Ammon News - AMMONNEWS – Banan Malkawi - With dominant vocals and passionate melodies, award-winning American soprano Nicole Taylor captivated the jam-packed auditorium of Al Hussein cultural Center in the heart of Amman on Tuesday night.
''Her expressive performance of African-American spirituals relayed a greatness of a people, a culture, and a struggle that merits respect and appreciation... her performance was phenomenal," said Kamal Alawneh, who attended the concert with his wife Lubna.
The Cultural Affairs Section of the American Embassy in Amman hosted Ms. Taylor for several performances that included Tuesday night's concert, an educational performance for school students, and a master class at the National Music Conservatory.
Ms. Taylor's visit comes in celebration of African-American History Month, which is marked annually every February in the United States to commemorate the history, events, and important personalities of the African Diaspora in the U.S.
Accompanied by the talented Daniel Ernst on the piano, Taylor, glowing in an angelic white gown, performed a number of spirituals and folk songs that portrayed the essence of the faith and struggle of the enslaved Africans, uprooted from their homelands and brought to the British colonies of the Americas in the early 17th century. The spirituals are specific to the social and religious experience of Africans and their descendants in the United States.
In a high majestic voice, Taylor opened her performance with 'Little David Play on Your Harp' and 'My Lord What a Mornin.'
Taylor kept the crowded audience engaged as she described her recital methods of the songs, rearranged; yet maintaining the legacy and authenticity of the spirituals by performing them with careful and genuine preservation of the dialect the enslaved faithful had sung in.
Along with the brilliant piano tunes of Daniel Ernst, Ms. Taylor relayed the stories of struggle, forbearance, resistance, faith and hope communicated by her ancestors through songs like 'Steel Away to (Jesus),' Joshua Fit De Battle of Jericho' and 'The Little Light of Mine.'
Taylor aroused the conscience with her heartfelt recital of 'Lord, How Come Me Here?' You could hear the pain and the yearning for the Savior in her voice, and feel the bewilderment of enslavement in her expressive face as she went on: 'there ain't no freedom here... I wish I never was born... they treat me so mean here... they sold my children away... Lord, how come me here?'
Ernst didn't fail to capture the spotlight in splendid solo piano performances of 'Amazing Grace' and 'Troubled Water,' earning admiration whispers while playing, and receiving strong applause and fervent hollers from the pleased audience.
Taylor engaged the audience in 'Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray,' and amazed the audience with a distinct arrangement and delivery of 'He's Got the Whole World in His Hands,' a bona fide spiritual made popular in the mid 20th century and topping U.S. pop singles charts.
Taylor hit home with the Jordanian audience in highlighting a recurrent theme in African American spirituals; the river, River Jordan in particular, with her recital of 'Deep River.'
In her performance of African-American spirituals and folk songs, Taylor was the night's messenger, bringing the universality of inspiration and sentiment from this experience indigenous to the enslaved Africans in the United States to the heart of Amman.
Exceeding expectations, Taylor wouldn't stop there. In her determination to captivate the audience and connect with them on a more personal level, this bundle of talent was shared on stage by Rula Jaradat on the ‘Qanun’ and Shadi Khreis on precessions to perform three classical Arabic songs.
Her first time singing in Arabic, Taylor astoundingly sang Sayyid Darwish's 'Tel'et Ya Mahla Nurha,' and earned heartfelt responsiveness from the singing-along audience.
With successful deliverance and authentic pronunciation, Taylor sang 'Lama Bada Yatathanna,' a famous song from the Andalusian period known as 'Muwashah,' and concluded with 'Aa Rozannah' to earn a standing ovation fit for her brilliant and memorable performance.
As much as Amman enjoyed her presence, Taylor also in turn expressed her amazement at the warm hospitality and genuine welcome she has received in Jordan.
'From someone getting me a warm cup of milk before the performance, to everyone working behind the scenes, everyone has been so amazing,' Taylor told 'Ammon News,' adding that she hopes to see more of the city and maybe get a chance to stand on the brink of the River Jordan.
In response to a question about what message she hopes she has carried with her to Jordan, especially on the occasion of African-American History month, Taylor noted that the inspiration that spirituals have instilled in generations of African Americans since enslavement, through emancipation, and down the turn of history to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond, has been one of love, faith, and resilience.
To those who are struggling today throughout the Middle East and the world, Taylor told 'Ammon News' that the universal message that everyone can construe from the spirituals and folk songs she recites is that of conviction, and above all, to keep 'hope.'
“Spiritual music teaches us that we all have something in common,” she added.
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