Gabriel Kahane & Anthony McGill | Rhapsody

The history of Blacks and Jews in America is, and always has been, complex and multivalent. Stories of solidarity in labor movements in the 1930s and ‘40s, as well as in the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s, are well-documented. Sadly, there is also a rich history of anti-Black racism in Jewish communities, and antisemitism in Black communities.

In a new concerto/monodrama for clarinetist Anthony McGill, songwriter and composer Gabriel Kahane explores not only this history, but also the cross-pollination of Black and Jewish elements in American popular music, using the clarinet—itself an instrument native to both jazz and klezmer traditions—as a guide.

In a brainstorming session for this project, which grew out of deep, mutual admiration by these two artists for each other, Anthony revealed that he had dreamed of being an actor as a child, but that his gifts as a clarinetist prevented him from pursuing that path. To that end, Gabriel is considering the possibility of incorporating spoken and/or sung elements into the piece, both as a means of stretching Anthony artistically, but also to prevent the subject matter from living strictly as an abstraction in a program note.

The current socio-political climate is one in which coalition-building is often hampered by an inability to accommodate and embrace even small differences in attitudes, outlooks, and ideological orientations. In short, an ethic of love is absent from our politics. Anthony and Gabriel hope that, in shining a light on the dynamic, ever-shifting relationship between these two porous groups (which are often mistakenly characterized as being monolithic), audiences will be offered an opportunity to meditate on their own position as members of one, or several overlapping communities.

Rhapsody is The Knights’ new, multi-year initiative that comprises commissions, performances, recordings, and educational initiatives, inspired by the example of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and its upcoming centennial in 2024. Gershwin's strikingly original and imaginative work, combining influences from jazz and classical music, came to embody the cultural zeitgeist of the Roaring Twenties. Through this project, The Knights will explore our current cultural moment in collaboration with some of today’s most animating cultural voices.

Learn more about The Knights’ initiative here