Carlos Simon: Blacknificent 7

Artists made fundamental changes to the way they work as a result of the pandemic’s prolonged periods of isolation. Singers and instrumentalists found alternative, technological ways to communicate with their audiences, while composers often leaned into the silence, forging new directions, inspired by the radical societal shift. Brilliant musical collaborations arose from lockdown, too, including Blacknificent 7, a collective of Black composers formed, member Carlos Simon tells Apple Music Classical, in the spirit of “feedback, collaboration, and friendship.” Making up Blacknificent 7 (a play on the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven) are Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn E. Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Joel Thompson, and Simon himself. Since forming, Blacknificent 7 have worked on a variety of projects, including African Queens, a recital of vocal works commissioned by soprano Karen Slack and premiered in August 2024. This playlist shines light on the works by Blacknificent 7 composers, including Geter’s String Quartet No. 1, a rhythmically vibrant ode to the neo-soul music genre that emerged in the 1990s. Also featured is Okpebholo’s “Ballad of Birmingham” from Two Black Churches, scored for baritone and piano, reflects powerfully and intimately on two atrocities in 1963 and 2015, both perpetrated by white supremacists in churches frequented by Black people. Similarly, Joel Thompson’s The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed uses the wide expressive palette of choir and orchestra to set the final words of unarmed Black men before being killed. Dotted throughout the first half of the playlist are movements from Carlos Simon’s Tales: A Folklore Symphony, a large-scale work that explores aspects of African American folklore and Afrofuturism, an aesthetic that, among other elements, unites science fiction and African culture.