- *Taking Names was featured on All Classical’s debut album for RII: Amplify.
- Program notes by the composer:
- “Taking Names is a piece created in collaboration with Shana Oshiro, librettist, as well as Karen Slack, soprano. This piece was written for Karen Slack, commissioned by LyricFest Philadelphia as a part of her full work “Say Their Names”. The song, for soprano and piano, is made to honor the lives of Black Women and Black Trans women who have been unjustly murdered in America.”1
- Album notes from Amplify:
- “Inspiration for Taking Names by composer Jasmine Barnes came from the poet Shana Oshiro, who expresses the irony in the idea of Black Girl Magic in relation to social and political movements. In a spell-like manner, the soprano conjures the names of fallen Black women who are connected yet often forgotten in the national narrative surrounding racially-motivated violence.”
Sources
- “Taking Names,” Jasmine Barnes, accessed February 26, 2025, https://www.jasminebarnescomposer.com/product-page/taking-names.
Cut IDs
24820