Guest Book: 'I've admired Dawson's arrangements since the 1940s, when we sang them a great many times in the choirs'

[The Spirituals of William L. Dawson; The St. Olaf Choir; Anton Armstrong, conductor; Marvis Martin, soprano; St. Olaf Records 2159 (1997)]

William Levi Dawson (1899-1990) was an African American composer, arranger and choral director. He is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com

The composer Ezra Sims, http://www.ezrasims.com/, has a number of recordings to his credit. He wrote this post in the Guest Book at AfriClassical.com:

"Ezra Sims Wednesday, 4/25/12, 5:24 PM I've admired Dawson's arrangements since the 1940s, when we sang them a great many times in the choirs -- church and college -- of which I was a member. Some are, you might say, burned into my memory. From: Birmingham, Ala, originally"