James Martin, baritone; Lynn Raley, piano
This collection of songs represents one hundred years of music produced by American composers and poets of color — the best of us. Some identify(ied) as Negro, some African-American, some Black, some men, some women, and some insisted they were beyond classification, adamant that their work speak for itself. Unfortunately, too many of these voices have been stifled from inclusion in our American story thus far. But the time is right, and the fruit is ripe for the picking. The harvest has come in, and the first fruits of the fields yield a bounty of beauty so remarkable that silence is no longer an option. In fact, it is annihilated. Where once the famed halls of old lived on solely in black and white, they are now alive and brimming in technicolor, vividly representative of truth and creative vision—Heaven.
The songs collected here are a mere sampling of the finest of those neglected voices. Most are from our published archives. Some have been recorded from transcriptions of sound recordings. Are they “art” songs? Are they popular songs? Is it jazz, Bebop, or blues? Is it “classical” music? It is music, in all cases. Music to be enjoyed and reflected upon. Performed with integrity and informed enthusiasm by all who would approach it. Resist the urge to classify and segregate. Enjoy the creativity and savor the sounds of words and music dancing together as one in each singular work of art. --James Martin
Harry T. Burleigh (1866–1949): Elysium, Ethiopia Saluting the Colors/ J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954): Li’l Gal / Florence B. Price (1887–1953): Song to the Dark Virgin/ Hall Johnson (1888–1970)/Toy Harper (unknown): On the Dusty Road/ (Traditional) (arr. Roland Hayes): Lit’l Girl/ Howard Swanson (1907–1978): The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Pierrot, Night Song, A Death Song/ Dorothy Rudd Moore (1940–2022): Harlem Sweeties/ W. C. Handy (1873–1958): Harlem Blues/ Margaret Bonds (1913–1972): The Way We Dance (in Harlem), To a Brown Girl Dead/ (Traditional) (arr. Roland Hayes): O Le’ Me Shine/ William Grant Still (1895–1978): Grief/ Hall Johnson: David/ Anthony Davis (b. 1951): Bells/ H. Leslie Adams (b. 1932): Prayer/ Robert Owens (1925–2017): Three Songs for Baritone, Op. 41: The Lynching, If We Must Die, To the White Fiends
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"Powerful voices of music that American history has, deliberately or not, 'forgotten'. The listener will not be disappointed." —Kathodik
"This is a thought-provoking, superbly annotated, well-recorded, and finely performed disc of music that begs to be heard. These are songs of the highest integrity." —Fanfare
"A serendipitous cask of jewels, a Pandora’s box—free of false notes—for the adventurous and open-hearted musical explorer." —Fanfare
Wide As Heaven: A Century Of Song By Black American Composers
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD | $15.99 |
Track Listing
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Elysium
Harry Thacker Burleigh
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Ethiopia Saluting the Colors
Harry T. Burleigh
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Li'l Gal
J. Rosamond Johnson
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Buy
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Song to the Dark Virgin
Florence B. Price
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Buy
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On the Dusty Road
Hall Johnson, Toy Harper
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Buy
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Lit'l Girl
Traditional
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Buy
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The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Howard Swanson
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Buy
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Pierrot
Howard Swanson
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Buy
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Night Song
Howard Swanson
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Buy
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A Death Song
Howard Swanson
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Buy
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Harlem Sweeties
Dorothy Rudd Moore
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Buy
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Harlem Blues
W.C. Handy
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Buy
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The Way We Dance in Harlem
Margaret Bonds
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Buy
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O Le' Me Shine
Traditonal
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Buy
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To a Brown Girl Dead
Margaret Bonds
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Buy
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Grief
William Grant Still
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Buy
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David
Hall Johnson
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Buy
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Bells
Anthony Davis
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Buy
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Prayer
H. Leslie Adams
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Buy
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Three Songs for Baritone, Op. 41: The Lynching
Robert Owens
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Buy
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Three Songs for Baritone, Op. 41: If We Must Die
Robert Owens
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Buy
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Three Songs for Baritone, Op. 41: To the White Fiends
Robert Owens
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Buy
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