Based on the novel by Sharyn McCrumb
Q&A With the Creators
Q&A with Sharyn McCrumb, Author
1. Compared to your other books, how do you feel personally about The Ballad of Frankie Silver?
It took the most time to research, because no books had ever been written about her, but since I had relatives in common with Frankie, and I knew the area, it was a familiar world for me. Frankie’s story seems to have resonated more deeply with readers and scholars than any of my other works. It is widely taught from middle schools to universities to law schools throughout the country.
2. During those years of researching Frankie’s story, what were the most stunning revelations, the ones that truly surprised or shocked you?
The most surprising thing to me was discovering the official correspondence proving that the governor of North Carolina had lied in order to keep from pardoning Frankie Silver. In response to petitions asking for clemency, Governor Swain pretended to think the execution had already taken place, knowing that it took six days to send and receive a reply from Raleigh to Morganton. By the time his letter reached Morganton and they could dispatch a reply to him, the execution would have been carried out. It was a political move, of course. Women couldn’t vote, so why pardon a husband killer? But by “mistaking” the date, he could claim that his withholding of a pardon was accidental.
3. Can you briefly describe how your Ballad Novels series came to be? Was it your idea, a publisher’s, a natural outgrowth, or from somewhere else?
The Ballad series was entirely my idea. The titles of the novels all came from songs, and the plots of the books– like ballads– told a story intended to resonate with the audience and to inspire them to make connections with similarly themed situations: e.g. pollution in “The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter,” or the issue of capital punishment in “The Ballad of Frankie Silver.”
4. Thanks to your novel there is now widening interest in Frankie’s life story beyond the literary world. Did you foresee this happening? Does it please you?
I think the story of Frankie Silver has powerful themes that make people want to interpret the story in their own creative medium. My novel was adapted as a play; readers have made quilts illustrating the story; singers have recorded the once obscure ballad; there have been paintings illustrating scenes from her life; Now this work of classical music by Craig Carnahan and Craig Fields based on the requiem mass will share her story with new listeners. I am not surprised, because I always felt the power of that story, but I am pleased that people care today about a young girl who died in 1833 without even a funeral to commemorate her life. I wish she could know that she is remembered, and finally mourned.
Q&A with Craig Carnahan, Composer
1. You’ve composed nearly 100 pieces. You’ve won awards for and are well-known for your beautiful and unique choral treatments. How did that prepare you to create Requiem for Frankie Silver?
The vast majority of the music I’ve written is choral and/or vocal. While there’s quite a bit of difference among those pieces, the common denominator is that they all involve setting text—often poetry, sometimes prose. The libretto for Requiem for Frankie Silver includes examples of both types and includes solo vocal passages as well as large choral sections, which allowed me to draw on my experience of setting words to music.
Throughout my career I’ve been drawn to words. In many ways they’re the key that unlocks the door, in that the text informs virtually all of the musical elements of the piece: tempo, mood, structure, dynamics, length, etc. As such, the music I write needs to serve the words and be true to their intent. That has always been my belief and was the approach I used in setting the texts in Requiem.
2. You’ve said that you want to stay true to the story. How does that inspire the music that you write?
First and foremost, this is a story about Frankie Silver and the tragic events of her life. Her story is true and it would be yet another injustice to her and her memory if this piece isn’t accurate or authentic.
This is a musical drama, not a musical comedy; there isn’t a fairytale ending. And even though much of the story is difficult to hear, it’s vital that it be told clearly, so that the music doesn’t get in the way of the audience’s ability to grasp the reality of Frankie’s life.
To help accomplish that I used a fair amount of recitative in the piece. That term refers to a musical technique in which the accompaniment is kept minimal in order to allow the voice to emphasize the natural rhythms and cadences of the language. Much of the dialog that helps propel the story is treated in this way.
3. Requiem for Frankie Silver beautifully blends musical genres with some interesting instrumentation, including a guitar. Tell us a little bit about how you made that happen and why.
There are three distinct musical styles present in the score:
The first I refer to as "found music," which means folk songs and hymn tunes that already exist—including The Ballad of Frankie Silver, which is an actual folk song that is quoted at several points in the piece. In an effort to treat it accurately, I decided to use instruments that are often associated with folk music: guitar, fiddle, double bass, and drums.
The second is the recitative style I described above. It accompanies much of the dialog in the piece and is designed to support—and sometimes punctuate—the vocal lines to underscore their dramatic intent. I used marimba, vibraphone, and xylophone extensively in those sections.
The third, and probably most distinctive style, accompanies the various sections of the Requiem Mass that are strategically placed throughout the work. Virtually all of these are scored for chorus—sometimes a cappella, sometimes accompanied by the full orchestra. Unlike the rest of the libretto, which is in English, these sections are sung in Latin and bring a liturgical element that dates back multiple centuries to the piece. There is an epic quality to these texts and they add a unique aspect to the dramatic structure that I wanted to highlight with music that is much different from the music in the rest of the score.
4. How do you want your audience to feel during and just after hearing this piece performed?
I’m always hopeful that my music connects emotionally with the audience. In this case, I hope they are moved by Frankie’s story and the way we’ve told it. I hope they feel empathy for her and are angered by the injustices she suffered. And I hope they leave with a renewed sense of urgency about the need to address the inequities that still exist in our judicial system.
Q&A with Craig Carnahan, Composer
1. You’ve been a successful technology entrepreneur for forty years. Why this? Why now?
I have enjoyed a rewarding and successful career building and running several tech companies. I’ve gotten to know many fascinating people all over the world and have contributed to hundreds of cool software projects. What I am most proud of is the kind of company I’ve been able to build, with the help of and contributions from many people. The community that not only allowed me that privilege but without whom I’d not have such success is a treasure to me. I’d like to give back. I feel very strongly that I owe that.
Having been an entrepreneur for so long, I really want to be an integral part of the give-back process. I want to use my skills and experience, my passions and resources, to that end. Music was a first love and a long-past consideration of career choice for me. I’ve never regretted the choices I made in that regard, but I am very happy to return to that world – in a way that allows me to positively affect and give back to the community that helped me get here.
2. Working with a novelist, a composer, a librettist, and an artistic director must be a new experience for you. How is that going?
You’ll find many amateur or semi-pro musicians and artists among the techies in the world. Building software systems requires a creator’s mindset and works best when creativity is in play. Most of the software engineers I’ve worked with, including myself, are passionate about creating beauty. Often that beauty takes the form of elegance in math, algorithms, or innovation, but it is beauty none-the-less. In that way, the team members on this project are familiar to me.
However, while I share experience and skills with the techies, such overlap with the creators on this project are slight. It is fascinating for me to watch and learn more about what they do. What they do with such skill and grace. I am a very curious and inquisitive person. One of my hopes was that I would get an insider’s view on how this music thing really works. This team has been very willing to let me inside and patient with my crazy questions. It has been a real blast!
3. What attracted you to the story and the creators?
I first got to know Craig Fields, the librettist and artistic director, while singing in his choir, Sonomento. We found a lot in common, enjoyed talking about our various experiences, and became friends. The idea to work together on a project such as this came along naturally, evolving over time and over drinks. Craig has a long history with projects just like this one and unquenchable passion for creating beauty. Through Sonomento, we encountered Craig Carnahan and his music – which also seemed like a natural fit. I could see that these two would let a techie into their world, helping to satisfy my curiosity drive.
Together we agreed on a theme of social injustice. We looked it over and quickly agreed. It brought crucial elements: a social theme, a good story, and a very good author telling it.
4. What are you hoping to achieve with this project?
I want to indulge my curiosity and reacquaint myself with music -- to participate in the creation and performance of beautiful, meaningful music. I find it very rewarding, invigorating, and just plain fun.
As someone who has built businesses, I know that you need a strong mission, a sharp focus, and market differentiators to succeed. You need a great team that shares a great story. We’ve been able to achieve all of these.
Most of all, I want to be a positive contributor to the world. I hope that my skills, experience, and resources can be used to lift others. To bring hope, lessen pain, smooth the path, and just make someone’s day more joyful. As much as that might sound like naiveté, it is the plain truth. From the many ways someone can give back, this way seems the best fit for me.
The third, and probably most distinctive style, accompanies the various sections of the Requiem Mass that are strategically placed throughout the work. Virtually all of these are scored for chorus—sometimes a cappella, sometimes accompanied by the full orchestra. Unlike the rest of the libretto, which is in English, these sections are sung in Latin and bring a liturgical element that dates back multiple centuries to the piece. There is an epic quality to these texts and they add a unique aspect to the dramatic structure that I wanted to highlight with music that is much different from the music in the rest of the score.
Q&A with Craig Fields, Librettist
1. As the librettist for Requiem For Frankie Silver, how did you approach turning Sharyn McCrumb's novel into a choral concert for Sonomento? What were the challenges?
The primary challenge was to find, or create, a musical format that would allow Frankie Silver’s story to be conveyed as sung narrative, but to also produce a vehicle that would feature the Sonomento chorus, which had commissioned the work. These, however, were two opposing concepts. Upon first reading of Sharyn’s novel, The Ballad of Frankie Silver in 1999, I had conceived of a full-length opera, but that was far beyond the resources of our new company, Orpheus Music Project. Neither did an operatic treatment necessarily allow for highlighting the choral music. Another format had to be identified that would achieve both. Quite suddenly, Benjamin Britten’s monumental War Requiem emerged into view. His great work had combined a complete choral requiem mass with the poignant poems of Wilfred Owen to commemorate and mourn the senseless loss of a generation of young men in WW I. In a very similar way, I wanted not only to expose the social and criminal injustices that were the essence of Frankie’s story, but to commemorate and mourn her senseless death and execution.
So now, a more complex format using flashback narration, sung recitative, arioso, ballad, folk song, hymn all within the framework of the choral requiem mass began to emerge. The choir would add poignant commentary from the mourner’s point of view within each scene of the drama. With this framework in place the writing of the piece began to unfold effortlessly. I had only to choose the important moments in the story to narrate and the most appropriate and emotive movements of the requiem as commentary. After hearing Craig Carnahan’s evocative requiem settings, I think it was the right choice.
2. You are also the Artistic Director for Requiem For Frankie Silver. Tell us about your background as an Artistic Director (AD). What does an AD do and how does one prepare to become an AD?
My artistic background is all over the performing arts map, which in retrospect seems to have been a blessing to me. My earliest professional job was as a dancer-singer-actor at Disney Land and later at Disney World, I had clearly developed the showbiz bug. In my third year of college, I went from a Theatre Arts major to operatic vocal studies. I had a great educational experience at CAL ARTS in Los Angeles, where I received my MFA degree in 1975, that prepared me for a performing career that took me to the great opera houses of the world. As a performer I always paid close attention to the details of producing opera on the stage. I was fascinated by how the stage directors approached their work, the conductors, the designers, the singing actors around me. Many years later I would teach voice and acting at the university level. I also broadened my musical horizons, studied choral conducting, became an opera chorus director, a musical director to several large choral organizations, a vocal coach and voice teacher to up-and-coming opera singers. In 1989, I began stage directing at Opera Roanoke in Virginia and after fifteen operas, I was promoted to the job of General/Artistic Director, which became a new and exciting challenge. I went on to serve as such for three different opera companies over the next twenty-five years - producing, stage directing and conducting grand opera, alternative opera, Broadway musicals, cabaret, opera in concert and straight theatre.
Through both failures and successes, I gradually discovered that to be an effective artistic director one must develop an ear/eye for casting talent and a knack for assembling the right creative team of artists and designers. The job requires patience, flexibility, discipline, resourcefulness and time management skills. In each new production, the AD must above all else communicate a consistent and clear artistic vision for every member of the team – from the stagehand to the piano player to the costume designer to the leading soprano!
3. How did you come to adapt Frankie Silver's story into a music drama?
In 1999, while a music faculty member at Virginia Tech’s School of the Arts, and at the behest of my composer friend Jon Polifrone, I first read Sharyn McCrumb’s historical novel, The Ballad of Frankie Silver. Jon was my close friend and musical collaborator. He and I had partnered on a number of successful musical projects in the 1990’s, including the acclaimed Requiem: For those we love (1993) that I conducted and recorded on the BMC label, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
I immediately knew that Frankie’s story had a powerful potential for a musical treatment as tears streamed down my face while reading the final chapter. Jon and I had decided to turn the story into a full-length opera and I began a libretto outline (book and lyrics) of the book. We met with Sharyn in 2000 to request permission to adapt her book into an opera, which she generously granted. Unfortunately, Jon’s heart condition grew much worse and he retired from teaching. Eighteen months later a massive stroke took him and the opera died as well.
Fast forward eighteen years. My life has drastically changed. I am now semi-retired and living in Minneapolis, still teaching some voice, directing occasional productions and conducting MacPhail’s premier adult choral ensemble, Sonomento. Kirk Hoaglund joins Sonomento in the spring of 2018 and he expresses the desire to commission a major new choral work for the choir that is to be loosely based on a theme of social justice. Respected Minneapolis choral composer Craig Carnahan agrees to accept Kirk’s commission and we all begin to explore ideas and concepts for the proposed new work. Eureka! After many, many years, the ghost of Frankie Silver’s poignant tragedy revives itself. Her story dramatically conveys powerful lessons about capital punishment, violence against women and the presence of bias and injustice within our criminal system of justice. These issues are still with us, affecting the poor and powerless to this very day. Just a week later, we all agreed that a musical adaptation of Frankie Silver’s trial and tragic execution (as told in Sharyn McCrumb’s book) would be the right subject matter for our new music drama.
4. What are the important social messages contained in Frankie Silver's story? Are they still relevant today?
As the work’s librettist, I hope that every audience member will see and feel how blatant injustices can be visited on the poor and powerless within our criminal justice system, to this very day. Our criminal laws were designed to protect us from wrongdoers, but also to protect the innocent from being falsely convicted. Frankie’s story dramatically demonstrates how the system did, as it does so often today, fail an innocent eighteen-year-old mountain girl.
The criminal court rules in 1833 did not allow accused felons to testify in open court, assuring that a case for self-defense and/or justifiable homicide could not be mounted. And, in Frankie’s day there was incredibly strong bias against women, who were merely considered property. A man could actually kill his wife and not be charged with any crime at all in 1833. As women were not allowed into the courtroom, it was simple for the all-male jurors to convict Frankie with free license, based on the misogynistic rules and biases that had been long established within the system.
Finally, in the story of Frankie’s execution we can see how capital punishment is meted out disproportionately against minorities, the poor and the powerless. And this, unfortunately, continues to be the case in our own time. Statistics about capital punishment sadly bear out this truth time and time again. Without money, decent lawyers and/or connections, one is far more likely to be condemned to die. This fact, which is very disturbing to most of us, is dramatically highlighted by the unnecessary hanging of an innocent. Frankie’s story will hopefully change hearts and minds by sensitizing us to the intolerance, bigotry and bias that continue to exist within our criminal courts … and why, as Sharyn McCrumb writes, “The rich never hang – only the poor and friendless.”