As a student of history, of politics and of music, I viewed the recent presidential inauguration with considerable interest, and while it was obviously a moment of truly historic importance, it can’t be said that it held much surprise. That’s usually because politics tends to flatten highs and lob off lows as politicians try to please the many. That’s also because political systems strive for the safety and security of protocol, the safe refuge of precedent; to give the image that all is well, that the U.S. endures, and that the empire is still regnant. I therefore beheld it from a distance, interested, yes, but not engaged. If anything was remarkable, it was the throng, people standing for hours, in biting cold for as far as the eye can see. Yet, for all the glitter and spectacle, what moved me the most was something quite unexpected.
John Williams’ composition “Heirs,” H, e, i, r, s, performed by violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist, Yo Yo Ma, clarinet player Anthony McGill and pianist Gabriela Montero, was a breathtaking piece of musical mastery. Perlman began the piece, his violin playing a mournful dirge that was almost funereal. He was joined shortly thereafter by Yo Yo Ma’s deeper cello, which echoed his theme, painting a picture of wintry morning, of emotional heaviness. This mood was broken by McGill’s light airy clarinet, which was as triumphant as the coming of spring. By the time Montero graced the keys, the theme had wholly changed from winter to the bright warmth of spring; from dissonance to ebullient unity.
To say this was a composition of beauty and brilliance would be understatement. It was a work finely tuned to its time. It was a music nicely pitched to the passing of a political era. It teaches us that music at its best is magical. From death row, this is Mumia Abu- Jamal.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
