Post on 31-May-2020
Negro Spirituals
Jeanine P. Donaldson
Harry T. Burleigh
• Classical composer, arranger, and professional singer known for his
baritone voice.
• First Black composer instrumental in the development of Negro
Spirituals
• Made the music available to classically trained artists by arranging the
music in a classical form
• Promoted Spirituals through publication, lectures, and arrangements
Hall Johnson (1888-1970)
• Composer, arranger
• Elevated Negro Spirituals to an art form.
• Julliard trained musician who first studied violin
• Later became interested in choral music, forming the Hall Johnson Negro Choir
• His choirs performed in movies during the 1930’s and 40’s
• Known for Green Pastures, Song of the South, and Lost Horizon
Roland Hayes (1887-1977)
• Lyric tenor and composer, and first world-renowned African American
concert artist
• In 1923 he became the first African American soloist to appear with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra singing Berlioz, Mozart, and Negro Spirituals
• Hayes was a student of Harry T. Burleigh
• He attempted to integrate the seating at concert halls where he performed
• Hayes Performed with the Fisk Jubilee Singers while a student at Fisk in 1911
Paul Robeson (1898-1976)
• Internationally known bass singer and actor
• Performed on-stage and in movies (Show Boat/Old Man River)
• Civil Rights activist; blacklisted during McCarthy era
• All-American football player Rutgers College; Phi Beta Kappa and
valedictorian
The Jubilee Singers
“The Jubilee Singers,” a Biblical reference to the year of Jubilee in the Book
of Leviticus, Chapter 25:13 “In the year of Jubilee ye shall return every man
unto his possession.”
George L. White
• Northern missionary; Fisk College treasurer; and music director.
• Proposed idea for first northern tour; named the group Jubilee Singers.
• Dedicated to music and proving African-Americans were intellectual
equals to whites.
• October 6, 1871 first tour begun