15th Annual Veterans Day Salute featuring UNKNOWN
Presented by Southern Museum of Flight and Opera Birmingham
Thursday, Nov 11, 2021
6:00pm – Social Reception
- Music provided by Opera Birmingham (Christy Vest, piano)
- Food and beverages provided by Southern Museum of Flight
6:30pm – Program
- Welcome
- By Southern Museum of Flight and Opera Birmingham – Dr. Brian J. Barsanti and Keith A. Wolfe-Hughes
- Presentation of the Colors
- By the Color Guard, 117th Air Refueling Wing (arranged by Southern Museum of Flight)
- National Anthem
- By Chris Farley, baritone, accompanied by Christy Vest (arranged by Opera Birmingham)
- History of Veterans Day and Its Connection to Birmingham
- By Dr. Brian J. Barsanti
- Missing Comrade Table and Toast
- By Dr. Brian J. Barsanti
- Introduction of UNKNOWN
- Introduced by Keith A. Wolfe-Hughes
- UNKNOWN Screening
- Song cycle video (provided by Opera Birmingham)
- Recognition of Branches of Military
- Performance of the Armed Forces Medley (sung by Chris Farley, accompanied by Christy Vest)
- Dr. Barsanti will ask members/veterans of each branch of the military to stand as each song is performed
- United States Army – The Caisson Song
- United States Marines – The Marine’s Hymn
- United States Navy – Anchors Aweigh
- United States Coast Guard – Semper Paratus
- United States Air Force – The U.S. Air Force
- Closing Remarks – Dr. Brian J. Barsanti and Keith A. Wolfe-Hughes
UNKNOWN is commissioned by UrbanArias in partnership with Opera Birmingham, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Opera Colorado, Minnesota Opera, and Dallas Opera. Additional support for the commission is provided by Lt. Col. Stephen E. Bird (Ret.) and Dorothy P. Bird of Denver, Co.
This production has been made possible, in part, by a generous contribution from Bradley, and by grants from Alabama State Council on the Arts, The Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, The Daniel Foundation of Alabama, Hugh Kaul Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts, and by support from Alabama Media Group. Additional support for UNKNOWN is provided by Ms. Nanci Chazen and Mr. and Mrs. C. Lee Reeves.
Shawn Okpebholo, UNKNOWN
UNKNOWN is a five-movement song cycle for mezzo-soprano, two baritones, and chamber ensemble commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial at Arlington Cemetery for unidentified soldiers who have succumbed to war. Poet Marcus Amaker penned the evocative text.
The first movement begins with an extended and solemn introduction. From the perspective of a soldier, it is an anthem expressing the realities of war, but also the pride for her country and the service and sacrifice she's willing to give for the place she calls home.
The second movement is a melancholic waltz from the perspective of the loved one of a soldier off to war. With only letters and anxiety, there is still space for hope that his beloved will return home.
The third movement—ever so soulful, requiring the baritone voice to engage his falsetto—is an introspective lament from the viewpoint of an injured soldier who is mindful that he is about to die and transition to his eternal home.
From the perspectives of the guards who protect the tomb 24 hours a day, the fourth movement is a dignified march, sustained by an irregular-metered drum cadence: 21/8. The number 21 is significant because a soldier who guards the tomb marches 21 steps, rests for 21 seconds, and repeats this routine in all directions until the soldier's shift is over. I subtly quote Taps, the bugle call that happens during military funerals at, coincidentally, 21:00 hours. And, I also briefly quote America the Beautiful as an homage to the third verse, which says,
Oh beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife
Who more than self, their country loved
And mercy more than life.
The final movement is a poetic In Memoriam for the unknowns, and in a way, serves as a reprise for the cycle. This contemplative setting brings back motives, harmonies, themes, and texts from the previous four movements, musically embodying the various aspects of what it means to go off to war.
by Marcus Amaker, Poet Laureate of Charleston, SC
1.
As the morning rises
with the clean air of summer,
my mind is clouded
in smoke.
Anxiety is ammunition
for a duty
that haunts
my dreams:
A war that will
take me away from home,
a departure
that digs deep
within the battlefields
of my soul.
I am one
of many warriors willing to
fight for a country
that promises freedom,
a country
that I am proud
to call
home.
2.
Home is a hollow space
when world-wide hostility
takes ahold of its habitat.
Beneath this roof
are memories
of life without combat,
a breath before bloodshed,
a love untouched by fear.
I am haunted
more than I am happy.
Reading letters
loaded with the tragedies
of war,
stories about future legends,
soon-to-be ghosts who
fought with honor,
and lost their lives
without losing their faith.
3.
If death has a sound,
then I am now its echo.
Silence will soon
pass through me
and I will remember
that I was made
to have an ending.
And war,
with its infinite reverence,
also has boundary.
I am far
from my family,
but I will soon
be home.
4.
With honor,
I march.
21 steps
in time
for the timeless spirts
of soldiers.
With service,
I march.
21 seconds
in rhythm
for the breathless voices
of the decorated
and departed.
With commitment,
I march.
24 hours
in tempo
to guard the ghosts
who gave their lives
for our country
so that we
can safely call
this land
our home.
5.
Layers of remembrance
hover over us like clouds.
When it rains,
we are wrapped
in sorrow
because we can’t escape
the memory of
fallen heroes.
How many storms
have gone unnoticed?
How many more
downpours deserve
our attention?
Our homes
and hearts
are enlivened
by the recognition
of generations
who are gone,
but never forgotten.
