African American arts benefit


One hundred years ago today … The Brooklyn Y.M.C.A. was the site of a concert to benefit the Fort Valley High and Industrial School (Georgia), a school for Black students.

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The main attraction was Henry T. “Harry” Burleigh, a groundbreaking Black classical composer and singer credited with introducing spirituals to mainstream classical audiences. Aomong the songs he sung that night was “Swng Low, Sweet Chariot.” Burleigh’s arrangement of the song made it part of the U.S. canon.

Burleigh, H. T, and N. Clifford Page. Swing low, sweet chariot chorus for mixed voices: Negro spiritual. G. Ricordi, New York, monographic, 1920. Notated Music. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Burleigh, H. T, and N. Clifford Page. Swing low, sweet chariot chorus for mixed voices: Negro spiritual. G. Ricordi, New York, monographic, 1920. Notated Music. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

– Jonathan Goldman, January 19, 1921

TAGS: African American history, Black history, Black arts, Black music, concerts, classical music