Need another Spiritual!

[Mrs. V]

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?

 

[farrargirl]

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?

 

[Quiet1]

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.

 

[Mrs. V]

Have you heard this album?

No I haven't, but I will give it a listen this weekend. Thanks!

 

[Mrs. V]

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.

Oh, I was looking at "Sometimes i feel like a motherless child." I actually do have that big of a voice..hmm…

 

[Fairfield]

How about

 

[donna]

Let My People Go, a great version by Paul Robeson.

 

[Booklady]

The bagpipes at the 9/11 memorial this morning in New York played "Hard Times," a beautiful song that's been recorded by many artists.

 

[Mrs. V]

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"..

 

[Rebforever]

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?

"Steal away", Dat Oldman River.

 

[Rebforever]

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"..

Are you an alto or contralto?

 

[7thWisconsin]

Actually, I think the awareness of majority white culture of the African American Spiritual is post-war. The Fisk Jubilee Singers popularized the spiritual during a fund raising tour in the early 1870s. Obviously, the spiritual was around a long time before that, but the first printed copies that would be learned and sung by white Americans were largely post-war. Actually, I think there are a couple that a white singer should avoid performing unless you´re performing with African Americans. ¨Wade in the Water¨ and ¨Go Down Moses¨ have deep, deep roots in African American history and music tradition. I would be very careful with those two. (I´ve read your posts about music and I think you´re a thoughtful and sensitive singer, so it´s not you using these songs inappropriately that I´m cautioning about, but how they´d be perceived by an audience.) I think ¨Swing Low Sweet Chariot¨ is a safe choice, ¨Steal Away¨ is from the Fisk Singers songbook and has been in the general culture for a long time. ¨Didn´t My Lord Deliver Daniel¨ is also from their songbook. Not an African American spiritual, but a period folk song known originally as ¨the Libby Prison Hymn¨ is now known as ¨Poor Wayfaring Stranger"would be a good choice too.

 

[Mrs. V]

Are you an alto or contralto?

Well, I have from a tenor g below middle C to a high g…but call me a contralto with soprano tendancies!

 

[Mrs. V]

So, I talked with the fellow doing the Henry Box Brown interpretation about spirituals. Basically he said anything dealing with "freedom" might not go over well with the African American audience..but anything else was fair game. His wife sat and listened to me sing, and she was pleased. I did Been in the storm, and Motherless child.

 

[The Arrrrrgonaut]

I grew up listening to Mahalia Jackson and Ethel Waters records spinning on the old turntable! One song I remember with fondness is His Eye Is On The Sparrow.

 

[KansasFreestater]

Have you heard this album?

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!

 

[farrargirl]

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!

You are certainly welcome...glad you spotted it !

 

[Library Lady]

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.

 

[Mrs. V]

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.

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..

 

[Kyle Kalasnik]

A bit off topic, what about "Down in the River to Pray"?

Just scrolling through this thread and I thought of Allison Crouse's version in O Brother Where Art Thou.