Must be a Struggle (from Voices of Freedom)

•  Full Score and 25-29 singers – $90.00
•  Full Score and 30-39 singers – $100.00
•  Full Score and 40-49 singers – $120.00
•  Full Score and 50-59 singers – $140.00
•  Full Score and 60-69 singers – $160.00
•  Full Score and 70+ – $180.00

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($2 per singer + $40 accompaniment)

This product includes a full score, choral score, percussion section score, steel pan section score and individual instrument parts.

Text by Frederick Douglass. This is an excerpt from his
“Speech on Haiti” delivered on January 2, 1893 in Chicago.

“Voices of Freedom” is a suite of choral works based a variety of American texts ranging from documents like the Preamble to the Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation to an excerpt from Frederick Douglass’ “Speech on West Indies Emancipation” and the traditional spiritual, “Go Down Moses.” When assembled together, we see how the legal proclamations of our country reflect off of the wordsofa great leader and the timeless narrative of the Hebrew Exodus.

The global musical setting of these texts is designed to frame these ideas, fundamental to our American imagination, in the context of global sensibilities. We may assume a European cultural backdrop to our American documents, but theirmeaning and impact transcends the limits of Western Europe. Here we listen tothese words with choral gestures that refer to West Africa and 19th century Spirituals. Similarly, the steel drum accompaniment, inspired by the FrederickDouglass speech on the West Indies, transforms these familiar documents and songs into a broader cultural framework. Follow the rest of this musical freedom trail, the musicians, and more on our project website – www.emancipationagain.com

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