Together, We

Program Notes

Together, We (2017) is a musical response to the poetry of Langston Hughes. A leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes used his writing and cultural influence to champion civil rights causes in early 20th-Century America. I find his work haunting, illuminating, and powerful, and my ideas for this piece were directly influenced by his poems “The Weary Blues” and “I, Too.”

Together, We unfolds in three continuous sections. It begins with a murky haze of low piano notes, which lilt heavily (a nod to the shuffling couplets of “The Weary Blues”). The violin sings quietly in the distance, and both instruments build in intensity, until a final pinnacle note is reached. Then, the second section begins, with the instruments in opposition. Here their dialogue is terse and the pianist inserts a metal bar into the piano so the strings buzz sharply. After a final exasperated cascade of violin notes, the final section arrives: a simple, repetitive, chorale of arpeggios - a gentle musical prayer.

While the piece has a dramatic arc, there is no specific story behind its form. Rather, I felt guided by a single prevalent idea: that empathy connects us to others, allowing us share in their joy or to experience the depths of their pain; and it is this very fact that we empathize that makes it possible to ultimately love one another. Even in pain, this gives me hope.

— Daniel Temkin