ATLANTA — Applause welcomed Joel Thompson to Atlanta Symphony Hall over the weekend. The opening notes of To Awaken the Sleeper ring loudly, a cacophonous ode at the forefront of a loose melody to The Star-Spangled Banner.
Thompson composed the piece in the wake of the social justice protests of 2020 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was commissioned to write the piece for the Colorado Music Festival, and it debuted in 2021. Thompson narrates the work himself, inspired by author James Baldwin.
"Baldwin's words written in the 60s and 70s feel prophetic, and I think it’s because he did the difficult task of remaining present and bearing witness to what was around him and seeing the trends and DNA of our culture, and speaking truth to power in that way," Thompson said. "Even though he had no problem holding the country to account – even after the death of his friends, [Dr. Martin Luther] King [Jr.], [Malcolm] X, and Medgar Evers – he still had this impossible love of this country.”
"So be it," Thompson bellows to the audience at the beginning of To Awaken the Sleeper. "We cannot awaken the sleeper, and God knows we have tried. But we must do what we can do to fortify and save each other. We know democracy does not mean the coercion of all into a deadly and finally wicked mediocrity. But we know that democracy is the liberty for all to aspire to the best that is in us or the best that has ever been."
Thompson's work acts as a charge to reflect on society through music. The thought-provoking, timely commentary on the culture in the United States features a musical mix of mellow strings, soaring sequences, atonal melodies and a march or two. The work ends on what seems like a suspended, suspenseful climax. The piece, performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, confronts social norms, asks questions of who is protected in society and challenges the ideals of what it means to live in the U.S.
"My identity as a Black man is inherently political in this country, and to be able to bring my identity to bear in this genre and idiom of music that I love so much, it means so much to me," Thompson told 11Alive. "If we all reckon with our current circumstance and get to see each other – and I think music is a perfect vehicle for us to be able to see each other – I think we can move toward that more perfect union for sure.”
Katelyn Snyder and Uzoma Onovoh caught Saturday's performance and came away with plenty of thoughts to keep them busy.
"It just started on a very intense and chaotic note," Snyder said. "I think that really set the tone. It’s a lot of room for thinking and thought. He would pause and give these long, instrumental breaks to really give you that space to think about the things he said. It was really a message overall about liberation and how can we free ourselves.”
Onovoh noted the visuals that complemented the changes in musical tone throughout the work. She said it took courage on Thompson's part to bring this performance to an audience, she believed, was not typically exposed to such a message.
"In an environment like this, it is uncomfortable to have that discussion, so we were definitely surprised by it," Onovoh said. "I’m pretty sure the entire audience was surprised by it. Someone could misinterpret that as hopeful, but more so as it’s really up to us to shape the future. It’s a really ominous ending, so I’d say just that being as active as you can or reflecting on what’s going on around you, what you can do to change those kinds of things.”
For Thompson, it was a homecoming as well in his return to Atlanta. He previously attended Emory University, where he got his bachelor's and master''s degrees. Thompson also taught at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School. Thompson will spend the next five years at the Houston Grand Opera writing a full-length opera and engaging in community work.
"I really wanted to make music worthy of this stage, and not only to have that happen, but to narrate and perform with people I grew up watching," Thompson said. "I don’t want to be in a silo or be off by myself writing dots on a page. I want to be interacting with people and learning and creating music that can facilitate connection.
"I know that sometimes people are uncomfortable with political music of the present. We’re more comfortable with the political music of the past like Shostakovich or Beethoven. But I’m just glad I get to be in a space such as this, such a hallowed hall such as this one and get to speak a political truth."