Margaret Bonds’s charming The Ballad of the Brown King focuses on Balthazar, the dark-skinned king who journeyed to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus Christ. First premiered in 1954, the revised and orchestrated version was dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1960. Host Oliver Camacho presents the complete 24-minute work plus other works by Black composers for the season.
The Ballad of the Brown King and other works by Black composers for Christmas
Margaret Bonds
Playlist
Margaret Bonds: The Ballad of the Brown King
Libretto by Langston Hughes
Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Noah Stewart, tenor
The Dessoff Choirs & Orchestra
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Recorded in 2018
Avie Records AV-2413
Errollyn Wallen: “Peace on Earth”
Chloe Flower, piano
English National Opera Chorus/James Hawkins
Rosephanye Powell: Christmas Give Suite (orch. Jim Kessler)
“Christus Natus Est”
“Have You Seen the Baby Jesus?”
Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano
Baltimore Choral Arts Society/Tom Hall
Roderick Williams: “The Star Has Come”
The Oxford Choir/Bob Chilcott
Williams: “Christmas Bells”
Jonathan Eyre, piano
Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir/Ralph Allwood
Williams: “Queen Elizabeth’s Winchester Carol”
St. Martin’s Voices/Andrew Earis
Ken Burton: “Many Are the Wonders”
Nicholas Madden, tenor
ORA/Suzi Digby
