Some days, I must hold on to a sliver of hope to get by. Oddly, some of it comes from seeing rainbows in my house. I’ve mentioned how wonderful they are and have even shown a picture. But the effect depends on the direction and intensity of the sun’s peeping through.
Sometimes, a sliver is just enough. The color is often muted, as in the second picture. But it’s still there, and I need to hold on and see it.
Right before Christmas, I was listening to Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony in E minor, “From the New World. ” As indicated here, I love this piece, but I can’t always identify it. However, it always brings me joy, not just because of the music but also the backstory.
From here: “At the time, the work represented a departure from traditional American concert music. American classical music (then, and still today) largely adhered to the traditions of European composers. But in his ninth symphony, Dvorak incorporated themes from African American spirituals and roots music.”
The Wikipedia piece on the Czech composer: “From 1892 to 1895, Dvořák was the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City… Emanuel Rubin describes the Conservatory and Dvořák’s time there. [Jeanette] Thurber, a wealthy and philanthropic woman, made it open to women and black students as well as white men, which was unusual for the times… Dvořák’s main goal in America was to discover ‘American Music’ and engage in it, much as he had used Czech folk idioms within his music.”
What is American music?
“Shortly after his arrival in America in 1892, Dvořák wrote a series of newspaper articles reflecting on the state of American music… He felt that through the music of Native Americans and African-Americans, Americans would find their own national style of music. Here Dvořák met Harry Burleigh, who later became one of the earliest African-American composers. Burleigh introduced Dvořák to traditional African-American spirituals.
“In the winter and spring of 1893, Dvořák was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to write Symphony No. 9, From the New World, which was premiered under the baton of Anton Seidl to tumultuous applause. Clapham writes that ‘without question, this was one of the greatest triumphs, and very possibly the greatest triumph of all that Dvořák experienced’ in his life, and when the Symphony was published, it was ‘seized on by conductors and orchestras’ all over the world.” It took this guy from out of the country to point out the untapped strength of underrepresented elements of classical music. Here’s a recording.
I note this story from the Census Bureau: “Net International Migration Drives Highest U.S. Population Growth in Decades. “As the nation’s population surpasses 340 million, this is the fastest annual population growth the nation has seen since 2001 — a notable increase from the record low growth rate of 0.2% in 2021. The growth was primarily driven by rising net international migration.”
So, I am pained by this CBS News story about promises of mass deportations. “He’s pledged to deport millions of immigrants — including some who are living in the United States legally. In Springfield, Ohio, the city whose Haitian immigrant community became the epicenter of hateful rhetoric and misinformation during the campaign, many fear what this could mean for them.”
My sliver of hope is that mass deportation does not occur, not just because of humanity, but because it will make America poorer again.
