Arguably,
the first prominent Black composer in America is Harry T. Burleigh. He
has a distinguished catalog of songs which were quite popular with singers
in the earlier part of this century (especially Christine Miller, George
Hamlin, John McCormack, and Roland Hayes). In the offing are exquisite
individual songs like ³Little Mother of Mine,² ³Jean,² and ³The Grey Wolf.²
His songwriting is balanced and tasteful, and his songs are models of
sincerity and sensitivity to text. Burleigh's important song cycles include
Saracen Songs and Five Songs of Laurence Hope, both of which are now available
in print through Classic Vocal Reprints/E. C. Schirmer. Of particular
importance are his settings of J. Rosamond Johnsonıs poetry in the cycle
Passionale. This work is the only song cycle with which this author is
acquainted that is dedicated exclusively to the poetry of this important
African-American figure.
Passionale, for high voice and piano, consists
of four songs. The cycle was published by G. Ricordi in 1917. The score
can be borrowed from the New York City Public Library. The poetry is written
from a masculine perspective, in adoration of feminine attributes, but
the songs could conceivably be performed by a soprano or lyric mezzo-soprano.
They are characterized by lyrical melodies in the voice undergirded by
mostly homophonic piano accompaniment. The tessitura of the songs is middle
to high. The difficulty level for both singer and pianist is medium. The
dynamic range required varies with each song. Some soft singing in a high
tessitura is requested. It is harmonically lush, with chromaticism layered
on a firmly diatonic structure. This is a fine period cycle.
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HARRY
T. BURLEIGH: PASSIONALE
The Glory of the
Day was in Her Face
Her Eyes, Twin Pool
Your Lips Are Wine
Her Eyes, So Deep
Harry
T. Burleigh belongs to a group of Black composers in the nationalistic
school of composition. Also included were such men as Will Marion Cook,
J. Rosamund Johnson, and Nathaniel Dett, who were born before 1900, used
Black folk music as a source of inspiration, and composed in concert,
show, and entertainment music. Most of these composers were well trained
and capable of writing in the European style.
For
lack of money, Burleigh's formal music study did not begin until he was
twenty-six. He went to New York, obtained
a scholarship to the National Conservatory of Music, and began his study
with Antonin Dvorak. his coposing began about 1899, which included ballads,
art songs, instrumental pieces, and arrangements of spirituals for solo
voice and piano. Theretofore, spiritual singing had been solely a choral
art. Inclusion of the spiritual for singing on the concert stage was a
revolutionary concept when Burleigh first arranged "Deep River." Since
his pioneering efforts and owing a great debt of gratitude to Burleigh,
Black concert singers have routinely programmed spirituals.
Burleigh's
output included about 300 works, among them being Saracen Songs,
Five Songs of Laurence Hope, Passionale,
"Jean," "Little Mother of Mine," "The Grey Wolf," and his popular spiritual
arrangements for solo voice. Burleigh was also a baritone soloist of great
renown.
Source:
Perkins Holly, Ellistine. Biographies of Black Composers and Songwriters;
A Supplementary Textbook. Iowa:Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1990.
Click here for more information on
H. T. Burleigh
Afrocentric Voices
In Classical Music
Spingarn
Medal Winners: American History
Burleigh
on Film
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Great Gettin Up mornin
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The
Art Songs (Not the Spirituals!!) of Harry T. Burleigh
Classical
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RECORDINGS
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