Episode 441. A Cavalcade of Spirituals
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As the last official entry in Countermelody’s Black History Month 2026 series, I bring you a potpourri episode that has long been a dream of mine: one dedicated entirely to the Spiritual, that distinctly American musical form that was born in adversity (specifically enslavement, murder, torture, family separation) and yet by a confluence of miracles yielded the most transcendentally beautiful music ever heard on this beleaguered planet. This is no scholarly exegesis of the form (there are others much better-versed in its history than I); it is rather a celebration of nearly a century of great performances of these songs by the finest concert singers of the twentieth century, beginning with Harry Thacker Burleigh through Janet Williams and the late Roberta Alexander (it still hurts my heart to write this!) In between, many additional Countermelody favorites are heard, including Dorothy Maynor, Marian Anderson, Todd Duncan, Jules Bledsoe, Paul Robeson, Margaret Tynes, Muriel Smith, Gloria Davy, Roland Hayes, Veronica Tyler, Adele Addison, Charles Holland, Anne Wiggins Brown, Robert McFerrin, Camilla Williams, Inez Matthews, and Miss Leontyne Price in arrangements by such exceptional African American composers as Julia Perry, Nathaniel Dett, William Grant Still, Undine Smith Moore, Hall Johnson, and Florence Price. There was so much material that, with regret, I had to leave by the wayside that you can be sure that there will be an additional spirituals episode in the very near future! I dedicate this episode to my beloved mother, who loved these songs, and to all those who have recently lost loved ones.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Traditional Spiritual: Ev’rytime I Feel the Spirit. Margaret Tynes, Pál Varga, Orchestra of the Budapest Philharmonic Society [1962]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Hall Johnson: Give Me Jesus. Roberta Alexander, Brian Masuda [1999]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Harry T. Burleigh: Go Down, Moses. Harry T. Burleigh [1919]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Harry T. Burleigh: My Way’s Cloudy. Marian Anderson, Orchestra conducted by Rosario Boudon [1924]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Harry T. Burleigh: By and By. Paul Robeson, Lawrence Brown [1945]
Traditional Spiritual: Poor Mourner, Jules Bledsoe [1931]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Roland Hayes: Hear the Lambs a-Cryin’. Roland Hayes, Reginald Boardman [1940]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. R. Nathaniel Dett: I’m Going to Tell Got All My Troubles. Dorothy Maynor, Arpád Sándor [live Library of Congress 18.XII.1940]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. William Clifford Heilman: New Born Again. Todd Duncan, Carroll Hollister [ca. 1955]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Hall Johnson: A City Called Heaven. Anne Wiggins Brown, Kjell Olsson [ca. 1950]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Edward Boatner: On My Journey Now. Ruby Elzy, Arthur Kaplan [1937]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Hall Johnson: Fix Me, Jesus. Inez Matthews, Jonathan Brice [1953]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Edward Boatner: Oh, What a Beautiful City. Camilla Williams, Borislav Bazala [1952]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Undine Smith Moore: Watch and Pray. Janet Williams, Warren Jones [live ca. 1997]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. William Grant Still: Here’s One. Robert McFerrin, Norman Johnson [1957]
Traditional Spiritual: Let Us Break Bread Together. Adele Addison, Jubilee Singers [1959]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Harry T. Burleigh: I Stood on the River of Jordan. Charles Holland, Jacqueline Bonneau [1954]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Julia Perry. Eagle’s Wings. Gloria Davy, Orchestra conducted by Julia Perry [1956]
Traditional Spiritual: Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen. Muriel Smith, Daniel Kelly [1955]
Traditional Spiritual: Crucifixion. Veronica Tyler, Ernest Ragogini [1980]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Florence Price: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. Leontyne Price, David Garvey [live Salzburg 02.VIII.1977]
