Customer Reviews

Great American Spirituals/Various

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4 star:		(1)
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The title on the cover of this CD is "Great American Spirituals
vol. 9". Volumes 1-8 no longer show up in an Amazon search, so I
can only guess what the concept of the series was. In this case, what
Angel has done is to compile performances of spirituals from three
other CD's that are no longer in the active catalogue. I'm glad they
did, because these are fine performances that deserve to be heard.
Whether or not they should be on the same CD depends upon how
particular one is about just what style one likes. All three
performers are first-class classical artists of African-American
heritage, comfortable with using their classical training to express
the beauty of these deeply personal traditional songs. One expects
individuality in the performances, but this is enhanced by the varied
approaches to accompaniement.

The selections by Kathleen Battle
(tracks 3,4,10,11,22, and 23) are taken from a recital CD she made
with classical guitarist Christopher Parkening. The performances are
intimate in the slower pieces and sparkle vivaciously in the faster
ones. Battle is in fine voice here. Some people complained that her
performance style in general had become too mannered by the time this
was made (1986). I don't hear too much of that in these pieces, but
true spiritual aficionados might.

Barbara Hendricks performs tracks
1,2,8,9,15,16, and 17 with Russian pianist Dmitri Alexeev. Of the
three singers on this CD, her voice has perhaps the least inherent
beauty (although it is well produced and can soar when she wants it
to), but I believe she is the most successful at communicating the
words. Her performance of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless
Child", which opens the program, is particularly moving.

Mezzo
Florence Quivar has the richest sound, and tracks 5, 6, 24 and 25,
which include the Harlem Boychoir, sound the most like something that
you would hear in a gospel program or church service. Tracks
12,13,14,18,19,20, and 21 are piano-accompanied solo performances by
Quivar, which range from a fairly straightforward performance of
Margaret Bonds's arrangement of "He's Got the Whole World in His
Hands" through a lively rendition of "De Gospel Train" where
she speaks some lines rather than singing them, to memorably majestic
versions of "Round' About De Mountain" and "I Love the
Name".

I have been so specific about track numbers and
accompanists because, unpardonably, the cover of the CD itself does
not include much of this information. One has to read the liner notes
to know who accompanies Hendricks and Battle, and absolutely no one
other than Quivar is credited on her tracks. It is probably this
dearth of information on the CD itself that accounts for the vagueness
of the credits in Amazon's listing. It is important to note, for
instance, that the performance of The Lord's Prayer is not at all the
version by Alfred Hay Malotte, but instead a rhythmic version that I
sang once in a folk mass during the 60's, and which my old songbook
attributes to the West Indies. It is an indication of Quivar's
artistry (and perhaps of the evolution of my own taste) that I find
her piano-accompanied performance of this piece that I associate with
guitars and amateur folk chorus to be totally convincing and
inspiring.

Good selection of spirituals. I've sung several of these in high school choir and choral Society. It's a joy to hear them sung so poignantly and in the authentic style by these three great ladies. Highly recommended!