On Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. or Sunday, June 24 at 3:30 p.m., come to the Fine Arts Center on the La Plata Campus of the College of Southern Maryland and enjoy an evening of spirituals with the Chesapeake Choral Arts Society and Guests, under the direction of Michael K. Santana.
What are Spirituals? Spirituals are African American Folk Music that came out of slavery. They draw rhythm complexity from African music and words from the slaves’ exposure to Christianity. In short, spirituals are the religious folk songs created by enslaved African Americans. Dvorak and Delius considered the Negro Spiritual to be the only true Folk music upon which any American Nationalistic music could be based.
In this concert, the Chesapeake Choral Arts Society and guest soloists will be performing arrangements from the most famous arrangers in the genre, including: William Dawson, H.T. Burleigh, Nathaniel Dett, John W. Work, Moses Hogan, and others. There will be a focus on what is known as the “coded” Spirituals --- Spirituals with hidden messages to help guide slaves seeking to escape bondage.
Some of the Spirituals you should expect to hear in this concert include: Dry Bones; Ride On, King Jesus; Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord; Ezekiel Saw de Wheel; Soon Ah Will Be Done; Elijah Rock; and many more.
