Florence Price: New Album Celebrating The Music Of Pioneering African American Composer

We are absolutely delighted to announce our new album celebrating the wonderful life and trailblazing works of Florence Price, on this, the 70th anniversary year of her death.

To be released on 23rd June, the album includes Price's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the young piano soloist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, her award-winning Symphony No. 1, and His Resignation and Faith from Ethiopia's Shadow in America, which is a necessary and long-overdue tribute to the composer's remarkable contributions to classical music.

“The Chineke! Orchestra is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of our 2 nd album with Decca Records featuring the works of composer Florence B. Price. This album, which includes Price’s Piano Concerto No.1 with the young piano soloist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, her award-winning Symphony No.1, and ‘His Resignation and Faith’ from ‘Ethiopia’s Shadow in America’, which is a necessary and long-overdue tribute to the composer’s remarkable contributions to classical music. We are proud to be a part of this important revival of Florence B. Price’s work, and hope to bring her legacy to a wider audience. This album is a testament to Price’s remarkable contributions to classical music and is sure to be a hit with music lovers around the world.” - Chi-chi Nwanoku

The album also features her Piano Concerto in One Movement, premiered in 1934. It is so called, because though her concerto appears in one movement, beneath the surface she fills the work with multiple themes, moods, ideas, sound worlds, and histories to the surprise and delight of her listeners. It is performed on the album by Jeneba Kanneh-Mason who has become a keen champion of the piece a century on.

The album concludes with 'His Resignation and Faith' from 'Ethiopia’s Shadow in America' – a rarely recorded orchestral work intended to portray the adjustments of Africans arriving in America, which had previously been lost until it was rediscovered in 2009.

Chineke! Orchestra – Florence Price (feat. Jeneba Kanneh-Mason)

Piano Concerto in One Movement (D minor)
1. I. Andantino 7.58
2. II. Adagio cantabile 6.12
3. III. Andantino – Allegretto 3.35
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason: piano
Leslie Suganandarajah: conductor

Symphony No.1 in E minor
4. I. Allegro ma non troppo 17.56
5. II. Largo, maestoso 14.28
6. III. Juba Dance: Allegro 3.42
7. IV. Finale: Presto 4.46
Roderick Cox: conductor

Ethiopia’s Shadow in America
8. II. His Resignation and Faith (Andante) 2.30