Ellington’s Sacred Concert at the Mannenberg
2008 MARKS 200 YEARS since American president Thomas Jefferson signed the bill abolishing the slave trade in 1808.
In 1965 jazz master Duke Ellington, himself descended from slaves and recognized as one of the most influential figures in jazz, was moved to write three massive works that combined elements of jazz, classical music, choral music, spirituals, gospel, blues and dance. He called them his “Sacred Concerts,” and they were performed in churches and cathedrals around the world. He said it was the most important thing he’d ever done.
Because of the scale of the music and the sheer number of artists needed to execute each work, Ellington’s sacred concerts have rarely been performed in the 30 years since his death in 1974. Read more
