“I, Too”

This piece entitled, I, too features Langston Hughes' poem highlighting issues of prejudice and representation in American society. The composer, Undine Smith Moore, was a native of Virginia and a prolific 20th-century composer and educator. In reference to her experience growing up in rural Virginia, Moore commented that “One of the most evil effects of racism in my time was the limits it placed upon the aspirations of blacks, so that though I have been creating music all my life...I would not have thought of calling myself a composer or aspiring to be one.” This choral piece features Moore’s typically brilliant and stirring harmonies with Hughes’ defiant but hopeful poetry: "I, too, sing America!"