The Riverside Church in the City of New York

Prohibition

March 10, 2024 - March 10, 2024

Description

Prohibition: “the action of forbidding something, especially by law.” 

Every piece on this recital has gone through some sort of censorship, either because of the race, religious or sexual orientation of the poet, composer, or performers who popularized a piece, the content of the poetry, etc. One hundred years after Prohibition, it showcases some of the smokey, sumptuous melodies and secret speakeasy vibes of the Jazz Age. From the controversial racial and feminist agenda of jazz singer Bessie Smith, to the widely condemned explicit poetry of Charles Baudelaire and the Brettl-Lieder collection, to the banning of several compositions of Erich Korngold due to his Jewish heritage, there’s sure to be something here to thrill and scandalize.