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The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed

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Seven Last Words of the Unarmed is a choral composition by Atlanta-based composer Joel Thompson.[1][2]

The piece contains seven movements, each of which quotes the last words of an unarmed Black man before he was killed.[3] Thompson has said that in composing the piece, he "used the liturgical format in Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ in an effort to humanize these men and to reckon with my identity as a black man in this country in relation to this specific scourge of police brutality."[1] He was also inspired by the illustrations of Iranian-American artist Shirin Barghi.[4][5]

The work was premiered in November 2015 by the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club under the direction of Eugene Rogers.[6][7] Rogers said,

"...I hesitated before taking it to my glee club; I did not want them to think I was pushing an agenda. At the same time, repertoire that deals with issues of social justice is important to me, a part of my philosophy of teaching. It engages our audience, builds a strong sense of community amongst our singers, and can foster musical ubuntu. As Nelson Mandela defined the philosophy, ubuntu holds that our personal humanity is dependent on the humanity of others. Providing a safe place for students to express and process issues that affect us all can be very rewarding and act as another vehicle for bringing change to our world. With all of that in mind, I decided to introduce the piece to the chorus. Initially, some members felt performing it would be overly political. We talked about their concerns, and some wrote essays about them. Together we found resonance in the central theme of loss, and that enabled us to get through the journey. Some of our audience expressed similar misgivings, but most of the response was extremely positive."[8]

The piece has also been performed by the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra (with The Village Square, the Florida A&M Concert Choir, the Morehouse College Glee Club),[3] the Chicago Sinfonietta,[9] the Boston Children's Chorus,[10] and the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus.[11] It found renewed interest in 2020 [12][13][14][7] after the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and outbreak of police violence.

Movements

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  1. “Why do you have your guns out?” – Kenneth Chamberlain, 68
  2. “What are you following me for?” – Trayvon Martin, 17
  3. “Mom, I'm going to college.” – Amadou Diallo, 23
  4. “I don't have a gun. Stop shooting.” – Michael Brown, 18
  5. “You shot me! You shot me!” – Oscar Grant, 22
  6. “It's not real.” – John Crawford, 22
  7. “I can't breathe.” – Eric Garner, 43[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Goldberg, Daniel (December 11, 2019). "Creating a Space for Empathy: Composer Joel Thompson speaks about Seven Last Words of the Unarmed". WFMT. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  2. ^ Grimes, Ryan (April 26, 2016). "UM Men's Glee Club remembers lives lost with "Seven Last Words of the Unarmed"". Michigan Radio. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Ode to Understanding". Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "Noteworthy: A Reminder that "Art Should Not Always Be Comfortable" | Chorus America". www.chorusamerica.org. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  5. ^ "Shirin Barghi". Shirin Barghi. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Hawkins, Sydney (April 19, 2016). "Social justice + music: 'Seven Last Words of the Unarmed' premieres at U-M". Michigan News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "'Seven Last Words of the Unarmed' project adds educational resources | U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance". University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. June 4, 2020. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "Noteworthy: A Reminder that "Art Should Not Always Be Comfortable" | Chorus America". www.chorusamerica.org. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "Review: Chicago Sinfonietta: In 'Seven Last Words of the Unarmed,' a sobering, potent tribute to Dr. King". Opus 3 Artists. January 21, 2020. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  10. ^ Kogan, Judith (January 16, 2017). "Undeniable Power: 'Seven Last Words' Of Unarmed Men". WGBH. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  11. ^ "SFGMC Presents "Bridges" - Thursday, March 29, 2018". SFGMC. February 14, 2018. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  12. ^ "Social justice music project debuted at U-M back in national spotlight amid protests". June 5, 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  13. ^ "Hear Me Out: "Seven Last Words of the Unarmed" | Hear Me Out". Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  14. ^ "Recommended Streaming from the Interwebs". Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
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