Songs of Hope in a Time of Healing
Spirituals by African slaves and their descendants are simple yet hauntingly beautiful melodies created out of unimaginable suffering. Though songs of sorrow, they convey a universal message of hope. They buoy up and encourage us as pilgrims to endure in the face of present realities and life’s extraordinary vicissitudes without succumbing to despair or defeat. –Carl Blake
We Offer This Concert in Solidarity with the Black Community and in Support of Justice, Freedom, and Peace.
“There is a balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole; There’s power enough in heaven, To cure a sin-sick soul.”
Original Performance on January 16, 2018
A Musical Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Arr. Calvin Taylor: This Little Light of Mine
R. Nathaniel Dett: Adagio cantabile
Arr. Calvin Taylor: I’ve Been in the Storm So Long
Arr. Calvin Taylor: Every Time I Feel the Spirit
Arr. Fred Block: A Balm in Gilead
Arr. Peter Wolf: Sinner Please Doan Let Dis Harves’ Pass
Arr. Calvin Taylor: His Name So Sweet
Arr. Calvin Taylor: Were Your There?
Arr. Calvin Taylor: City Called Heaven
Arr. Calvin Taylor: My Lord, What a Mornin’
Arr. Calvin Taylor: Jesus Take My Hand
Arr. Calvin Taylor: Ain’ a That Good New
Jacqueline Hairston: Great Day Ode
Margaret Bonds: Troubled Water
George Frederic Handel: “Sarabande” in B-flat Major, HWV 440
CARL BLAKE (piano) holds three degrees in piano performance: Bachelor of Music (magna cum laude) from Boston University, Master of Arts from San Jose State University, and Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.
Dr. Blake has performed to critical acclaim three times in Weill Recital Hall (formerly, Carnegie Recital Hall), Wigmore Hall (London) and L’Hermitage (Winter Palace of the Czars, St. Petersburg, Russia). In addition, he has toured in France, England, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands as Artistic Ambassador for the United States Department of State. Currently, he serves as Director of Music of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco.
Mr. Blake serves on the Board of Directors for Noontime Concerts SF.
