Manchester-based composer creates requiem to honour enslaved Africans
Summary
A new musical work called Atlantic Requiem was created to honor enslaved Africans. It uses historic insurance documents connected to the slave trade and will be performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers in London.Key Facts
- Atlantic Requiem is composed by David Önaç, based in Manchester.
- The piece was commissioned by Culture&, an arts and heritage charity.
- It uses old documents from Lloyd’s of London that insured slave ships during the transatlantic slave trade.
- The work combines Catholic religious texts, historic records, and survivor testimonies.
- It mixes musical styles like classical, jazz, and gospel from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
- The performance is scheduled for Black History Month and will be led by conductor Malcolm J Merriweather.
- One part of the requiem is based on an 1791 testimony describing the murder of an enslaved African woman on a ship.
- The work aims to remember suffering while also moving toward healing and reconciliation.
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