The program for the concert "Voices of Mannahatta" which we had the good fortune to attend at Church of the Ascension last night included a mini-program glued in on the perpendicular, bursting forth with languages and symbols beyond the canon of "classical" music. The performers were mostly of color, many indigenous, and the works performed all composed by native composers.
The centerpiece of the program was the premiere of "Holy Ground," composed by Danielle Jagelski (Oneida and Ojibwe) precisely for this occasion - and this place, the land on which the Church of the Ascension stands. Attended by a lovely video by Sage Ahebah Addington (Diné) projected directly on the wall behind the church altar, it was as effective as it was also because it followed some shorter choral works and Raven Chacon (Diné)'s more extended "Voiceless Mass." This work, dating only to 2021, filled and transformed the nave and aisles of the church with instrumentalists and drummers creating low and haunting sounds which seemed to emerge from the ground beneath our feet, the forests that once grew on it, and the peoples who inhabited or were driven from them - or their absence.
Ascension is a space I know well but I expect to sense the lingering sonorities of this somber celebration every time I go again in the future.