Julia Perry

Some of Perry's early compositions are heavily influenced by African-American music. In 1951 Free at Last and I'm a Poor Li'l Orphan were published, both of which showcased her incorporation of black spiritual music. She also composed Song of Our Savior for the Hampton Institute Choir, which used Dorian mode and a hummed ostinato with call and response phrases throughout the piece. In other works, Perry began branching out in her composition technique and experimenting with dissonance. One of her most notable works, Stabat Mater (1951), is composed for solo contralto and string orchestra. It incorporates dissonance, but remains within the classification of tonal music. These pieces incorporate more modern compositional techniques, such as quartal harmony, which voices chords in fourths rather than thirds and fifths. It was recorded on CRI, by the Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, William Strickland, conducting. Other instrumental works by Perry include Requiem for Orchestra (also known as Homage to Vivaldi because of themes inspired by composer Antonio Vivaldi), a number of shorter orchestral works; several types of chamber music; a violin concerto; twelve symphonies; and two piano concertos. Her vocal works include a three-act opera and The Symplegades, which was based on the 17th century Salem witchcraft panic. The opera took more than ten years to write and was left incomplete at her death. She also composed an operatic ballet with her own libretto, based on Oscar Wilde's fable The Selfish Giant, and in 1976 composed Five Quixotic Songs for bass baritone and Bicentennial Reflections for tenor solo in 1977. Perry's early compositions focused mostly on works written for voice, however, she gradually began to write more instrumental compositions later in life. By the time she suffered from a stroke in 1971, she had written twelve symphonies. Although she is known to have composed dozens of works, many cannot be performed due to questions over copyright. Select list of compositions. • Title — Date — Instrumentation • Suite of shoes — 1947 — Piano • Pearls on silk — 1947 — Piano • Is there anybody there? — 1947 — Women's voices • Chicago — 1948 — Cantata for baritone, narrator, chorus & orchestra • Ruth — 1950 — Cantata for chorus & organ • Stabat Mater — 1951 — Contralto and strings • Short Piece — 1952 — Orchestra • Study — 1952 — Orchestra • Ye who seek the Truth, anthem — 1952 — Tenor, mixed choir, and organ • The Bottle — 1953 — Opera • Frammenti dalle Lettere di Santa Caterina — 1953 — Orchestra and soprano • The Cask of Amontillado — 1954 — Opera • Requiem (Homage to Vivaldi) — 1959 — Orchestra • Homunculus C.F. — 1960 — 10 percussion with harp and piano • Pastoral — 1962 — Flute and string sextet • Three Warnings — 1963 — Opera • Contretemps — 1963 — Orchestra • The Selfish Giant — 1964 — Opera • Piano Concerto — 1964 — Piano and orchestra • Violin Concerto — 1964 — Violin and orchestra • Symphony No. 6 — 1966 — Symphonic Band • Symphony U.S.A. No. 7 — 1967 — Choir and small orchestra • Violin Concerto — 1968 — Orchestra and vocal

Perry's works were not widely recorded, but her Short Piece for Orchestra was performed and recorded by the New York Philharmonic in 1965 in Lincoln Center New York. This piece is representative of Perry's neoclassical compositional style. It has a number of rhythmic elements that use syncopation. The piece itself it somewhat frantic and wild, with the strings and brass sections switching between background and foreground in the composition, and rhythmic fills from the percussion. After the opening, Short Piece settles down into a long, lyrical passage introduced by the woodwinds and expanded upon by the strings. In 1960, the Manhattan Percussion Ensemble recorded Perry's Homunculus, C.F. for 10 percussionists. The piece is scored for timpani, cymbals, snare drum, bass drum, wood blocks, xylophone, vibraphone, celesta, piano, and harp. Perry termed the work "pantonal" since is it neither in a major or minor key and it uses all available tones. Perry uses the title Homunculus as a symbol for the experimental nature of the piece; the name refers to the test tube creature brought to life by Wagner, a character in Goethe's Faust. In 2020, Akron Symphony music director Christopher Wilkins began working with Louise Toppin of the African Diaspora Music Project to revive Perry's works. This led to the Akron Symphony performing several of her compositions, releasing recordings, organizing materials for her unpublished works, and working with the Summit County Probate Judge to get copyright issues resolved. The orchestra's Julia Perry Project has produced recordings, articles, an extensive catalogue of her work, and an oral history project. In November 2023, the New York Philharmonic performed "Stabat Mater" with mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges singing the solo. The Julia Perry Centenary Celebration and Festival was scheduled for 13–16 March 2024 in New York. The first ever recording of her 1964 Violin Concerto (performed at the Festival by Curtis Stewart and the Experiential Orchestra) was issued to coincide with the event. In 2025 Samantha Ege and the Lontano Orchestra released a recording of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in Two Uninterrupted Speeds (1969).