“A Bitter Glory” was a theatrical piece Hemphill was developing toward the end of his life. One movement bears the title “Opening Song” and appears in the archive as a two-page score for soprano or alto vocalist, with un-orchestrated accompaniment. This movement was later arranged for saxophone sextet and recorded as “A Bitter Glory” by the Julius Hemphill Sextet on the album At Dr. King’s Table (1997). There are seven notebooks in the Hemphill Papers with material related to “A Bitter Glory,” largely instrumental parts used in performance–reeds/woodwinds (soprano and alto saxophone, clarinet, flute), brass (trumpet, French horn, trombone), cello, and bass. There is an archival recording of this piece at its premiere performance in the collection of Baikida Carroll.
From Marty Ehrlich: A Bitter Glory was a music-theater collaboration between Julius Hemphill and librettist Dalt Wonk. It was co-commissioned by the Walker Arts Center (Minneapolis) and the American Music Theater Festival (Philadelphia) with funding from the Meet the Composer/Reader’s Digest Commissioning Program. It premiered as a work-in-progress on December 7, 1994, at Ted Mann Concert Hall, on the University of Minnesota campus.
Vocalists: Peter Steward, Herbert Scott, Bruce Henry, Faye Washington, Thomasina Taylor
Instrumentalists: Andy Laster, Sam Furnace, John Clark, Baikida Carroll, Stephen Swell, Randall Davidson, Mark Helias
Found on: At Dr. King’s Table.