The Narrativity Sessions
An intersectional feminist critical curatorial approach to classical vocal music performance. The Narrativity Sessions is a visual vocal album of selections by Black women composers merged with the mediums of imagery, text, and video to offer a multidimensional narrative of various experiences of the African Diaspora. The curation of this project stems from my subjective viewpoint as a Black queer woman from rural Atlantic Canada and specifically touches upon the history and identities of Black Nova Scotians.
A visual vocal album featuring music by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Maria Corley, Undine S. Moore and Jacqueline Hairston.
Performed by Shanice Skinner, soprano and Phyllis Ferwerda, pianist.
Featured poetic texts and literary excerpts by Angela Bowden, George Elliott Clarke, Terry Dixon, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Mikki Kendall, and Sophie Williams.
Part One: On Community
Long Goodbye by Maria Thompson Corley
The Season of Remembrance by Jacqueline Hairston
Part Two: On Resilience
Sympathy by Florence Price
My Dream by Florence Price
The Heart of a Woman by Florence Price
On Consciousness Streams by Jacqueline Hairston
Part Three: On Identity
I Know My Mind by Margaret Bonds
Love Let The Wind Cry… How I Adore Thee by Undine S. Moore
How You Can Contribute
If you identify with any of the themes and topics of The Narrativity Sessions project, share your own anecdotes and messages to be a part of the story.
All contributions are deeply appreciated.
Sources
Bowden, Angela. UnSpoken Truth: Unmuted and Unfiltered. East Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield Press, 2021. Kindle.
Clarke, George Elliott. Blues and Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2008. Google Play Books.
Clarke, George Elliott. Whylah Falls. Vancouver, British Columbia: Raincoast Books, 2000.
Dixon, Terry. Lament - Africville My Home. Personal Archives, 1975.
Dunbar, Alice Nelson. Selected poetry, public domain.
Kendall, Mikkie. Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot. New York: Penguin Books, 2020. Apple Books.
Williams, Sophie. Millennial Black: The Ultimate Guide For Black Women At Work. London, England: HarperCollins Publishers, 2021.