Donald Young Sur (1 February 1935 – 24 May 1999) was a

Korean American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...

composer and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

. Although he is best known for his large-scale

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

, ''Slavery Documents'', most of his works were composed for small chamber ensembles. Sur was born in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and moved with his family to Los Angeles after World War II. He studied at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

and

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

before spending four years in Korea researching ancient

Korean court music Korean court music () comprises three main musical genres: ''aak'', an imported form of Chinese ritual music; a pure Korean form called ''hyangak''; and a combination of Chinese and Korean styles called ''dangak''. Korean court music and its hi ...

. After receiving his doctorate from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1972, he settled in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, where many of his works were premiered and where he taught at several local universities, including Harvard,

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

, and

Tufts Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy progr ...

Life and career

Donald Sur was born in Honolulu in 1935 to parents of Korean descent. His paternal grandfather had emigrated to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in 1903 to work in the

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

s. His mother was a Korean

picture bride The term picture bride refers to the practice in the early 20th century of immigrant workers (chiefly Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean) in Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States and Canada, as well as Brazil selecting brides from their nat ...

.Seo (2001) p. 85 The first instrument he learned to play as a child was the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

; the second was the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, which remained his favorite instrument throughout his life and figures in several of his scores. Sur's family moved to the mainland United States in 1951 and eventually settled in Los Angeles. He studied

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

for a year at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

as an undergraduate before transferring to

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

and studying with

Andrew Imbrie Andrew Welsh Imbrie (April 6, 1921 – December 5, 2007) was an American contemporary classical music composer and pianist. Career Imbrie was born in New York City and began his musical training as a pianist when he was 4. In 1937, he went to Par ...

, Seymour Shifrin, and

Colin McPhee Colin Carhart McPhee (March 15, 1900 – January 7, 1964) was a Canadian-American composer and ethnomusicologist. He is best known for being the first Western composer to make a musicological study of Bali, and to develop American gamelan along ...

, who taught him

Balinese Balinese may refer to: *Bali, an Indonesian island *Balinese art *Balinese dance *Balinese people *Balinese language *Nusa Penida Balinese * Bali Aga Balinese **Balinese script **Balinese (Unicode block) *Balinese mythology *Balinese cat, a cat bre ...

composition techniques.Dyer (18 March 1990) Following post-graduate work at

with

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher, and writer on music. He had started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved towards complex harmonies and postromanticism, a ...

and

Earl Kim Earl Kim (1920–1998; né Eul Kim) was an American composer, and music pedagogue. He was of Korean descent. Early life, education, and training Kim was born on January 6, 1920, in Dinuba, California, to immigrant Korean parents. He began pia ...

, he spent four years in Korea (1964–68) doing research on

. On his return from Korea, he continued his post-graduate studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where he received a PhD in composition in 1972 with ''The Sleepwalker's Ballad'', "an accompanied

recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...

for soprano and chamber ensemble". After graduating from Harvard, he remained based in the

Boston area Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...

for the rest of his life, combining his career as a composer with teaching at Harvard,

, Wellesley and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, and for a while running a small publishing company for composers of new music as well as organizing concerts of their works with

John Harbison John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer and academic. Life John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harbison and Janet German Harbison. The Harbisons ...

. March 1990 saw the world premiere at

Symphony Hall, Boston Symphony Hall is a concert hall that is home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. BSO founder Henry Lee Higginson commissioned architectural firm McKim, Mead and White to create a ne ...

of Sur's most famous work, ''Slavery Documents'', an

for 80 voices with a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by the composer. Sur's last works were ''Berceuse'', a

lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

for violin and piano, which premiered at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

in February 1999, and an ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'' setting of Shakespeare's Sonnet 97, which premiered at Boston's

Jordan Hall Jordan Hall may refer to: People * Jordan Hall (writer), writer of the web series ''Carmilla'' * Jordan Hall (lacrosse) (born 1984), Canadian lacrosse player * Jordan Hall (basketball) (born 2002), American basketball player * Jordan Hall (Americ ...

in May 1999, three weeks before his death from cancer at the age of 64. In 2008, John Harbison, who described his friend as having "a unique ear for the incantatory power of percussion instruments", composed ''Cortège for six percussionists: In memoriam Donald Sur'' as a tribute to him.

Style and compositions

Sur's musical style has been described as uniquely personal, "eclectic", and "unpredictable", and ranged from

atonal Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...

and

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

to neo-tonal. He sometimes used unconventional instruments in his scores such as

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

bongo drum Bongos ( Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' (), which are joined by a wo ...

s, Korean trumpets and even a

skillet A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It typically ranges from in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small ...

conch shell Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ends). Conchs ...

, and

bullwhip A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather or nylon, designed as a tool for working with livestock or for competition cracking. Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country. A ...

. His later music often incorporated musical references to a variety of styles and periods, including

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, popular dance tunes, and traditional Korean music. Two of Sur's works were on explicitly Korean themes: his 1991 ''Lacrimosa dies illa'' (''Day of Tears'') for chamber orchestra commemorating the March 1919 Korean uprising against Japanese rule; and his 1993 ''Kumdori Tansaeng'' (''Birth of the Dream-Elf'') for solo violin, chorus, and orchestra, commissioned by the Taejon International Exposition for Korean American violinist

Sarah Chang Sarah Chang (; born Young Joo Chang; December 10, 1980) is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled ...

. Sur also composed the score for Dai Sil Kim-Gibson's 1999 film ''Silence Broken'', a documentary about the Korean "

comfort women Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...

" of World War II.

''Slavery Documents''

''Slavery Documents'', an

in two parts for 80-voice chorus, five soloists, and large orchestra (including an organ), is Sur's only large-scale work, and the one for which he is most remembered. A commission from the Cantata Singers and Ensemble, it premiered at

, on 23 March 1990, conducted by David Hoose. Sur wrote the

himself based on a variety of texts and documents relating to slavery, including passages from the Bible,

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he join ...

's ''The Negro Christianised'', the 1831 confessions of

Nat Turner Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an enslaved Black carpenter and preacher who led a four-day rebellion of both enslaved and free Black people in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831. Nat Turner's Rebellion res ...

, descriptions of slave punishments published by the American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

Theodore Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best kno ...

in '' American Slavery As It Is'', pre-

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

advertisements for runaway slaves,

Negro spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

, and

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Folk music, folk music during the Romantic music, Romantic period. He wr ...

's sentimental ballad "

Old Folks at Home "Old Folks at Home" (also known as " Swanee River") is a folk song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935, it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were revised. It is Roud Folk Song Index ...

". The eclectic score, which Sur worked on for three years, was completed in December 1998 and marked a departure from his earlier predominantly atonal style. For the premiere, the 40-member (all-white) chorus of the Cantata Singers was supplemented with 40

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

singers from the Boston area. The soloists were Jane Bryden, soprano; Bonita Hyman,

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

; Rockland Osgood,

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

; Gary Burgess, tenor (as Nat Turner); and David Arnold,

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

. Sur received a standing ovation from the audience at the premiere, but the critical reception was mixed. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' critic Richard Dyer noted "some peculiar and unconvincing stresses in the setting of the text, some music that sounds merely bombastic, and some unidiomatic writing for the soloists in difficult registers," but found the piece emotionally powerful and concluded that "the flaws are not important in the context of an overwhelming achievement."

John Rockwell John Sargent Rockwell (born September 16, 1940) is an American music critic, dance critic and arts administrator. According to ''Grove Music Online'', "Rockwell brings two signal attributes to his critical work: a genuine admiration for all ki ...

, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', was more critical, describing both the score and the libretto as artistically unconvincing. He echoed Dyer's comments about the setting of the music for the soloists but also found that Sur's "attempts to incorporate vernacular idioms and historical styles failed to resonate: they were just stuck onto the score, ornamentally, without development or conviction." As part of the country's annual

Liberation Day Liberation Day is a day, often a public holiday, that marks the liberation of a place, similar to an independence day, but differing from it because it does not involve the original creation of statehood. It commemorates the end of an occupation ...

celebrations, ''Slavery Documents'' received its Korean premiere in August 1990 at the

Seoul Arts Center The Seoul Arts Center (SAC; ) is an arts complex in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea. It consists of five main buildings: the Opera House, with three auditoriums; the Music Hall, with two concert halls; the Hangaram Art Museum; the Hangaram D ...

, performed by the

Korean Broadcasting System The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS; ) is the public broadcasting, national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters under the government of South Korea. The KBS ope ...

orchestra conducted by David Hoose and a chorus of 100 Korean singers. Sur amassed far more texts for his libretto than he was able to use, and at the time of his death in 1999 was working on a sequel that would incorporate some of them. As a memorial to Sur, the Cantata Singers commissioned his friend T. J. Anderson to compose a companion oratorio, ''Slavery Documents 2''. Its libretto was based on texts from Loren Schweininger's collection ''The Southern Debate Over Slavery'' but incorporated one of the original sentences from Sur's work. The oratorios by Sur and Anderson were performed together by the Cantata Singers on 17 March 2002 at Boston's Symphony Hall. Part I of Sur's ''Slavery Documents'' received another performance in 2010 by the

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing the sam ...

and the combined

glee clubs A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it was very popular in ...

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

and

Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...

in a concert (also broadcast on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

) for Atlanta's

Martin Luther King Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. King was the chief spokesper ...

celebrations.

Other principal compositions

*''Catena I, II, and III'', for small ensemble (1961; ''Catena I'' revised 1970, ''Catena II'' revised 1962, ''Catena III'' revised 1976). Also known as ''The Book of Catenas'', they were performed together for the first time by

Collage New Music Collage New Music is a classical music ensemble specialising in performance of works by 20th- and 21st-century composers. It was founded in 1972 by percussionist Frank Epstein who served as its Music Director until 1991. Since that time its Directo ...

. *''Sleepwalker's Ballad'', for soprano and chamber ensemble (1972). Composed for Sur's doctoral dissertation at Harvard and set to a text by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

, the work was premiered by soprano

Bethany Beardslee Bethany Beardslee (born December 25, 1925) is an American soprano. She is particularly noted for her collaborations with major 20th-century composers, such as Igor Stravinsky, Milton Babbitt, Pierre Boulez, George Perle, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies ...

and the Speculum Musicae ensemble conducted by

Charles Wuorinen Charles Peter Wuorinen (, ; June 9, 1938 – March 11, 2020) was an American composer of contemporary classical music based in New York City. He also performed as a pianist and conductor. Wuorinen composed more than 270 works: orchestral music, c ...

.Dyer (25 May 1999) *''Red Dust'', for 29

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

ists (1967; revised for Western percussion in 1976). The work is based on classical Korean percussion and although lasting only 13 minutes, is divided into 20

movement Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger co ...

s. *''Il Tango di Trastevere'', for four

contrabass Contrabass (from ) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchestral string family ...

es (1977). Commissioned by the

National Endowment of the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

and dedicated to

Donald Palma Donald Palma is a prominent classical double bassist, conductor, bass instructor, and educator of ensemble performance. He is a native of New York City, and is a graduate of the Juilliard School. Palma studied with several noted bassists including ...

, the work premiered in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

played by the Times Square Basstet. It was later revised by Sur for a small orchestra of low-pitched instruments. *''A Neo-Platonic Epistrophe While Crossing Times Square'', for

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

and clarinet (1980). Premiered by Collage New Music, the work is sometimes performed together with his 1984 ''Satori on Park Avenue'' under the title ''New Yorker Sketches''. *''The Unicorn and the Lady'', for narrator and small ensemble (1981). The work was inspired by 18th-century hunting calls and ''

The Hunt of the Unicorn ''The Unicorn Tapestries'' or the ''Hunt of the Unicorn'' () is a series of seven tapestries made in the Southern Netherlands around 1495–1505, and now in The Cloisters in New York City. They were possibly designed in Paris and woven in B ...

'' tapestry series in

The Cloisters The Cloisters, also known as the Met Cloisters, is a museum in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City. The museum, situated in Fort Tryon Park, specializes in European medieval art ...

museum. The narrator's text was written by American poet

Barry Spacks Barry Bernard Spacks (February 21, 1931 – January 28, 2014), was a prize-winning poet, novelist and first poet laureate of Santa Barbara, California. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Spacks received his B.A. (honors) from the Universit ...

. Each of the 12 movements is scored for a different combination of instruments. *''Satori on Park Avenue'', for small ensemble (1984). Commissioned by the National Endowment of the Arts for Speculum Musicae and San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the work is dedicated to Sur's longtime friend

. *''Sonnet 97'', for ''

'' chorus (1999). A setting of Shakespeare's Sonnet 97, the work was premiered by the Cantata Singers in Boston's

on 7 May 1999. *''Berceuse'' (

Lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

), for violin and piano (1999). This was the last work Sur completed. He attended its world premiere at the

on 19 February 1999, three months before his death. The music was inspired by

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

's poem "

Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" by American poet Walt Whitman is one of his most complex and successfully integrated poems. Whitman used several new techniques in the poem. One is the use of images like bird, boy, sea. The influence of music ...

".McLellan (22 February 1999)

Recordings

*''Collage New Music Plays Donald Sur'' –

, ensemble; David Hoose & Frank Epstein, conductors. Label:

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. In May 2024, Albany Records wa ...

Released in 2009, this was the first (and as of 2011) only commercial recording of Sur's music. It contains ''Red Dust''; ''Catena I'', ''II'', and ''III''; ''The Unicorn and the Lady''; ''Berceuse''; ''Satori on Park Avenue''; and ''A Neo-Plastic Epistrophe While Crossing Times Square''.Oteri (26 January 2010)

Notes and references

Sources

*Blotner, Linda (1983)
''The Boston Composers Project: A Bibliography of Contemporary Music''
MIT Press. * Carl, Robert (March 2010)
"Review: ''Collage New Music Performs Donald Sur''"
''

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets (including fanfare trumpets), French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introdu ...

''. Retrieved 1 December 2011 . *Dyer, Richard (18 March 1990)
"'Slavery' Time Donald Sur Gives Voice to a History of Shame and Heroism"
''

''. Retrieved 30 November 2011 . *Dyer, Richard (24 March 1990)
"Out of 'Slavery',' a Stirring Triumph"
''The Boston Globe''. Retrieved 30 November 2011 . *Dyer, Richard (30 June 1990)

''The Boston Globe''. Retrieved 30 November 2011 . *Dyer, Richard (25 May 1999)

''The Boston Globe''. Retrieved 30 November 2011 . *Gehman, Geoff (31 October 1986)
"The Audience Has A Part In This Piece Of Chamber Music"
''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second-longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. The newspaper is owned by Alden Global Capital ...

''. Retrieved 1 December 2011. * Harbison, John (2011). Liner notes fo
''American Music for Percussion'', Vol. 2
(New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble; Frank Epstein, conductor). Naxos Classical. Retrieved 30 November 2011. * McLellan, Joseph (22 February 1999)
"Sumptuous Strings"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. Retrieved 1 December 2011 . *''

'' (29 May 1999)
"Donald Sur, 64, Eclectic Composer"
Retrieved 30 November 2011. * Oteri, Frank J. (26 January 2010)
"Sounds Heard: ''Collage New Music Performs Donald Sur''"
''

NewMusicBox ''NewMusicBox'' is an e-zine launched by the American Music Center on May 1, 1999. The magazine includes interviews and articles concerning American contemporary music, composers, improvisers, and musicians. A few interviews include renown ...

''. Retrieved 30 November 2011. *Paulk, Jimmy (16 January 2010)
"Marsalis symphony is explosion of ideas at King celebration"
''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

''. Retrieved 1 December 2011. *

Rockwell, John John Sargent Rockwell (born September 16, 1940) is an American music critic, dance critic and arts administrator. According to ''Grove Music Online'', "Rockwell brings two signal attributes to his critical work: a genuine admiration for all k ...

(29 March 1990)
"In Boston, a Chorus Presents a New Oratorio on Slavery"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved 2 December 2011. *Seo, Maria Kongju (2001)
"Korean Americans and Their Music: Transcending Ethnic and Geographical Boundaries"
in Yoshitaka Terada (ed.). ''Transcending Boundaries: Asian Musics in North America'', pp. 79–112. National Museum of Ethnology (Japan) *Titcomb, Caldwell (18 April 2002)

''

Bay State Banner ''The Bay State Banner'' is a weekly newspaper primarily geared toward the readership interests of the African-American community in Boston, Massachusetts. Distributed free of charge, it was founded in 1965 by Melvin B. Miller, who remained the ...

''. Retrieved 1 December 2011 .

External links

Portrait and biography of Donald Sur
on the official website of

* on the website of Arts of the States Radio
Donald Sur
on

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

Donald Sur Papers at Tufts University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sur, Donald 20th-century American classical composers American classical musicians of Korean descent Musicians from Honolulu 1935 births 1999 deaths American male classical composers Harvard University alumni 20th-century American male musicians Classical musicians from Hawaii