Tribute to Mr King (Written by Ornette D Clennon in 1997, premiered at St Andrew’s and St George’s, Edinburgh by Michael Bonaventure) Sleeve notes by Ornette D Clennon I I have a Dream II Free at last, Free at last, Thank God Almighty, We are free at last The tribute refers, of course, to the civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King. Written as a companion piece to, “What has happened to all that Beauty?” this work for organ follows the sentiments of the famous rallying speech, “I have a Dream” made by Dr King in 1963. The speech is essentially a snap shot of the times but still has an incredible resonance with our times in nineties. The aspirations of freedom in the speech still have yet to be completely realised. The universality of freedom from oppression is so relevant where infringements of human rights still take place on a regular basis around the world. However, instead of looking too far afield for injustice we need only to look in our own back yard. The Stephen Lawrence case most recently examined by the Home Secretary highlights the extreme inadequacies of our own judicial system, particularly as it relates to crimes of a racial nature. This case and many others will not be resolved overnight but makes the content of “I have a Dream” all the more pressing for our times. A twist of intrigue which made the inspiration for the work all the more vivid, is the reopening of the trial of James Earl Ray, who confessed to assassinating Dr King. The King family have decided upon a retrial as James Earl Ray claims to have recanted his confession after three days, implicating the FBI in a conspiracy. What does it mean when freedom of speech for human rights is suspected to have been quashed from the very top by the most powerful nation on earth? The ramifications of this line of thought are quite disturbing. The piece itself is divided into two movements. To lend a feel of the times, this recording tries to emulate the 1960’s sound quality of a Nagra reel to reel field recorder. The first movement titled, “I have a Dream” is expansive in nature and ponders on its title, as the sonorities gently unfold. The melody in this movement gains its inspiration from a Tibetan folk song, which is very haunting yet strangely ambiguous. The second movement is headed by the quote, “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last”. The material for this movement explores the emerging and not too distant future of African American music of that time and takes inspiration from artists like Marvin Gaye and James Brown. Underlying the stylistic references is a strong religious tone as expressed by Gospel music. I wanted to show the relationship between groove music, soul, funk and jazz as all embracing a quality of celebration despite the often dire circumstances such music was created in, as the African American artists reflected the political issues of the times by virtue of living in them. This movement is as much a tribute to their resilience and artistic brilliance as it is to Dr King and his vision.