Sibelius, Karelia Overture, op. 10

During Sibelius' lifetime, the province of Karelia served as a locus of Finnish language, art, and culture, particularly in opposition to the Russian political machine. Sibelius became enthralled with the grassroots Finnish-language movement and wrote the Karelia Suite and Overture as odes to the ethos of Finnish folk music.

Chris Pilsner, Light in the Ocean

From the composer: "A Light in the Ocean is a pure reflection of the wonders of life across our planet.  As I composed the music, I consistently envisioned the beauty and spectacle of stepping into nature and seeing the flourish of life around me.  And this is no more exemplified than in the underwater expanse of the ocean. A Light in the Ocean was commissioned by Wes Kenney and the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra in memory of Melanie Valente in 2019."

Xavier Montsalvatge, Cinco canciones negras 
with Gwendolyn Alfred, soprano

In this evocative song cycle, 20th century Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge shines a light on the mistreatment of Black men and women in Spanish colonies and the disintegration of Cuban culture after the Spanish-American War. By illuminating this gross dehumanization, Montsalvatge and the poets with whom he collaborated sought to give voice to the oppressed and unheard colonial minorities.

Margaret Bonds, The Montgomery Variations (1964)

On September 15, 1963, four young black girls were killed in Sunday school when the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed. Following her visit to Montgomery, Alabama, Margaret Bonds wrote a set of freestyle variations based on the Negro Spiritual "I Want Jesus To Walk With Me." Over the course of seven movements, Bonds takes us on a journey that begins with the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-6), climaxes with the Birmingham church bombing eight years later, and then looks ahead to the future. From the editor: "The Montgomery Variations [are] a retrospective musical reflection on the events of the civil-rights movement over the previous decade, their divine mandate, and the moral imperative they imposed for continued work in the struggle for freedom."