Damien Geter: The Sound of Being Seen
Despite the fact that Damien and I teach at the same school, it took us three months to manage to sit down for this interview. I was grateful to finally hear some details about his Requiem, and also to hear a little bit of the music itself, imagining the full symphony, choir, and soloists from what he played for me on his laptop. What struck me about our discussion is that it was full of both bursts of laughter and the particular qualities of silence required for deep listening. What follows is edited and condensed from from our conversation, which took place at his home.
Elizabeth Harlan-Ferlo: How do you describe your religious identity?
Damien Geter: It’s complicated. I identify as a Christian but my idea of God is not necessarily based on what the Bible says God is. I’m probably more Buddhist than anything but I don’t know enough about Buddhism to say so. (Laughter) I believe in God as this huge universal… thing, and I believe that Jesus and Buddha and all those folks are a part of this one whole universe, so that’s what I believe.
EHF: How has it changed from when you were a child?
DG: When I was a child, God was the Father, Jesus was human form of God… it was more of a worshiping of Jesus than God, and that always feels a little weird to me. My dad, I still don’t know what he believes, and that’s fine. My mom went to church and my grandmother lived with us, and we always went to church. But I always kind of felt there was room for me to decide what I wanted to believe. So for a while there I did prescribe to Christianity. And then as an adult I started questioning things and I was like, nah, this just can’t be true! This, this is a zombie story.
EHF: (Laughing) Yes. Yes!
DG: I started thinking about God as as even bigger than what Christianity is, and thinking about how the world works, and forces and energies in the Universe. Thinking of God in that respect, as a thing is so big that I can’t even fathom, to me that makes a lot of sense.
I’m a very thoughtful person and I question things a lot. I like to hear of all sides of stories and even my political beliefs — I’m very much right in the middle. I don’t mind listening to Conservatives tell their story and I don’t mind hearing what Liberals have to say. I like to consider all things.
EHF: How do you see your work as an artist connecting to that?
DG: I think it does, in the sense that I connect with the universe in terms of energy and vibes and things like that. I think it definitely has an influence on me as an artist. For example, I have to do a lot of auditions and I don’t have any fear of auditions anymore. I’m like, if this is for me, then it’s already written in the universe and if it’s not, then that’s fine. I think that whatever path that I’m on is already written. It makes me more relaxed.
LHF: Tell me about this project you’re working on.
DG: It’s an African American Requiem. I started writing it in 2017, on the very last day of 2017 actually. And it came about because Trump got elected and I wasn’t feeling good about the world. I kept thinking a lot about race, and what it means to be a Black opera singer and how racist [opera] still is. And also thinking about what art is meaningful and what I can do as a responsible artist. As Nina Simone says — an artist is supposed to reflect the times. I’ve always been a composer and I hadn’t written anything in a long time because I was just focused on singing. I was like, I’m going to write an opera about Jesus! That’s what I’m going to do to do my part! And my partner Isaac was going to write the libretto. And then I was like, I can’t write an opera about Jesus. (Laughter)
EHF: A biography?
DG: Yes. It still might happen but I don’t know. So then I was thinking about about Black folks in this country and Trump and his racist, xenophobic attitude and I was like — a Requiem. A Requiem in honor of people who have been lynched both by police violence and also back in the day. I could not stop thinking about it and the next day I started writing it. That’s how it came to be, and also because there’s no Requiem for for that subject. Of course there’s Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Britten. Britten’s Requiem was for the wars, the World Wars. And that was my model. He uses a traditional setting, but he also puts poetry between the movements. So I used the traditional Latin setting for the most part and then I use spirituals in some of the movements. And I used some texts by of contemporary folks, like, I can’t breathe, for example, and then I used some Bible verses in one of the movements.
EHF So you’ve been working on it pretty much since then.
DG: Yeah, I finished it the other day.
EHF: It’s done!
DG: Yes!
EHF: Congratulations! I mean, I know “finished” doesn’t mean done.
DG: Yeah, you know how it is to write something.
EHF: As you were writing it, what was what was surprising to you? What did you come up against that you didn’t expect?
DG: I started questioning the format because I’m using a Catholic Mass and I’m not Catholic. I didn’t grow up Catholic, but it’s what I know I know from Classical music so [when I was thinking about writing it] I was immediately like boom, there it is. And because I’m influenced by Classical music and Jazz and Hip Hop and R&B, all that stuff is in this piece. It’s just another influence, you know? Then I was like, maybe I should look up some African religions and then base a couple movements on them or something. And I thought, no! I don’t know anything about that! (Laughter.) And I don’t want to appropriate. I write what I know; I’m influenced by all of these.
EHF: I can see the Mass and the Requiem structure as a language of music too.
DG: And a lot of the words relate to the thing I was writing about —
EHF: Like what in particular?
DG: — Except in the Ingemisco, I did not like the text in there. That’s the movement where I use Bible verses.
Let me see…(looking it up in his score) Eternal rest give to them O Lord — you know — Perpetual light — you know, take care of people as they transition. The Kyrie, [the] Lord Have Mercy, the way that I wrote it was I used the English translation. It’s more like a pleading. The last movement: may the angels lead thee into paradise, may the martyrs receive thee at thy coming… When therefore the judge… whatever lies hidden will appear… nothing will remain unpunished.These words are appropriate! They fit.
EHF: Hearing you read that language, knowing it from listening to that kind of language my whole life as an Episcopalian, but then also thinking of that language in the context of all the violence against Black folks, is incredibly powerful. Did you had any moments when you were working on it that you felt were particularly spiritual moments for you?
DG: Definitely. When you look at the translation [of the Requiem text] there’s something that just washes over you like, yeah, this is the point of religion.
I don’t know if there’s anything I can elaborate on that, but the answer is definitely yes. I think in particular when I was writing the Ingemisco, I didn’t want to use the Latin translation because I didn’t feel like it was right.
EHF: Can you say any more about you why you felt like it didn’t fit?
DG: It’s… I groan as a guilty one; let me not be burned up in fire. This [Requiem] is written honor of people [who were lynched.] They are not guilty! So I used some of the Bible verses here… Do not fret because of evildoers or be jealous of those who do injustice. For they will quickly wither like the grass and fade like green herbs. It goes on, He will set the sheep at his right hand — this does come out of the Ingemisco — and the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those at the right hand, come, you blest of my Father.
LHF: (looking at the soprano line) Is that an A?
DG: That’s a B. You will inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. This my favorite verse: I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. So: [I added] Psalm 37, Matthew 25, Jeremiah 29.
EHF: If I was a better Christian maybe I could have identified these. But I’m an Episcopalian — I can tell you all about the Requiem Mass, but not the Bible. (Laughter) That is so classic! Ok.
DG: And for the last movement I set a [1909] speech by Ida B. Wells: “Lynching is Colorline Murder.” Oh my God, it was the hardest thing. It took two months. (Laughs)
EHF What made it so hard?
DG: There’s a lot of words. I was like, ok, remind myself never to set a speech again.
EHF: How long is it?
DG: Not long as a speech. But when you set it to music it’s forever and a day. Everything that I highlighted I put in the Requiem. It’s the penultimate movement.
LHF: The style of that language is so different than a psalm.
DG: It’s a lot of words. I was like, maybe I don’t need to put in this part and then I thought, dammit, I have do this.
EHF: When they hear the piece, what do you hope is going on for the listener, spiritually?
DG: About half way in [to the writing process], I needed to be figuring out what the story that I want to go through. There are a lot of things that reappear. The opening melody in the very first movement comes back a couple times and I use it to represent hope. That’s kind of the story piece of it. In the last few measures I wanted it to sound the way it does, to keep growing with those chords. I struggled with it, but I want people to leave feeling hopeful.
I mean, music is a spiritual experience, right? I do want them to have a spiritual experience that’s personal. I want them to feel however they’re going to feel, so that’s one piece of it. The other piece of it is about the history of this country. One movement which is probably going to cause people to walk out is the Lacrimosa, which uses the national anthem in a minor key. It’s kind of like a funeral march or a dirge and the anthem keeps coming back. So I want people to think about the subject. I feel like we’re at a point in in where people are tired of talking about racism, you know?
EHF: Anything in particular that makes you say that?
DG: I’ve always noticed things but the thing that I’ve been noticing lately is that people in this world will not even see me. I can think of three examples: I was in line with my voice teacher at this Indian buffet and this woman just cut right in front of me. Another time I was at school and somebody came to see the musical [I was music directing.] She came right up and spoke to [the white director] and [the white student] working the soundboard and I was standing right there and she didn’t say a word to me. And then actually just the other day I was with my partner at this party and this woman called her friend over and said, come introduce yourself and so they did, to everybody else but me. I was like, I’m ready to go. People are tired. (laughs)
EHF: One way to not deal with racism is to literally not see the Black person in the room.
DG: That’s what I’m noticing. People aren’t seeing Black people for whatever reason. I want people to just acknowledge this history and to go ok, yeah, let’s have a conversation about why there is no Requiem for African American folks in this country. Let’s have a conversation about why people are getting tired of talking about racism.
EHF: Do you see an intersection between that weariness and people’s spirituality, or lack thereof?
DG: I just wonder if the vast majority of people are spiritual in their churches on Sundays and then when they have to walk down to the real world on Monday they forget about the teaching, you know? Because if I were to walk into a white church [it would be] “oh hello, welcome, welcome,” but if you see me on the street on Monday you probably wouldn’t say hi to me. Now I think there are people who go to — I’ll just say it — more liberal churches that do work against racism and are down for social justice and down for the fight so I do think there are people who recognize that. I don’t like his term “woke,” but those are the people who are more woke. For the vast majority of people, I don’t know how much of their spirituality influences their daily lives.
EHF: Sure.
DG: Which shouldn’t be the case, right? Like they are playing Church. Or playing, whatever.
EHF: And Church allows that. I think a lot of mainline white churches allow that to happen, where you sort of do your church and then you go home.
DG: Right, at the end of the day it’s not about this about this great big thing, it’s about the individual [saying], I’m going to do the thing that is going to make me the most comfortable.
EHF: What else do you feel is important that we didn’t talk about?
DG: In the last couple years, I’ve been thinking a lot about death. Not how I’m going to die but how I want to leave the world better than I found it. I know people say that all the time but I really, really believe that deep in my heart. And I feel like this Requiem is this is one piece of it. I also feel a sense of urgency to get it on stage. You like Hamilton? When he’s like, I’m writing like I’m running out of time. I don’t feel I’m running out of time — well, we’re all running out of time — I don’t feel the urgency in that way, but I just feel the world needs this. I’m not just saying that because I’m tooting my own horn or whatever, you know what I mean —
EHF: No, as artists we have to say that, otherwise we wouldn’t make the work. We always say, I’m not trying to say I’m great. But you have to claim, to some degree, that your work has value, or you couldn’t make it.
DG: That’s true. I’m still working on that.
EHF: Yeah, It’s a journey for all of us.
DG: I think that people have a responsibility to do something better, no matter what it is, just to give back to the universe. Everything that I do as an artist, I think about that. Even [singing] Porgy and Bess [at the Met this Fall]… people are going to come to the theatre, and they are going to have an experience, and it could be something that they forget tomorrow or it could be something that they remember for the rest of their lives. And that’s leaving the world better than I found it. This [Requiem] is leaving the world better than I found it — I hope.
Damien Geter’s credits include performances ranging from the operatic stage to the television screen. This season, he has sung soloist roles in Mozart Mass in C, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Bremerton Symphony Orchestra, and Bach Cantata №31 Der Himmel Lacht! Der Erde Jubilieret! with Orchestra Seattle. Damien made his TV debut in the role of John Sacks on NBC’s Grimm and can be seen in Trinkets from Netflix. A native of Chesterfield County, VA, Damien made his operatic debut with the Indianapolis Opera in the role of the Imperial Commissioner in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. In 2012, he toured with the prestigious American Spiritual Ensemble, a group that helps to promote the preservation of the American art form — the spiritual. Damien currently serves on the music faculty of The Catlin Gabel School in Portland, OR. The book he co-authored, Music in Context: An Examination of Western European Music Through a Sociopolitical Lens is available on Amazon, or directly from the publisher, Kendall Hunt. This Fall he will sing the role of Undertaker in Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera.
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