A Celebration of the Life and Work of Harry T. Burleigh (9/12/21)

Deep River – Steven Kirby, baritone; There Is a Balm in Gilead – Melisa Bonetti, Shaina Martinez, Laura Jobin-Acosta; My Lord What a Morning – Calvary-St. George’s Choir
Burleigh at Temple Emanu-El – Dr. Andrew Henderson; Jack Coen
A Jubilee – Kamel Boutrous
You Ask Me If I Love You – Laura Jobin- Acosta; One Year – Steven Kirby; He Sent Me You – Shaina Martinez
Go Tell It on the Mountain – Calvary-St. George’s Choir

A first for me, I attended a co-naming ceremony for a street on Sept. 12, 2021—HARRY T BURLEIGH PL (that’s the way street signs work in NYC).

After the ceremony, there was (gasp!) an indoor concert. Since it was in a church (a new one for me) and since every other pew was roped off (but most people, including me, wore masks), it was pretty safe for an indoor concert.

The first piece was slow and very moving. Stately. This would be a major theme. The second started with ethereal humming (also a recognizable motif).

I should probably do a mini-history lesson here. Burleigh integrated St. George’s choir in the early 1900s and, as a soloist, he also integrated Temple Emanu-El’s choir. Along the way, he arranged many spirituals, introducing them to mainstream America. (Plantation music as well, but that needs more exploration by me.)

Back to the music. My Lord What a Morning was a fairly straightforward setting, with a stronger second section that then scaled back down, ending quietly.

A video from Temple Emanu-El  followed, with a solemn organ meditation by Dr. Andrew Henderson. He also found, buried in the archives, a setting of May the Words (a Jewish/Hebrew text) set to the tune of Deep River, by Harry Burleigh. We heard it on video sung by the Temple Emanu-El choir.

The piano solo, A Jubilee, was composed in the style of a spiritual while incorporating touches of jazz.
Three Art Songs followed, probably trying to set his fate as a legitimate composer (though I don’t think that was necessary). You Ask Me If I Love You, One Year, and He Sent Me You were early–20th-century examples of art songs, no matter the skin color of the composer.

The final piece, sung by the Calvary-St George’s Choir was Go Tell It on the Mountain. While it was spiritual, I wish it had been more boisterous. Maybe I needed a William Dawson arrangement.

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