Description
Otto Leland Bohanen penned The Dawn’s Awake in 1917, at the height of Jim Crow tyranny and in the midst of World War I. Given his surroundings, such optimism is noteworthy. Composer Mark Lehnowsky places this forward gaze in a modern tonal context interwoven with the spirituals Over My Head, By and By, and Great Day. One of the work’s most intriguing features amplifies the text of Bohanen’s last lines: “Fathers! Torn and numb,—The boon of light we craved, awaited long, Has come, has come!” Beginning with the bass line, we hear 11 of the 12 chromatic pitches: E, F#, A, B, D, G, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab. The 12th and final pitch arrives only as the trio sings “great DAY!” completing the circle for the final cadence.