Suite for Mother and Child

by Daniel Zwickel ben Avrám MacJean

1825 Sonoma Blvd., Apt. 427Vallejo, California 94590-6063

(925) 439-7638 * e-mail: Daniel@PeaceHost.netwww.JazzSacra.com

Copyright © 2016 by Daniel B. Zwickel, all rights reserved

Cover photo © 2006 by William J. Arnold Jr.(http://billarnold.typepad.com/photos/portraits/),

used with permission

[To listen to “Jennifer” (a computer MIDI file generated by a music compuscript), followed byan exposition by pianist and composer Christopher Johnson, click HERE.]

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“SUITE FOR MOTHER AND CHILD” had its genesis, around the tenth anniversary of 9-11, as

a concept for a program featuring my solo piano music and songs. The idea languished until

January of 2013, when I learned of the brutal slaying of 27-year-old Jessi Kingeter, the

daughter of my Shanti Baker.

I recalled a piano composition I had recently come across, thinking it was called

Jessica. Here is what he wrote on the music compuscript:

This piece came to me the day after Christmas, 2000. I had taken a

telephone message, and I mis-remembered a name as Jennifer as I was

noodling on the piano.

Somehow, Jennifer became the name of the song. The original ending

was conventionally consonant, not containing that bitter-sweet triplet figure

in the soprano voice. I wondered why it came to me and wanted to stay, then

I heard that the notes were singing "Jennifer", and finally knew why it had

named itself.

When I heard of Jessi's death, I cannot say why that song came back

to me. After all, her name, I first heard, was Jessica. Then I read that her full

name was Jennifer Jessica Jean Kingeter.

—Daniel, 31 Dec., 2012

As I thought about the song, an idea came to me. It is very brief, a mere eleven bars

long, hardly the stuff of concert stage. Of course, Beethoven took a simple, “Da da da

Dum!”, and look what he did with it!

I had composed and recorded a large work based on the liturgy of the Roman

Catholic mass, from sixteen years as cantor in a Catholic Church. I employed jazz musician

friends of mine, and marveled anew at how one could create something complex, beautiful,

even stunning, all from a simple melody and a handful of chords. I would listen at the

resultant composition and reflected, with humility, that I could never have written what

emerged from my pianist friends’ hands.

So, why not take “Jennifer” and give it to several jazz pianists, have them play with

it, and see what comes. I suspected that, although working from the same beginning

statement, the individuality of the musicians would lead to completely different

extrapolations – variations on a theme. Perhaps, if a critical mass were reached, of ‘X’

number of Variations, there would even be enough for a concert. And so a larger idea took

shape.

I am a life-long, committed pacifist, constantly looking at practical applications for

non-violent action. If the conventional wisdom views pacifism as hopelessly romantic but

totally impractical in a pragmatic world, I would suggest that people study the history of

strategic nonviolence as successfully applied by the likes of the 1905 Russian

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revolutionaries, who paralyzed all sixteen time zones through nationwide general strikes;

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who created a nonviolent army 100,000 strong, 200 of whom,

unarmed and sworn to a pacifist code, sacrificed their lives in a protest action that marked

the beginning of the end of British rule of India; Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi, who helped

to liberate a nation through satyagraha, or “truth force”; Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

who helped liberate and empower a people through the force of love – a “Force More

Powerful”; and the people of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, who, with nary a pacifist

in the lot, expelled the most powerful naval force in history from their island through

strategic nonviolent action. Against the army of the Tsar, of the British empire, the insidious

Jim Crow and the U.S. military, what possibly could be more powerful a force?

But let’s look a little closer to home. When former Representative Dennis Kucinich

proposed a Cabinet-level Department of Peace, establishing nonviolence as an operating

principle, he was also addressing real, neighbor concerns: family, drug and community

violence. Fire only feeds fire; only strategic nonviolence can combat violence.

I am but one person with one voice. But I am a musician, a composer. Leonard

Bernstein, upon learning of the death of President Kennedy, wrote: “This will be my reply

to violence: to make music more beautifully, more intensely, more beautifully than ever

before.

“Suite for Mother and Child” is my reply. May it be so.

—Daniel Zwickel ben Avrám MacJean

September 14, 2016

P.S.

There is an alternate script, which begins with a spoken intro, followed by “Ella’sSong”:

Empire can be defined as “the theft of a nation’s sovereignty, thesubjugation and exploitation of people and the rape an pillage of its land.” In suchan empire grew a radical Palestinian revolutionary, who challenged empire andfor his effrontery was tortured and killed. His name was Yeshua of Nazareth. Herefused to bow to empire and so was crucified for his sin of prophesy.

Did you think I was speaking of today?Well, I am.We live in empire, bereft of our sovereignty which we willingly abrogate by

both our action and our inaction. We live in a caldron of violence and what is our

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response? Is it violence redoubled?That Palestinian revolutionary advocated a different response. He

commanded us to love our neighbor, our enemy, and to respect the dignity of theleast and the most despised among us. He commanded us, like the prophetsMicah and Isaiah, to “do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly” with our God.A latter day prophet, Leonard Bernstein, when confronted with the deathof his friend Jack Kennedy, responded, “This will be my reply to violence, to makemusic more beautifully, more intensely, more devotedly than ever before.” *What is our response? How do we confront empire in our own community? Wefight on the side of love, proclaiming the Gospel of Yeshua of Nazareth, ofMahatma Gandhi of India and of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Juniorwith the words of Leonard Bernstein, “This … this will be our reply to violence.”

“Ella’s Song”

CHORUS: We who believe in freedom cannot restWe who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

(X2)

VERSES: Until the killing of black men, black mothers’ sonsIs as important as the killing of white men, white mothers’ sons.

That which touches me most is that I had a chance to work with peoplePassing onto others that which was passed onto me.

To me young people come first, they have the courage where we failAnd if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the gale.

The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going onIs when the reins are in the hands of the young,

who dare to run against the storm.

Not needing to clutch for power, not needingthe light just to shine on me

I need to be one in the number as we stand against tyranny

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Struggling myself don’t mean a whole lot, I’ve come to realizeThat teaching others to stand up and fight is

the only way our struggle survives.

I’m a woman who speaks in a voice and I must be heardAt times I can be quite difficult, I’ll bow to no man’s word.

This is my reply. It is called Suite for Mother and Child.

* The full text is worthy of note: “We musicians, like everyone else, are numb withsorrow at this murder, and with rage at the senselessness of the crime. But thissorrow and rage will not inflame us to seek retribution; rather they will inflame ourart. Our music will never again be quite the same. This will be our reply to violence:to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.And with each note we will honor the spirit of John Kennedy, commemorate hiscourage, and reaffirm his faith in the Triumph of the Mind.” — Madison SquareGarden, NYC, Monday, November 25, 1963

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The Story

“SUITE FOR MOTHER AND CHILD” begins with a “prelude”, for centering, focusing and stillling the

audience.

Following that is Cat’s Play. A young child, entranced with the idea of becoming a

ballerina, has donned her mother’s tutu and is playing ballerina for the first, classical part of

Cat’s Play. As the music transitions from classical to jazz, she is joined by her mother, dressed

in casual dancer garb, and they engage in a playful pas de deux for the remainder of the piece.

When the piece ends, the mother leaved the stage and the child yawns and falls asleep.

Her mother returns, kneels, and holds her in her arms as the next song, As I Watch You

Sleeping, begins. They hold that tableau for the duration of the song. As Sleeping morphs into

Music Box, they rise sleepily.

A older girl in tutu enters and dances, like a doll, to Music Box. This is the young child as

a student, in recital. When Music Box ends and Brahms’ Lullaby comes in, dancer pauses,

yawns, and exits. Lullaby for Uncle Fester is sung, but when the recap of Music Box come in, the

mother enters, in tutu, cradling a baby that is no longer there. She imitates the child’s dance,

but wears a sad expression. At the transition back into Uncle Fester, the mother slowly falls to

the floor, still cradling the infant that is not there.

Dance Like You is an homage to Haruka, the song of a young woman inspired by Haruka,

dancing in her footsteps, as it were. The choreography is modern, jazz. It begins with the song,

then the dancer lays out as the sung portion begins, coming back in for the improvised

instrumental part, then laying out as the lyrics come back in, then concluding with a reprise of

the opening sequence.

The nature of the “Coda” was prompted by the faith tradition of the Weiser family,

which is Roman Catolic, and ties the theme of Mother and Child with the devotion of many

devout Catholics to the Mother Mary. She is a potent symbol within a religious practice which

is firmly patriarchal. The contemplative veneration of the mother flows into an exuberant

celebration of the power she represents. Beginning with two meditative solo piano pieces

which lead into an a cappella setting of Ave Maria, through a brief, pivotal interlude, based on

the word Thanksgiving (which is what “Eucharist means, by the way), it concludes with Hail

Mary, the English text of Ave Maria. While the figure of the Mother Mary is iconic among the

devout, a jazz treatment of Ave Maria is decidedly not, and this one even includes a Klezmer-

inflected Hebrew prayer (Mary was Jewish, after all!).

NOTE: Each title is an embedded link to an mp3 recording. These are demorecordings. Most of the music will be performed live, and for some recordings maybe played, but not necessarily these ones. Two pieces are being arranged to record,the “As I Watch/Music Box/Lullaby” triptych and “Dance Like You,” so mp3s are notyet available.

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Prelude“In the Stillness Of the Morning” (0:46)

Introit“Ella’s Song” (5:27)

“Suite For Mother and Child”

“Cat Play: 1. Cat’s Paws 2. Cat ’n Mouse 3. Cat Nap” (5:06)

“As I Watch You Sleeping” / ”Music Box” /

“Lullaby for Uncle Fester” (approx. 8:00)

“Dance Like You” (approx. 3:00)

Coda:

“Sing To the Heart!” (1:49)

“Deux Gymnopédies” / “Ave Maria” (3:33)

“Thanksgiving” / “Hail Mary” (5:14)

(32:56, total running time)

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Prelude:

“In the Stillness Of the Morning” (0:47)

In the stillness of the morning,In the shadows of my of my soul I perceive the Divine.And so I say, “Namaste, my brothers and sisters.”Namaste, blessed be. Amen.

“Suite For Mother and Child”

“Cat Play: 1. Cat’s Paws 2. Cat ’n Mouse 3. Cat Nap” [Instrumental]

“Lullaby Triptych”

“As I Watch You Sleeping”

As I watch you sleeping in my arms,Faerie dust and moonbeams all around us,As I watch you dreaming in my armsQuietness and peacefulness surround us.

Lullaby, sweetness, lullaby;I'll not let the darkness harm you;only light will touch your face.

Lullaby, sweetness, lullaby;I could watch you dream forever,knowing you will wake to me.

Ev'ry time I look at you I see myself,all my fears revealed

Ev'ry time I look inside I at you thereand my sould is healed I see myself, all my fears revealed

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As I watch you sleeping,As I watch you dreaming in my arms

“Music Box” [Instrumental]

“Lullaby for Uncle Fester”

Sleep, little one, sleep, my darlingFloating upon the gentle stream.Through the forest, cool and green,Sleep, my darling, sleep.

Sleep, little one, sleep, my darlingRising through fleecy clouds so grand,Gazing upon the peaceful land,Sleep, my darling, sleep.

Close your pretty eyes,And before you realizeInto a dreamland you’ll fly,

Changed in the wink of an eyeInto a fairy princess, fairy princess …

Sleep, little one, sleep, my darlingResting within the hand of God,

Safely within His warm embrace.Sleep, my darling sleep

“Dance Like You”

There was a time when my fondest dreamwas to dance like you, dance like you;

Through your eyes I now realize thatdifferent dreams come true.

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Whirling through the strtosphere,brilliant-hued stars from the heavens appear.

Now you are gone, but the dance lingers onand the mem'ry of you will revealall the wonders of the simple day-to-day.

There was a time when my fondest dreamwas to dance like you, dance like you ...

Coda:

“Sing To the Heart!”

Imagine ... imagine ....

Imagine in our darkness shines a light with which we seeA hope and promise of a world where we can truly be.Imagine living in a world where justice will prevail.And working with compassion in our hearts we cannot fail.

Imagine creating a world where people live as one;Imagine now, my friends, our transformation's just begun. [Sing to the center of the universe.]Sing it out loud and clear, so that everyone can hear. [Imagine people feeling that they're no longer apart.]Sing to the Heart - Sing to the Heart!

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam; Halo lechol shirayich ani kinor. Baruch ata Adonai! [We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe Behold, I am a violin for all your songs.]

Now sing!

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Sing to the center of the universe;Sing it out loud and clear, so that everyone can hear.Sing to the Heart - Sing to the Heart!gine

“Deux Gymnopédies” [Instrumentals]

“Ave Maria”

Ave Maria, gratia plena,Dominus tecum.Benedicta tu in mulieribus,Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jésu.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei;Ora pro nobis peccatoribus,Nunc, et in ora mortis nostrae.

Ave Maria, Sancta Maria, Mater Dei. Amen.

[Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.Blessed art thou among women,And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,Pray for us sinners, now,And at the hour of our death. Amen.

“Hail Mary” (Ave Maria)

Hail Mary, full of grace art thou,Among women, blessed, blessed art thouand blessed is the fruit of thy womb,Our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Ave Maria! Ave Maria!Sancta Maria, Sancta Maria.

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Holy Mary, mother of God,We beseech you, pray for us sinners now,And at the hour of our death. Alleluia, amen.

Ave Maria! Ave Maria!Sancta Maria, Sancta Maria.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam,Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olamShechecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higyanu lazman hazeh.

[Blessed are you, our God,Creator of time and space,Who has supported us, protected usAnd brought us safe to this moment.]

Holy Mary, mother of GodHoly queen from heav'n above.

Grace us with thy saving pow'r.Heal us with thy saving grace.

(Sancta Maria.)

Ave Maria, Sancta Maria.Hail, Maria, holy Maria,Blessed mother of God. Amen