Audrey Cooper, Contributor

Michael Burnett guides the performers in 'Let These Things Be Written Down', specifically composed for the commemoration in Jamaica of the bicentenary of the act abolishing the trans-atlantic trade in Africans. - Photo by Oliver Wright

In 'Let These Things be Written Down' Michael Burnett presented us with a work of challenging proportions, performed on October 6, at the chapel of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and sponsored by the British High Commission and the Institute of Jamaica.

In its well-crafted musical writing, the work fuses the many strands of Jamaican culture, using the written word and the genres and styles that exist in our music.

Burnett is no stranger to these elements and is known for his promotion of cultural diversity from the 1970s when he was the first lecturer in a British teachers' college to introduce the study of Black American music. His publications show that he has done substantial work in the popular field and in Jamaican music.

'Let These Things be Written Down' is in the form of a cantata for two vocal soloists, children's choir, adult choir, flute, drums, keyboard and bass guitar. It opens with a haunting flute solo that sets the tone for the fractured epitaph that uses the words of William Cowper and Dennis Scott.

pain of the Middle Passage

Here, Burnett develops the most extended part of the work, con-veying the pain of the middle passage and the subsequent barbarity using dissonant harmonies, jarring melodic intervals and complex counterpoint. After this turmoil he slides into a contrasting and seemingly simple working of the children's song Jane and Louisa, reminiscent of the schoolyard. But this is soon coloured by the tragedy which is never far from the surface and which is evoked by the underlining harshness of dissonance.

The a cappella which follows is in the form of a chorale and like the chorales in Bach's well-known oratorios it casts a wave of stillness, calming the turmoil and rising above the chaos. The dramatic and tense duet by soprano and bass that follows the chorale focuses on the poems of Derek Walcott and W. Adolphe Roberts and is supported by keyboard and bass.

The atonal writing throughout the cantata displays fine understanding of the technical capacities of the voice and draws on vocal colouring to underscore the text.

A fusion of Jamaican folk and popular forms with reggae rhythms, nyabingi drumming and the reworking of well-known Jamaican songs anchors this work in the musical culture of the country.

The complex scoring of the vocal writing and the stark simplicity of the children's voices all bring a climax of tensions as parts pull against one another, creating a collage significant of the differences that characterise our history and our culture. Throughout the work Burnett seems to hold this tension supreme.

The naivety of the children's songs which is sometimes left bare and sometimes offset by harsh and dissonant harmonies, the awkward leaps given to the soloists, the harmonies worked into an atonal work that has, surprisingly, many tonal resolutions, the triumphant interjection of the drumming to dispel the gloom are skilfully interwoven in the final movement. He builds towards a resolution in the utterance of "Out of Many One People" and the motif "Let these things be written down".

contribution of this work

The main contribution of this work is its ability to convey the tragedy of this part of our history in musical terms, to go beyond verbal expression and to tap into another way of knowing. In this, Burnett has used a similar vehicle to that of the composer Benjamin Britten in his 'War Requiem', which commemorates the bombing of Coventry cathedral and which draws on the poems of Wilfred Owen.

The selection of voices with rather sparse accompaniment and the wonderful choice of authors only work if they evoke an emotional response from the listeners. Those who are unaccustomed to 20th century atonal writing might find this unfamiliar territory unsettling. But as a work that fuses disparate elements to convey displacement, brutality, agony and the ultimate soaring of the human spirit - all of which are a part of our history - it works with heart-wrenching immediacy.

The performers, especially the soprano soloist and the keyboard player, must be congratulated for tackling with considerable effect a difficult assignment which ultimately gave us an evening of unusual musical depth and challenge.

Audrey Cooper is the past head of the Junior School and Piano Department at the School of Music, Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.