For the past two years, pianist and NPR contributor, Lara Downes has been crisscrossing the United States, performing concerts, meeting people in their communities and asking them what it means to be an American today. It’s all part of The Declaration Project, her initiative offering us the chance to reflect on our nation’s founding principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ahead of America’s 250th birthday. These testimonials will be made available in the form of a national digital archive, and a few of them inspired Downes’ newest album.
The overwhelming message of this album is hope: “Hold These Truths” puts together music by 18 composers, mostly for solo piano but with a few surprises mixed in. The tone is upbeat, but also introspective in a way that’s particularly appropriate for our country’s milestone anniversary. In the digital booklet, each selection is accompanied by a quote from The Declaration Project, where everyday Americans (and in some cases, the composers themselves) express their dreams for this country in a way that closely aligns with the mood of the music.
Contemporary American composers are well represented. The album begins with the dreamlike “Welcome” from Puerto Rican composer Edmar Colón, who had previously collaborated with Downes on an updating of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” for her previous album, “This Land.” Carlos Simon’s “Hold Fast to Dreams” interprets the poem by that name from Langston Hughes in three different moods — wistful, pensive and resolute. That theme of resoluteness amid uncertainty also characterizes Caleb Burhans’ “In Time of Desperation,” reminding us that in such times, we must rise to the challenge.
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A large portion of this album takes its inspiration from folk songs and classic Americana. Shawn Okpebholo’s “Wondrous Free” is a modern updating of “My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free,” a song composed in 1759 by Francis Hopkinson, who would go on to become one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. A 1951 recording of the traditional song “Jubilee” by Jean Ritchie provides the jumping off point for the piece by that name from Daniel Gilliam. Aaron Copland’s delicate setting of “Simple Gifts” closes the album, providing a kind of benediction as America goes forward into its next 250 years.
The album is credited to Lara Downes and Friends, and those friends are two different folk-inspired chamber ensembles, whose contributions add a note of authenticity to the program. On two of the tracks, Downes is joined by 9 Horses, a genre-spanning trio featuring Joe Brent on mandolin, Sara Caswell on violin and Andrew Ryan on bass. Their contributions give an especially atmospheric quality to a unique arrangement of Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More.”
Downes’ other collaborator is Invoke, a classical-bluegrass crossover quartet from Austin made up of Nick Montopoli on violin and banjo, Zach Matteson on violin, Karl Mitze on viola and mandolin and Geoff Manyin on cello. They join in to give a timeless folk element to one of the most unexpected inclusions: Willie Nelson’s 1983 song “Changing Skies.”
It’s a beautifully played album, but more importantly, it’s a necessary musical reappraisal of America’s past and future appearing at just the right time.
“Hold These Truths” with Lara Downes and Friends will be released digitally on July 3 from the Pentatone label.
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