ƸӜƷ I Love The Lord: He Heard My Cry ƸӜƷ..♪♫♪

...Someday We'll All Be Free
(A Tribute To Donny Hathaway)

Excerpt from the linear notes to Extension Of A Man By Donny Hathaway:

"I decided to call this album "Extension Of A Man" because I am in the process of expanding and developing styles. I love music, period. So, consequently I would like to record as many styles as humanly possible for one person. The following is a sketch of the album.

When I was growing up, I used to hear, in my church, Black chants of devotion to God. They had been written by Dr. Isaac Watts, who was one of the anthem innovators of his time. There were various 'modes' to sing the anthems on---according to the leader of the chant.
They were based on the pentatonic scale, either major or minor in concept, for example: Major: ♪ F ♪ G ♪ A ♪ C ♪ D ♪ F -or- Minor: ♪ D ♪ F ♪ G ♪ A ♪ C ♪ D. In the midwest and the south (Alabama, Louisiana, etc.), the minor mode was used often to express the pain and anxiety of the hard times suffered by the people.

I chose, however, to depict the anthem, or chant, if you wish, in the major mode, which is more jubilant in sound.

My composition is called "I Love The Lord and is very "impressionistic" in sound---a style taken from the Romantic Period, where composers painted musical pictures (tone poems), of life and nature in general----birds, trees, hillsides, etc. Composers famous for this kind of writing were Debussy, Ravel, Satie and others during the late 1800's and early 1900's. (My writing was also inspired by George Gershwin.)

The words shaping my writing go as follows: "I Love The Lord; He Heard My Cry And pitied every groan
Long as I live while trouble rise
I'll hasten to his throne"

Section A: Adante
The tone poem is divided into two sections; the slower section being the adante. The theme is stated, then developed by 45 men in the orchestra.

Section B: Allegro (Jubilation)
The second section is written in five/four (5/4) meter, which is broken down even further to 2½/4. The melody is restated in the allegro with a solo by your's truly.

It is then sequed into a song I wrote entitled, 'Someday We'll All Be Free', which is basically a tune of "standard" quality, in my opinion."

---DONNY HATHAWAY