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