A Delaware composer is putting the finishing touches on a recording of music celebrating one of the First State’s most historic sites.
In 2023, Jonathan Whitney, a composer, percussionist, and Newark native, was commissioned by the Friends of Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site to write a work about the location and its rich history. The result - Cooch’s Bridge: The African-American Presence, premiered last year. The music, for voice, narrator, and a small jazz ensemble, tells the stories of generations of African-Americans who lived there.
“The lens I try to show these black bodies through isn't through their trauma, but through their humanity, who they were as people," Whitney says. “These families that we talk about also put their kids to bed. They had kids that ran into the house muddy. You know, we forget that some of these bodies that we talked about - the trauma that was inflicted on them - [they] also danced and laughed and joked.”
Composing the work started with intensive research, including consultations with archivists and historians.
“I also contacted Winterthur and I became a research fellow there, where I was able to use their library," Whitney says. "They have a vast amount of information there about New Castle County, so I really was able to get the context from there.”
Whitney pulled music from diverse roots, all connected to the African-American musical tradition, including African drumming, hard bop jazz, and funk. He expects the album to be released this fall.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
