Choral Arrangements of the African-American Spirituals: Historical Overview and Annotated Listings [Hardcover]

Although the choral arrangements of the African-American spirituals constitute the largest group of folk song arrangements in western literature, they have received little scholarly attention. This book provides the needed historical and stylistic information about the spirituals and the arrangements. It traces the history and cultural roots of the genre through its inception and delineates the African and European characteristics common to the original folk songs and arrangements. Ensembles that have perpetuated the growth of the spiritual arrangementsfrom Fisk Jubilee Singers of the 1870s through those currently activeare chronicled as well.

Musicians, choral directors, and scholars will welcome this first complete text on the African-American spiritual genre. Annotated listings of titles provide information choral directors need to make ensemble-appropriate performance choices. Arrangements indexed by title, arranger, and subject complement the accompanying biographies and repertoire information. Well-organized and thoroughly researched, this text is a valuable addition to music, choral, multicultural, and African-American libraries.

Preface
Introduction
The African-American Spiritual: Sources and Substance
The African-American Spiritual Origin and Proliferation of the Choral Art Arrangements
African-American Musical Characteristics of Unaccompanied Choral Arrangements
Annotated List of Titles
Annotated List of Arrangers
Title Index
Arranger Index
Subject Index