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Hold On!

Hold On! 

 
Alvy Powell, Rivers in the Desert, 2017

Alvy Powell, Rivers in the Desert, 2017

The Work Song is perhaps the most indigenous of the African Diaspora. Historically, they were created by slaves who incorporated rhythm, body movement and song into their daily tasks.  Heavy accents on alternating beats helped to synchronize the labor at hand.

These songs often contained codified messages, stories from the Bible, and words of encouragement to one another. From the fervent cries heard in the fields, or improvised rhythmic chants from workers on the docks, and the voices heard from victims of peonage, America was built from their labor and its history hidden in a Song.

 

Hold On! is an extension of the traditional Work Song. Constructed by the use of the Afro-Cuban Son rhythm, the character in this piece has been battered by the woes of life. He goes to his present-day Noahs for consolation, only to find them too, preoccupied with their own lives. However, finding “the link in Mary’s Golden Chain”, he regains the strength to encourage himself, as well as others, realizing those who plow should do so in hope.