"Soldier mortals would not survive if they were not blessed with the gift of imagination and the pictures of hope," wrote Confederate Private Henry Graves in the trenches outside Petersburg, Virginia. "The second angel of mercy is the night dream.”
Wanda Burch, historian & writer and John Kenosian, singer/songwriter, received a Saratoga Arts Community Arts individual artist grant for the presentation of performances of HOME VOICES in Montgomery County. We have the privilege of bringing them to the Arkell Museum for their fifth concert of the season at 7:00 pm on November 10th. Admission is free, and donations are always welcome.
Joining Wanda and John will be Gisella Montanez-Case, lead singer with the 77th NY Regimental Balladeers. The program will present excerpts from original letters to and from the Civil War soldier’s loved ones, accompanied by original words and music by John Kenosian. The letters are based on a new book by Wanda Burch: The Home Voices Speak Louder than the Drums: Dreams and the Imagination in Civil War Letters and Memoirs [McFarland Publishers, summer 2017].
Providing fresh perspective on the human side of the Civil War, this book explores the dreams and imaginings of those who fought it, as recorded in their letters, journals, and memoirs. Sometimes published as poems or songs or printed in newspapers, these rarely acknowledged writings reflect the personalities and experiences of their authors. Some expressions of fear, pain, loss, homesickness, and disappointment are related with grim fatalism, some with glimpses of humor.
Doors open at 6:30;
Enjoy the Masterworks exhibits before the performance, including the Winslow Homer watercolor "Contraband."
Audience participation is encouraged on additional traditional songs from the period.
For further information about the event, please contact:
Jenna Peterson Riley, Curator of Education & Public Engagement
phone: 518-673-2314
email: jriley@arkellmuseum.org
For information about the book or the music, please contact:
Wanda Burch
cell: 518-281-4937
home: ronwan@capital.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wanda.burch.1
Saratoga Arts made this program possible with a Community Arts Individual Artist Grant funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislators
