{"id":7892,"date":"2023-10-11T14:05:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T19:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=7892"},"modified":"2023-10-11T14:12:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T19:12:00","slug":"harry-thacker-burleighs-spirituals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2023\/10\/11\/harry-thacker-burleighs-spirituals\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry Thacker Burleigh’s Spirituals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Harry T. Burleigh; Photo by Mishkin, New York, 1922. Creator: Unknown. (Photo by Heritage Art\/Heritage Images via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Harry Thacker Burleigh was a trail blazer in for African American composers during the 19th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup> centuries. One of the main things he was known for was the arranging of many different Negro spirituals.[1]<\/a> He studied at the New York National Conservatory was noticed by Antonin Dvorak, and he hired Burleigh to be a librarian for him. During this time, he composed his first art songs. These initial compositions included plantation and minstrel songs, one such song we\u2019re going to look at more in depth is \u2018Steal Away.\u2019<\/p>\n

H.T. Burleigh prefaces his arrangement with saying that these spirituals were never composed, rather they had sprung to life through white religious oppression. These songs are not to be confused with minstrel songs; they have a more serious connotation. Steal away was published in nineteen twenty-one and very quickly became popular. He was one of the first composers to bring Negro spirituals to concert halls.[2]<\/a> Unfortunately having to adjust to the times, these spirituals had to be brought to western classical tradition. I think that throughout constant oppression and lack of representation, Burleigh should be celebrated as one of the first to pioneer black composition in the Western Classical Tradition. With the shortcomings of American culture, I believe that we should take the time to recognize the first of many Black composers starting to take the spotlight of the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

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Burleigh, Harry Thacker. 1921. \u201cSteal Away.\u201d Digital.library.temple.edu. 1921.<\/p><\/div>\n

These spirituals were not just popular during the time of their composition, it is still being sung by vocalists today. Below you will hear a recording from Indra Thomas, the lyrics are very obviously bleeding spiritual feeling. The repetition really drives the spirituality home, repeating \u201cSteal away to Jesus\u201d multiple times before hearing other lyrics. That line is the main motive that the composition returns to on three separate occasions. Whenever we diverge from these initial lyrics, they sing about the sounds of a trumpet ringing in their soul. The trumpet is usually accredited to being a very spiritual instrument, trying to \u2018wake up\u2019 sinners and calling them to repent.<\/p>\n\n\n