Customer Reviews

The Books of the American Negro Spirituals

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This is one of the best reference books available on the history of Negro Spirituals as well as a vast collection of songs - many of which have not been heard during our time. The preface begins with an awe inspiring poem " O Black and Unknown Bards". This is a must read for musicians, especially singers of Spirituals. Composers and arrangers would appreciate it's content as well.

This is perhaps the best compilation of African American Spirituals. Both of editor James Weldon Johnson's volumes are included as are his excellent introductions. The introductions alone are worth the price of the book and more. Johnson's brother provides the arrangement, as close as possible to the most likely way(s) in which they were originally sung. The words themselves are also as close as possible to the original wording. "The Book of the American Negro Spirituals" provides a first-hand accounting of the lyrical majesty and the creative genius of the enslaved African Americans as they integrated Christian truth into their daily suffering.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction." He has also authored "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming "Sacred Friendships: Listening to the Voices of Women Soul Care-Givers and Spiritual Directors."

i love spirituals and especially for a bass/baritone, the spiritual is a form that allows the low voice to shine. i purchased this work and have begun to enjoy working from sheet music with songs that previously, i only had the words, and maybe a recording to learn from.

not much else to say. if you want to see how spiritual looked when they were first transcribed for musicians, this is a one stop source.

I was looking for a book that would be brief yet concise. Of course, I don't know all there is to know about Negro Spirituals, so I don't really know how concise it is; but it seemed to cover quite a bit of information that was useful to me. The authors speak from first hand experience, which was very helpful. Some songs were familiar to me, but many were not. I felt as if I gained a great deal from both the text of the book as well as the music and lyrics.