When I asked the soprano Maureen Brathwaite to play Rosa she said that her heart 'missed a beat' because she had wanted all her life to sing the role of a heroic black woman. There are hardly any such roles in new opera although we can clearly see that there are many contemporary role models to choose from. I feel that I was brave to chose this subject. However I was compelled to engage on this level because the communities that I worked with in Birmingham wanted tough stories to be presented as long as they contained a feeling of upbeat hope.
Maureen Brathwaite as Rosa Parks
My practice-based research aims to reach out to broader communities, therefore the overall message of Quilt Song became that we can celebrate diversity like differing materials held together by the structure of a quilt.
I believe that the content of Quilt Song is needed now more than ever and I am hoping to find other companies to stage it. This video link gives a 5 minute overview of the production of Quilt Song at The Birmingham Old Rep in 2018.
On this second 3 minute video the backing track is from one song "This is not a game". The lyrics were created with students at The Birmingham Ormiston Academy who were inspired by the upbeat message of Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis.
I believe that the content of Quilt Song is needed now more than ever and I am hoping to find other companies to stage it. This video link gives a 5 minute overview of the production of Quilt Song at The Birmingham Old Rep in 2018.
On this second 3 minute video the backing track is from one song "This is not a game". The lyrics were created with students at The Birmingham Ormiston Academy who were inspired by the upbeat message of Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis.
Carl Lewis
The vocal score of Quilt Song can be ordered via
https://composersedition.com/composers/susannahself
The vocal score of Quilt Song can be ordered via
https://composersedition.com/composers/susannahself
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