Concerto for cello and sampled sermon
Co-commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra and Orchestra of the Swan (UK)
Premiered December 3, 2010 at Zankel Hall in Carnegie Hall, New York City; American Composers Orchestra; Maya Beiser, cello • Douglas J. Cuomo, sampler • George Manahan, conductor
Black Diamond Express Train to Hell is based on folk sources, à la Bartók or Kodály, but from a contemporary American perspective. In this case the source material is a 1927 recording of a fiery sermon by the African-American Reverend A. W. Nix of Chicago, which alludes to life in America during the depression and prohibition, the history of commercial recordings, and the place of music and religion in the African-American experience.