[Deep River: Songs and Spirituals; Oral Moses, bass-baritone; Ann Sears, piano; Henry T. Burleigh, composer; Troy 332 (1999)]
“American Legacy, The Magazine of African-American History & Culture, http://www.AmericanLegacyMag.com/” has published a “Special Music Issue” for Summer 2009. One of the articles is:
“A Czech In The Land Of Spirituals”
by Adina Williams
“Years ago, as a young woman and a fairly advanced student of music and violin, I had the opportunity to perform Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Z Noveho Sveta (“From the New World”). The sonorities and unique use of orchestral colors as well as the poignant melodic style of Dvořák stirred something deep within me, even then. As a teenager I had no idea that exploring Dvořák's life narrative and sharing his story with a global community through an online educational project with Carnegie Hall and PBS would later become such a vital part of my own professional and personal growth. And I never imagined, all those years ago when I was the only African-American violinist in the New York All-State Orchestra, that this distinguished Czech composer, known for his quiet, almost reclusive manner, could be outspoken, particularly when it came to race issues, something that not only could have jeopardized his musical career (and in some ways did) but might even have caused him and his family serious harm. If only I had known this back then when I felt so alone!” “Determined to find out more about Dvořák, I saved my pennies and recruited my mother and best friend to travel with me to his homeland in the summer of 2004.”
“What struck me the most about our visit to Dvořák's home was this: Amid the few surviving portraits of Dvořák's father, grandfather, wife, children and mentor and colleague Johannes Brahms was a painting in a well-worn but regal frame of an equally noble black man! Seeing it, I felt faint and my heart raced. Out from Antonín Dvořák's most intimate and beloved keepsakes beamed the countenance of Harry T. Burleigh. Why was this portrait hanging on the wall in the small house of a European composer in an out-of-the-way village in the Czech Republic? Where had the two men crossed paths? The answer to that question was fairly simple: Dvořák and Henry “Harry” Thacker Burleigh first met in New York City when Burleigh was a student at the National Conservatory of Music, where Dvořák served as director beginning in 1892.” [AfriClassical.com has a page, “Henry 'Harry' T. Burleigh (1866-1949): African American Composer, Arranger and Baritone” which includes ten audio samples, as well as a complete Works List by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma, Professor of Music at Lawrence University, whose research on the composer has been made available to the website.]
American Legacy
Adina Williams
Antonin Dvořák
Henry T. Burleigh
African American Composer
New World Symphony
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