Have you heard this album?I sing N and S tunes, and I have one Spiritual that I know by heart..”Been in the Storm”..I want maybe one or two more, so that when I do a program I have a representative number. -Besides, it lets me channel my inner Mihalia..lol..
Suggestions?
Have you heard this album?
Oh, I was looking at ”Sometimes i feel like a motherless child.” I actually do have that big of a voice..hmm…OOOOOOOh.
Spirituals are so fun.
I'm sure you will be innundated with suggestions, but for your consideration, I submit:
"(Sometimes I Feel Like a) Motherless Child"
I know this one is terribly mainstream, but it's mainstream for a reason.
Here's Marian Anderson's version. She and Mahalia have been drinking the tears of envious sopranos since the 1920s or 30s. (Don't we all wish we had that BIG voice?)
..aaand
"Lonesome Valley"
Sung by the Robert Shaw chorale, in call-and-answer format.
I read somewhere that this was a White spiritual (http://folkslingers.com/lonesome-valley/) but it's still darned good.
“Steal away”, Dat Oldman River.I sing N and S tunes, and I have one Spiritual that I know by heart..”Been in the Storm”..I want maybe one or two more, so that when I do a program I have a representative number. -Besides, it lets me channel my inner Mihalia..lol..
Suggestions?
Are you an alto or contralto?I will be adding “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child” as well as “There is a Balm in Gilead” I could also do “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”..
Well, I have from a tenor g below middle C to a high g…but call me a contralto with soprano tendancies!Are you an alto or contralto?
I never realized that the stirring conclusion of MLK's most famous speech came from a song!Have you heard this album?
You are certainly welcome...glad you spotted it !I never realized that the stirring conclusion of MLK's most famous speech came from a song!
Now I love it even more.
Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you for the suggestions. I actually know “Shall we Gather at the River”..never thought of that as a Civil War spiritual..I do tell people that most Spirituals were call and response..Mrs. V, may I take the liberty of suggesting Deep River? This was first published around 1867 so probably related to the Fisk Jubilee Singers. There is a C-SPAN clip available on-line of the mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves singing it at the memorial for Madam Justice Ginsberg. That might be appropriate for your range.
There is also Shall We Gather at the River? (published in 1864). I hesitate to suggest this, though, because in popular culture it is often used while making fun of evangelical revival meetings/preachers (as in the movie Elmer Gantry). On the other hand, if you encourage sing-alongs at your presentations, it might be useful.
If you haven't heard it already, there is a fabulous CD, Spirituals in Concert, featuring Kathleen Battle and the late Jessye Norman that you might enjoy even if none of the tracks fit your needs. The program was originally recorded at Carnegie Hall in New York in March of 1990 and was televised on PBS. The disc is from Deutsche Grammophon.