“Chupshah” is a Biblical word, its Hebrew translation being “freedom.” It is also the title of an original work written by composer James Lee III specifically for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which will present his piece, “Chupshah! Harriet’s Drive to Canaan,” at Strathmore on Saturday. “This concert is connected to our season theme of revolutionary women,” said BSO Music Director Marin Alsop. “Our opening work [on that theme] will be a world premier based on the subject of Maryland’s own Harriet Tubman.”
As a dynamic force behind Underground Railroad, the BSO honors Tubman’s bravery in a piece, illustrating her longing for emancipation and her fearless efforts to lead slaves to freedom.
| Onstage |
| BSO Classical Concert |
| Where: Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| When: 8 p.m. Saturday |
| Info: $28 to $88, call 410-783-8000 or 877-BSO-1444, bsomusic.org |
“This is an unusual commentary about certain aspects of her life,” Lee said. “I want the audience to hear the depth of her emotions, her longing to rescue her parents from the Eastern Shore of Maryland [and] her struggles throughout the Civil War.”
In hopes that the audience will “hear” that struggle, faith and determination, Lee has imbued his piece with, he says, “quotes from Negro spirituals that I incorporated into the music — melodic lines of a spiritual for [certain] instruments of the orchestra. A scene at the slave auction block is represented by the English horn, which personifies Harriet Tubman in my work.”
Next on the program, Dvorak’s dynamic Cello Concerto will be performed by American cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who will be making her debut with the BSO. In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, she stated, “The Dvorak is the ultimate concerto. It has all the structuring and epic sweep of a symphony. It goes from ecstasy to tragedy to pathos. And every time out, there’s something new to discover.”
The concert ends with Tchaikovsky’s symphonic essay, “Pathetique,” a foreshadowing of his own death, which occurred just days after the piece debuted in 1893.
“I feel that every work he [wrote] is about fate,” Alsop said. “He always felt this looming fate and didn’t know why.”
And while the title “Pathetique” does not hold the same meaning as the English word “pathetic,” the irony here is that the symphony’s title means “passionate” or “emotional,” suitably emblematic of the tormented last years of Tchaikovsky’s life.
