Rita Coburn - Okoye: When the Caged Bird Sings - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Nkeiru Okoye's When the Caged Bird Sings is a 'musical celebration' whose compositional voice, though rooted in the African American church, also embraces minimalism and improvisational elements. Delivering a message of adversity turned to triumph, it celebrates the transformative ability of African American women, partly evoking the experiences of the author and activist Maya Angelou. The work functions as a communal ritual that, like oratorio, opera, and theatre, brings together vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra in an experience that both commemorates and celebrates hope and possibility. Album Tracks 1. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part I Gather Together in My Name. Who Am I Supposed to Be? 2. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part I Gather Together in My Name. Devotions 3. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part I Gather Together in My Name. Shine Your Light Upon Us 4. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part I Gather Together in My Name. the Beatitudes 5. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part II Now Sheba Sings the Song. Cerise's Story, Part 1 - You Gave Me a Baby Girl 6. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part II Now Sheba Sings the Song. He Saw Her Beauty 7. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part II Now Sheba Sings the Song. I Am Thine, O Lord 8. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part II Now Sheba Sings the Song. Sometimes Life Gets Ugly 9. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part III And Still I Rise. Cerise's Story, Part 2 - I Thought This Life Would Protect Us 10. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part III And Still I Rise. Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior 11. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part IV I Shall Not Be Moved. Cerise's Story, Part 3 - It Takes a Village 12. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part IV I Shall Not Be Moved. Interlude - She Shall Not Be Moved 13. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part V A Song Flung Up to Heaven. Butterflies - Be Transformed 14. When the Caged Bird Sings-Part V A Song Flung