Downes’ Black Composers Series: Justin Holland

courtesy of Shuman Associates

Today pianist Lara Downes released the May installment in her monthly Rising Sun Music project. The series was planned to shed a bright light on the music and stories of Black composers over the past 200 years, and this month saw the addition of the composer Justin Holland through an EP release entitled Jiji Plays Justin Holland: Music for Guitar. Holland was, himself, a guitarist, who developed a reputation for his performances and arrangements, and Elliot Noval’s article for Guitarist Newsletter declares him to be “one of America's most influential guitar pedagogues.”

Holland lived through most of the nineteenth century, having been born in 1819 and died in 1887. It is therefore worth noting that only about half of his Wikipedia page is devoted to his talents as a musician. He was also a civil rights activist, and his achievements included work with the Underground Railroad. In addition he served as Secretary for the Central American Land Company, whose goal was to establish a free-black colony in South America. That said, he made it a point to keep his civil rights activities separate from his career as a musician.

The Rising Sun release consists of four tracks, all of which can probably be taken as “salon music.” The first three are waltzes: “Peek-a-boo Waltz,” “See-Saw Waltz,” and “La Prima Donna Waltz.” None of them would be out of place in a Schubertiade setting; but each has its own distinctive “American voice.” The final track turns to another salon genre, a paraphrase on opera music. The opera is Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette; and it includes one of the most recognizable themes, Juliette’s waltz arietta, “Ah! je veux vivre dans le rêve” (I wish to live in this dream). Korean guitarist Jiji performs all four of these selections with engaging clarity, providing just the right introduction to a composer that definitely deserves more attention.