Civil War relived through VCU Symphony Orchestra

Samantha Foster
Spectrum Editor

After retiring from the U.S. Air Force Band in 2008, jazz saxophone major and self-proclaimed Civil War history buff Allen Wittig began actively pursuing his passion—composing music—through the University Research Opportunity Grant.

Since receiving the grant this past summer, Wittig has finished his composition, “Crisis of a Country: A U.S. Civil War Musical Retrospective,” which will be performed Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. by the VCU Symphony Orchestra and several choral groups. It will be conducted by Director of Orchestral Studies and professor at VCU Daniel Myssyk.

“In the summer, I wanted to get a job (so) that I could write music,” Wittig said. “I’ve written music as a living for 27 years. Part of being a composer is that you have to go out and find pieces to do. … You have to apply for grants.  You really have to pound the pavement to get the job. I looked at this as an opportunity and said ‘Why not?’”

Wittig wrote the composition as an introduction to a piece he had previously written, which was music set with The Gettysburg Address. His goal for the introduction was to research the different views of Americans during the Civil War and equally represent each view.

“My specific grant was to write a piece of music that would reflect the attitudes of the Union people, the Confederate secessionists and the … African-American population, and present it in a fair, straightforward manner,” Wittig said.

Although the intent was to use newspaper articles, speeches and letters from soldiers from the time, Wittig discovered through his research the wealth of music that had been written during that era.

Wittig’s piece is an arrangement of early American and 19th century songs with original compositions written as transitions and introductions to the songs. The order of the songs follows the Civil War starting in the 1820s and progressing to several years after the war. The main battle is represented for the Union by “The First Gun is Fired” by George Root, and “Dixie” by Daniel Decatur Emmett for the Confederate states.

During the transitions, a narrator reads excerpts of history of the Civil War, which Wittig wrote from various books he read for research, including the autobiography of Fredrick Douglass and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe. For the performance this Thursday, the president of The American Civil War Center, Christy Coleman, will be acting as the narrator.

“The narration comes in handy because to tell 70 years of history in 21 minutes is a challenge,” Wittig said.

Although Wittig said that he considered smaller ensembles to perform the piece, he believes that the orchestra and chorus will be the best fit. The VCU Symphony Orchestra has roughly 50 members and there will be over 50 singers in the combined choirs for this piece.

“It could have been done with a brass band, a banjo and a piano … because those were really the instruments (during the Civil War),” Wittig said. “I could have done this on a smaller scale but I think it’s going to have a big impact with the whole chorus and orchestra.”

Wittig’s composition is part of the VCU Symphony Orchestra’s spring concert and is not the only piece that will be performed by the choruses and orchestra on Thursday night. The orchestra, Commonwealth Singers and Choral Arts Society will be playing the “Lord Nelson Mass” and the orchestra will also be performing the “Lieutenant Kijé Suite.” There will also be five solo singers performing.

Even though Wittig’s composition was written for the VCU Symphony Orchestra to perform during their spring concert, this year also marks the 150-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

“Here we are in the confederate capital of Richmond and it perked my interest,” Wittig said. “It should be a nice history for everyone if nothing else.”