So You Want to Sing Spirituals: A Guide for Performers
ONLINE RESOURCES:
Chapters 4-7 Chapter 8 Chapters 9-11 Chapters 12-14 - Appendices
Chapter 1 – What Are Spirituals?
Chapter 2 – From Cotton Field to Concert Hall
Chapter 3 – Pioneers of the Concert Spiritual
- “A Century of Negro Spirituals for Solo Voice” (slideshow)
- Harry T. Burleigh: “Go Down, Moses,” performed by Harry T. Burleigh
- Lawrence Brown: “Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho,” performed by Paul Robeson
- Roland Hayes: “Hear de Lambs-a-Cryin’,” performed by Roland Hayes
- Moses Hogan: “Wade in the Water,” performed by Barbara Hendricks
- Spirituals Video Playlist
- Harry T. Burleigh: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” performed by Roland Hayes
- Edward Boatner: “Trampin’,” performed by Marian Anderson
- Lawrence Brown: “Every Time I Feel de Spirit,” performed by Paul Robeson
- R. Nathaniel Dett: “I’m Goin to Tell God All My Troubles,” performed by Dorothy Maynor
Chapter 4 – Song Literature
- IPA Source
- Jubilee Songs: As Sung by the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University
- Recorded Sound Archives
- Eva Jessye: “I’m a Po’ Li’l Orphan,” performed by Marti Newland
- Hall Johnson: “Give Me Jesus,” performed by Vinson Cole
- Traditional: “Steal Away to Jesus,” performed by Adele Addison
- Roland Hayes: “Lit’l David, Play on Your Harp,” performed by Roland Hayes
- Harry T. Burleigh: “My Lord, What a Mornin’,” performed by Paul Robeson
- Shawn Okepebholo: “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit,” performed by Will Liverman
- Lawrence Brown: “I Know the Lord’s Laid His Hand on Me,” performed by Marian Anderson
- William Dawson: “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel,” performed by the Tuskegee Institute Choir
Chapter 5 – Using Dialect in Performance
Chapter 6 – Must You Be Black to Sing Spirituals?
Chapter 7 – Collaborating with Pianists (Casey Robards)
Chapter 8 – African American Art Song (Emery Stephens & Caroline Helton)
Web Resources:
Library Collections (archival photocopies of compositions by African Americans):
Purchasing Music:
African American Classical Music Resources:
Chapter-Related Topics:
Article:
Chapter 9 – Black Spiritual Art Song: Interpretive Guidelines (Barbara Steinhaus)
Chapter 10 – Choral Arrangements of Spirituals (Patricia J. Trice)
Chapter 11 – Spirituals: America’s Contribution to World Sacred Music (Tim Sharpe)
Chapter 12 – Gaining Perspective: A Linguistic Approach to Dialect (Felicia Barber)
Chapter 13 – Singing and Voice Science (Scott McCoy)
Chapter 14 – Vocal Health for Singers (Wendy LeBorgne)
Appendices – Relevant Resources
Appendix 1 - Recommended Recordings
A selection of recordings recommended for those beginning a collection of concert spirituals for solo voice.
Appendix 2 - Concert Spiritual Singers and Their Recordings
A sample of singers, arranged by voice type, and their recordings of concert spirituals.
Appendix 3 - Spirituals in Musical Anthologies
Lists availability of spiritual music scores: print publishers, online databases and publishers, self-publishing composers, online resellers, as well as selected musical scores, including compilations containing concert spirituals for solo voice.
Appendix 4 - Song Literature Classification
Concert spirituals classified by category with scriptural reference(s) and entry in musical anthologies.
Appendix 5 - Relevant Resources
Resources specifically about Negro spirituals or that reference performers, composers or other information related to spirituals
Appendix 6 - African-American Art Songs Resource List
Print and online resources related to African-American art songs
Appendix 7 - Composers Brief Biographies
Lists short biographies – with score and recordings information – of composers of concert spirituals for solo voice.
Appendix 8 - Art Songs by African American Composers in Musical Anthologies
Lists availability of art songs by African American composers and selected musical scores and compilations.
Appendix 9 - Spirituals in Choral Music Anthologies
Lists availability of concert spirituals in compilations for choral ensembles: mixed voices, women’s voices, men’s voices, and children’s voices, as well as unison, two-part, equal, or unspecified voices vocal forces.
Expanded General Index
An expanded index for So You Want to Sing Spirituals that includes contents from both the print book and the online appendices.
Song Index
A song index for So You Want to Sing Spirituals, which includes contents from both the print book and the online appendices.
Connect with us