MSU Combined tenor-bass choir will present a preview concert of Joel Thompson’s   “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed.”
 

From the composer: “The inspiration…
After being troubled by the onslaught of killings of unarmed black men and finding   Shirin Barghi’s #lastwords project, Joel Thompson began his journey in writing his   most important composition today, The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed. Using the   text structure of the Joseph Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ, Joel chose seven last   words from Shirin’s artwork that formed the structure of the work.

The music…
The last words and/or correspondences of each victim spoke to Joel deeply, and he chose seven that most easily aligned with the text structure of Hadyn’s work. Each victim’s last words are set in a different musical style and Thompson incorporates the L’homme armé (The armed man) Renaissance french secular tune throughout the composition. Originally scored for male chorus, string quintet and piano, the work has also been scored for full orchestra.

For more information, visit: https://sevenlastwords.org/.
Sponsor: MSU Choral Activities
Website: www.statesings.com
Contact: Danielle Gaude, Administrative Assistant - Choral: 662-325-3490