Shades of Black is a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and piano depicting adversities and triumphs African Americans experienced throughout history. The text of the song cycle was written by African American poet, Lucille Clifton. I incorporated five of her poems into the composition. The adapted poems include: Slaveships, Harriet, From Dark Nursery Rhymes for a Dark Daughter, Black Women, and Listen Children. 

The first song, Slaveships, relates to the horrific journey Africans experienced while they were enslaved at sea. The second song, Harriet, relates to Lucille Clifton’s admiration for the heroic, brave black women, Harriet Tubman, Isabell ( Sojourner Truth), and her grandmother. The third song, From Dark Nursery Rhymes for a Dark Daughter, is about one of the haunting struggles of “flesh colored” objects not matching black people’s skin. The fourth movement, Black Women, relates to black women not being able to embrace their femininity/womanhood. The final movement, Listen Children, is about black people loving and appreciating themselves.

"Harriet" and "From Dark Nursery Rhymes for a Dark Daughter" have not be performed/recorded so midi adaptations are used.

Performers: Lauren Sarkela and Colleen Allard-Smith

"From Dark Nursery Rhymes for a Dark Daughter" (midi) - Shades of Black

The graphic above is a visualization of global wind patterns; massive amounts of weather data are fed into a supercomputer that then produces a live (or pseudo-live) “wind map.” The swirls and swoops are color-coded: areas of blue and green are relatively calm, while red and purple usually imply devastating conditions in a tropical system. There is something particularly poetic about seeing our atmosphere on such a macro scale; the same colors converted from numerical data also suggest Van Gogh-esque brushstrokes. The confluence of the empirical and the aesthetic in the “wind map” has proved wildly inspiring for the composition of this piece.

The Juilliard Orchestra (reading)
Jeffrey Milarsky, conductor

Wind Map (2018): for orchestra

Composer, Arranger, and music lover.
Furman University '22
University of Michigan '24
-To view/purchase sheet music or to know more, visit: www.williecornishjr.com

"From Dark Nursery Rhymes for a Dark Daughter" (midi) - Shades of Black

Willie Cornish Jr.