James Earl Jones lent his powerful voice to the world of classical music, too

James Earl Jones terrified us as Darth Vader, comforted us as Mufasa and reminded us that “This is CNN.” The esteemed actor was a force of nature who took a piece of American culture with him when he died Monday at 93.

And it was always about the voice. That voice! No surprise that Jones was top of mind in 1994 when Minnesota choral legend Philip Brunelle and VocalEssence (then called Plymouth Music Series) wanted to create a new work by an up-and-coming composer.

“When VocalEssence was going to commission composer Michael Abels for a piece for narrator and orchestra, I knew I wanted James Earl Jones to be the narrator — so I called him,” Brunelle said. “I suspected that he had never received a call to premiere a new work, and I was correct. He was thrilled: ‘A new work commissioned for me? Yes.’ 

“I asked him for a text, and he suggested a fairy tale by Leo Lionni: Frederick’s Fables. Needless to say, Michael Abels was thrilled to work with James Earl Jones.”

The result was a 37-minute, four-movement piece based on Lionni’s whimsical tales.

“James was a very gracious and tender-hearted man,” Brunelle remembered. “He loved Michael’s music and wanted to get his narration just right — he came to the first rehearsal fully prepared and worked studiously on his inflections for the various characters in the story. He was generous in meeting with the awe-struck chorus after the rehearsal and so pleased with the performance that he returned the following season to narrate another work (Arthur Bliss’ 1930 Morning Heroes).”

Jones also lent his stentorian talents to narration of classical works including Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait on the 1993 album Portraits of Freedom, accompanying the Seattle Symphony. Upon the album’s release, New York Times reviewer K. Robert Schwartz said Jones “succeeds in making the text as relevant to our day as it was to the 1940s,” when Copland wrote it as part of the war effort.

Jones would reprise the performance with live orchestras, including in that 1994 Plymouth Music Series concert. Listen (using the player above) to how Jones’ sonorous bass adds gravitas to Lincoln’s words and Copland’s stirring music, taking special note of his repeated emphasis on “the people.”

Playlist

Here is the program for American Voices: A Summer Music Celebration with James Earl Jones, a 1994 YourClassical MPR special that features Jones as host and narrator. It was recorded Feb. 5, 1994, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

William Dawson: Finale, from Negro Folk Symphony
Plymouth Music Series Orchestra; Philip Brunelle, conductor

Adolphus Hailstork: Nocturne (Midwest premiere)
Maria Jette, soprano; Singers of the Plymouth Music Series; Philip Brunelle, conductor

Aaron Copland: Lincoln Portrait
James Earl Jones, narrator; Plymouth Music Series Orchestra; Philip Brunelle, conductor

William Grant Still: “Golden Days” (Carmela's aria), from Costaso
Maria Jette, soprano; Plymouth Music Series Orchestra; Philip Brunelle, conductor

Michael Abels: Frederick's Fables (world premiere)
James Earl Jones, narrator; Plymouth Music Series Orchestra; Philip Brunelle, conductor

Michael Abels: How Majestic
Twin Cities Gospel Singers; Plymouth Music Series Chorus and Orchestra; Philip Brunelle, conductor