AN AMERICAN SYMPHONY

AN AMERICAN SYMPHONY

A note from Somtow Sucharitkul

At the time of 9/11,  I was in Thailand and the Thai government asked me to compose a major work in memory of the victims of the tragedy.  Initially reluctant to write this work, I began work on it after friends who worked at ground zero began telling their stories.  Original titled Requiem: In Memoriam 9/11 the work was premiered, received some notable reviews, and became the subject of a segment on CNN hosted by Tom Mintier, who called in “a moving work.”

But this work was never a requiem in the conventional sense.  Taking the words of great American poets instead of a liturgical text, I wove a narrative of tragedy, mourning, reconciliation and hope.  The words of Whitman and Dickinson spoke to universal issues and painted a picture of an America wounded, yet always striving toward redemption.  In a review in the Journal of Urban Culture Research, Norwegian musicologist  Kjell Skyllstad said that the work “no doubt belongs among the most inspired and engaging of its genre, a worthy partner to Britten’s War Requiem.”  The Nation called it “not just a hymn to the past but a triumphant song for the future.”

This is a large work and it is difficult to organize the large orchestral and choral forces needed to put it together.  But 2026 is not only the 25th anniversary of 9/11, but the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.  It seems an appropriate time to bring back this work, which looks back on the past and forward to a future of reconciliation and freedom.

In reexamining the score a quarter of a century later, it’s clear to me that continuing to call it a requiem isn’t quite right.  Although its impetus was a worldwide trauma, its message is courage, hope, and freedom. I’m still thinking of whether to give it a new name, but essentially it is an American Symphony.  

I am planning to put together a performance of this work this year, and to do so I’m looking for choirs and individual singers who would like to collaborate with Opera Siam’s Calliope Chamber Choir.  At the first performance, we had singers from over twenty countries and a fine soprano soloist, Barbara Smith-Jones as well as an orchestra that consisted of members of the Bangkok Symphony as well as representatives of the orchestras of all the Thai armed forces.  The core orchestra for this revival will be the Siam Sinfonietta, but we would like to augment it with others, especially string players, who would like to be part of it.

Although we don’t have a venue for this performance yet.  The obvious date would be September 11, but in case that doesn't work out, I’ve picked an alternate date out of a hat: October 3, which doesn’t conflict with other concerts we are doing.  At any rate, the concert should take place somewhere around that part of the year, giving us four to five months of prep time but not interfering with the Holiday Season and within 2026 so it can reference both anniversaries.

To cover this costs of this undertaking I’m hoping to find support from corporate, private, and governmental sponsors and to enlist as many volunteers as I can to help put it together.