Name: Part 6: The Male
Duration: P00H01M56S
Description: The last 3 passages are great. When Whitman takes on shades of social-justice, I think it makes the work stronger. It certainly makes it easier to write music to, being the grandson and great-grandson of outsiders and immigrants.

Part 6: The Male

from I Sing The Body Electric by Matt Riggen

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The last 3 passages are great. When Whitman takes on shades of social-justice, I think it makes the work stronger. It certainly makes it easier to write music to, being the grandson and great-grandson of outsiders and immigrants.

lyrics

The male is not less the soul nor more, he too is in his place,
He too is all qualities, he is action and power,
The flush of the known universe is in him,
Scorn becomes him well, and appetite and defiance become him well,
The wildest largest passions, bliss that is utmost, sorrow that is utmost become him well, pride is for him,
The full-spread pride of man is calming and excellent to the soul,
Knowledge becomes him, he likes it always, he brings every thing to the test of himself,
Whatever the survey, whatever the sea and the sail he strikes soundings at last only here,
(Where else does he strike soundings except here?)

The man’s body is sacred and the woman’s body is sacred,
No matter who it is, it is sacred—is it the meanest one in the laborers’ gang?
Is it one of the dull-faced immigrants just landed on the wharf?
Each belongs here or anywhere just as much as the well-off, just as much as you,
Each has his or her place in the procession.

(All is a procession,
The universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.)

Do you know so much yourself that you call the meanest ignorant?
Do you suppose you have a right to a good sight, and he or she has no right to a sight?
Do you think matter has cohered together from its diffuse float, and the soil is on the surface, and water runs and vegetation sprouts,
For you only, and not for him and her?

credits

from I Sing The Body Electric, released May 1, 2020
Walt Whitman: poetry
Matt Riggen: narration, composition, trumpet, trombones, tuba

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about

Matt Riggen Chicago, Illinois

Jazz Musician

Composer/Performer/Director

riggenworks.com

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Matt Riggen recommends:

Bending Bridges
by Mary Halvorson

I saw the band that's on Bending Bridges live at the Newport Jazz Festival around 2013 and it was the only group there that made me cry. Mary is a fantastic writer and a major influence. Matt Riggen
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Festival
by Matt Ulery

I'm lucky enough to know Matt and his humility doesn't belie what a deep composer he is, especially on 'Festival'. He also plays tuba and upright on this one, which sets the bar for the rest of us. Matt Riggen
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Siglo XXI
by The Liberation Music Collective

I contributed ~50% of the compositions/arrangements to this record and played in the trumpet section. I believe art can expedite justice by lighting a fire under its audience, and I've seen it here. Matt Riggen
go to album