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The arrangements of spirituals by Margaret Bonds are familiar, but she wrote a good number of larger works that have been neglected by comparison with those of her teacher, Florence B. Price. Partly this is because many remained unpublished; the Credo heard here was published only in 2022, and a number of performances followed. One of these came from New York's Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra under the direction of Malcolm J. Merriweather. The Credo, with a text by W.E.B. DuBois, is paired with an oratorio-like work, Simon Bore the Cross; the text of the latter is by Langston Hughes, a close friend of Bonds. Both pieces artfully weave African American materials with established forms of sacred music; the Credo is not a setting of the Credo of the Catholic mass (although it draws on that) but a set of more general statements of belief, several of them specifically African American. The spirituals influence Bonds' language at many points -- sample the unique treatment of "He Never Said a Mumblin' Word" from the Crucifixion movement of Simon Bore the Cross -- but neither work is simply a chain of spirituals. The music is beautifully performed by the choristers of the Dessoff Choirs, largely not African American but well-drilled in the flavors of Black music by Merriweather, and the sound -- recorded at Manhattan's Church of the Heavenly Rest -- is ideal. Both of these works would be ideal for school and collegiate choirs, and Merriweather and the Dessoff Choirs deserve special credit for inaugurating their revival with such strong performances.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher - W.E.B. Du Bois, Composer
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - Janinah Burnett, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher - W.E.B. Du Bois, Composer
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher - W.E.B. Du Bois, Composer
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher - W.E.B. Du Bois, Composer
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher - W.E.B. Du Bois, Composer
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - Dashon Burton, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher - W.E.B. Du Bois, Composer
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher - W.E.B. Du Bois, Composer
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Langston Hughes, Composer - Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Langston Hughes, Composer - Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - Dashon Burton, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Langston Hughes, Composer - Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Langston Hughes, Composer - Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - Janinah Burnett, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Langston Hughes, Composer - Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Langston Hughes, Composer - Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - Janinah Burnett, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Langston Hughes, Composer - Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Langston Hughes, Composer - Margaret Bonds, Composer - Malcolm J. Merriweather, Conductor, MainArtist - The Dessoff Choirs, MainArtist - The Dessoff Orchestra, Orchestra - Margaret Bonds Estate, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
Album review
The arrangements of spirituals by Margaret Bonds are familiar, but she wrote a good number of larger works that have been neglected by comparison with those of her teacher, Florence B. Price. Partly this is because many remained unpublished; the Credo heard here was published only in 2022, and a number of performances followed. One of these came from New York's Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra under the direction of Malcolm J. Merriweather. The Credo, with a text by W.E.B. DuBois, is paired with an oratorio-like work, Simon Bore the Cross; the text of the latter is by Langston Hughes, a close friend of Bonds. Both pieces artfully weave African American materials with established forms of sacred music; the Credo is not a setting of the Credo of the Catholic mass (although it draws on that) but a set of more general statements of belief, several of them specifically African American. The spirituals influence Bonds' language at many points -- sample the unique treatment of "He Never Said a Mumblin' Word" from the Crucifixion movement of Simon Bore the Cross -- but neither work is simply a chain of spirituals. The music is beautifully performed by the choristers of the Dessoff Choirs, largely not African American but well-drilled in the flavors of Black music by Merriweather, and the sound -- recorded at Manhattan's Church of the Heavenly Rest -- is ideal. Both of these works would be ideal for school and collegiate choirs, and Merriweather and the Dessoff Choirs deserve special credit for inaugurating their revival with such strong performances.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 01:02:49
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: The Dessoff Choirs Janinah Burnett Dashon Burton
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: AVIE Records
- Genre: Classical
(C) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs (P) 2023 The Dessoff Choirs
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