StudyScores.com

The Books of the American Negro Spirituals

The Books of the American Negro Spirituals

zoom enlarge 
Authors: James Weldon Johnson, J. Rosamond Johnson
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book

List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $14.75
You Save: $10.25 (41%)



New (23) Used (8) from $14.75

Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars 4 reviews
Sales Rank: 146276

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 6.8 x 0.8

ISBN: 0306812029
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.253
EAN: 9780306812026
ASIN: 0306812029

Publication Date: December 3, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Also Available In:

  • Paperback - The Books Of American Negro Spirituals (Da Capo Paperback)
  • Paperback - The Books of the American Negro Spirituals
  • Hardcover - The Books of the American Negro Spirituals

Similar Items:

  • American Negro Songs: 230 Folk Songs and Spirituals, Religious and Secular
  • Slave Songs of the United States
  • Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit: 101 Best-Loved Psalms, Gospel Hymns & Spiritual Songs of the African-American Church
  • African American Heritage Hymnal: 575 Hymns, Spirituals, and Gospel Songs
  • The Trouble I've Seen: The Big Book of Negro Spirituals

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
A treasured collection of sheet music and commentary on the greatest spirituals of all time.

In two elegant and masterly prefaces, James Weldon Johnson discusses the origin and history of more than 120 of the most significant spirituals known. Favorites like "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," "Deep River," and "Go Down, Moses" are arranged for voice and piano by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, and considered within their African tradition.


Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars if you are a singer, and admire sprituals this is your source   January 13, 2007
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

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.



5 out of 5 stars The Best   January 2, 2006
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

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."



5 out of 5 stars The Books of American Negro Spirituals   February 1, 2003
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

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.


5 out of 5 stars Outstanding transcriptions of traditional music   April 11, 1999
 37 out of 38 found this review helpful

This book stays true to aural tradition and offers outstanding, non-Westernized arrangements of the aural traditional music of African American spirituals.

The choice of using phonetic spellings for the lyrics means that the lyrics are heavy in the use of words like "dese", "dose", "Heab'n", etc. However, given the original publication being in the 1920's, and the author's comments in the introduction, it is apparent that the spellings are not the result of gross cultural insensitivity.

The respect for, and love of this fine music comes through in the author's comments. And the transcriptions retain the strong harmonic features that are often "arranged out" of collections of aural traditional music.

It is a fine collection, and an absolute steal at the price.

The products referenced on this site are sold and shipped by Amazon.com. StudyScores.com makes no representations regarding either the products or any information offered about products. Any questions, complaints, or claims regarding the products must be directed to the appropriate manufacturer or vendor, or to Amazon.com.