BOSTON (WHDH) - A new musical piece sharing the stories of people sold as slaves by the founders of Georgetown University — which was performed by a Boston group — is being released Juneteenth weekend to honor those who were enslaved, the composer said.
Carlos Simon, composer-in-residence at the Kennedy Center, created the 45-minute multi-genre score “Requiem for the Enslaved” as a way to tell the story of the 272 people who were sold as slaves by Georgetown’s founders in the 1830s. The university apologized in 2016 and has been working to make amends, but as a professor at the university Simon said he wanted to be part of that conversation.
“As an African-American male it resonated with me, the historical event. The hypocrisy, if you will, resonated with me,” Simon said. “But I also wanted to show that slavery is deeply rooted in racism in the world.”
“Requiem for the Enslaved” features spiritual, classical, and traditional church music along with spoken word, and the recording was made by the Boston-based Hub New Music ensemble. Boston will also premiere the piece at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in October.
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