As summer is in full swing, February feels like a wisp of a memory and all the programming you did for Black History Month might currently be laying dormant until its resurrection next year. It’s possible that once February ended, you moved on to the next thing, your choir proceeding as usual; or perhaps instead you were left wondering, “How can I continue to uplift Black voices and program Black music consistently?," but didn’t know where to start.
In Part One of this series, we discussed Spirituals and how the who, what, where, and why of these pieces are crucial when programming these historical works. Spirituals are multifaceted and contain a breadth of emotional stories, from joy to pain, and fear to freedom. This and the fact that they are beloved around the world, makes it easy to include Spirituals in your programs year-round. However, I must reiterate a very important sentence from Part One of this series that you may have overlooked or forgotten – Spirituals are not the extent of Black Choral Literature.
Obviously, I’m not telling you to not program Spirituals, but I am encouraging you to not program only Spirituals or use them as the sole piece to diversify your repertoire. There is a whole world of Black choral composers out there who have created and are currently creating riveting works that belong on your programs. So instead of including the same cantatas, requiems, and choral art songs by the old, dead, white men of the canon (i.e. Bach, Mozart, Haydn… the list goes on); consider supplementing or pairing them with works by Black composers.
When aiming to program Renaissance music, it’s easy to look to the same heavy hitters like Monteverdi, Tallis, Byrd, or Palestrina; but despite common misconception, this period doesn’t only belong to white, western Europeans. There were many Black composers and musicians during the Renaissance period that have been forgotten or overlooked due to the racism of the time, like Vicente Lusitano. There are also contemporary composers creating works with the same contrapuntal integrity and beauty of Renaissance motets like Kevin Allen.
Born around 1520 in a city that is now a part of Spain, Portuguese composer Vicente Lusitano is one of the oldest known mixed-race composers of African descent and the only published Black composer in 16th-century Europe. Although only a small amount of his compositions survive today, Lusitano’s works have received an uptake in popularity thanks to the rise in awareness of programming Black works post-2020 and Chanticleer’s full score transcriptions of his motets.
If you merely listened to Kevin Allen’s sacred works you would never in a million years pin the composer as a contemporary, Black American man based in Chicago. His contrapuntal masterpieces harken to that of Palestrina and other motet makers with languid lines and profound singability. While Allen has also composed operas and orchestral pieces, it’s his church music for which he is best known.
Don’t be afraid by the title of this section; I’ll never encourage you to ditch Bach (completely). His compositional style is a foundational part of classical and choral music, and with 1,128 works preserved today, it’s no wonder he’s one of the most programmed composers in the world. Nearly three-fourths of Bach’s compositions are religious in nature and most of them revolve around pain and suffering instead of love, so if you’re looking to switch up the vibe and diversify your sacred selections, here are a few Black composers to know.
Widely recognized as one of the United States’ premier concert organists, sacred music composers, and church musicians; David Hurd studied at both Juilliard and Oberlin and holds honorary doctorates at three different divinity schools, including Yale. He is known for his organ improvisation and was named Composer of the Year in 2010 by the American Guild of Organists.
This Dallas native is a composing and arranging fiend! With over 350 choral works, vocal solo books, and keyboard collections currently in print, you are bound to find something by him for your programming.
Technically this Afro-Brazilian composer falls under the Classical period of music and not late Baroque like Bach, but Nunes Garcia’s extensive list of sacred and liturgical works rivals that of Bach. Plus, his classical prowess gave Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn a run for their money!
It’s no secret that programming during the holidays can get redundant over the years. Audiences want the classics, but as a program director, you may be yearning to include something fresh and/or a little more challenging than your standard carol. Well, did you know that there’s a plethora of Christmas and holiday music out there by Black composers?
A piano prodigy having composed her first composition by age five, Margaret Bonds was one of the first African American composers to gain popularity and recognition in the United States. A social activist as well, Bonds was the first Black musician to play with the Chicago Symphony, arranged an array of Negro Spirituals, and was a frequent collaborator of poet Langston Hughes. Her works range from solo art songs to orchestral behemoths and all are filled with beauty beyond compare.
Baritone and multi-instrumentalist, de Paur began to compose while he was a part of the Hall Johnson Choir and studied at Columbia University as well as the Institute of Musical Arts, which later became Juilliard. During WWII, he enrolled in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was quickly promoted to Lieutenant. He went on to music direct the play, Winged Victory, and then was assigned to an all-male chorus comprised of 35 singers from the 372nd Infantry’s Glee Club. This group went on to be known as the De Paur Chorus.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Furman began playing piano at age six, although he is best known for having composed over 50 choral works.
Please let it be known that I could have continued programming concerts to include works by Black composers from various backgrounds, time periods, and musical styles in this blog post because the breadth of Black choral literature is extensive, but I would’ve been here forever. By breaking down just a fraction of this massive body into three introductory categories, I hope that you see just how much music by Black composers is out there and all the possibilities that entails. If you’re itching to learn more, I highly suggest the following resources that helped me, which you can find below.