PURCHASE

PURCHASE is a multipart musical history project, presenting music connected to the Louisiana Purchase, 1763-1863. The musical sources include music from the United States, France, Haiti and Mexico. The US music is African American and Native American, though all sources are not in every part of the project. 

 The six thematic parts of PURCHASE are:

PURCHASE is a collaboration between Dr. Justin Montigne of University of North Dakota and Dr. Lynne Morrow of Sonoma State University. Dr. Montigne is a countertenor who specializes in historical performance and chamber music, and a voice teacher whose pedagogy includes an emphasis on performances rooted in historical and social context, connecting students to their lived experiences and communities. Dr. Morrow is a conductor and mezzo soprano who specializes in American music. She directs opera, music theatre, and choral music of all genres, and leads workshops and performances of African American Spirituals around the country.

We are currently preparing the Trouble portion of the project:

PURCHASE: Trouble looks at many of the indigenous and immigrant peoples who find themselves together, willingly, circumstantially, and/or adversarially, within the Louisiana Purchase. The Purchase is the huge tract of land sold to Jefferson and the United States in 1803 by Napoleon and France. 

PURCHASE: Trouble is a lecture recital discussing the strife encountered by Africans, Plains Native groups, AfroCreoles and European immigrants in the early 19th Century. This ongoing and often-overlooked simultaneity can be viewed, crisscrossing the geographical outlines of the Louisiana Purchase. The musics that help us tell the interwoven story are Spirituals, traditional music of several Plains Native American groups, hymns from peace churches like the Moravians and Mennonites, and Creole songs of New Orleans. These songs are presented alongside a historical narrative in a dramatic context. Rhetorical and musical themes of the search for Liberty, Love and Community are woven throughout PURCHASE.

Our exploration began with the Hiding portion of the project:

PURCHASE: Hiding is a performance of African American spirituals, Baroque and Classical vocal music from England and France, and traditional songs from Spain, France and Haiti. These songs are presented alongside a historical narrative in a dramatic context.  Rhetorical and musical themes of power, enslavement, parental love and the search for freedom are woven throughout PURCHASE.

The history of what is called “Early Music” has centered on the music of Western Europe. In the United States, the traditions of Africans, Native Americans and Euro Americans were occurring side by side. This often-overlooked simultaneity can be viewed, crisscrossing the geographical outlines of the Louisiana Purchase. The Purchase is the huge tract of land sold to Jefferson and the United States in 1803 by Napoleon and France. 

An opera, Proserpine, by Napoleon’s chapel master, Giovanni Paisiello, premiered in the same year as the Louisiana Purchase.  Music from the opera will be juxtaposed with Spirituals and other traditional songs to give voice to everyday people–enslaved Africans, Native Americans, and European immigrants–who forged a new country.