17. Marian Anderson – Spirituals
April 20, 2010
After going through this book, I realize it must have been hard for Mr. Moon to stick some of these recordings into a particular genre. Now days, most people just let their music player of choice tell them the genre of the stuff they’re listening too. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stuck a folk CD in my computer and iTunes tells me I’m listening to pop… Sometimes a recording can be in more than one (or two or three) genres. This one in particular is grouped into Classical and Gospel.
Marian Anderson was a contralto. Her range spanned the board. Unfortunately, our country at the time of her emergence was not completely willing to embrace the African American Anderson. One could say that it helped catapult her to fame though. After having an event canceled at the White House based on her color, the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt sponsored a free concert at the Lincoln Memorial featuring Anderson. 75,000 people attended, and Anderson was made a star and symbol of civil rights. Although Anderson was a trained opera singer, this particular recording is a collection of spirituals. A lot of these songs originated during slavery. Gospel is always a hit or miss with me, but I’m looking forward to this one. Tom Moon quotes the composer Toscanini as saying that “a voice like hers is heard only once in a hundred years.”
Deep River – Her voice is absolutely amazing. The song is about solemn but seeing as where most of these songs have come from, I can understand.
He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands – I just got transported back to 1st grade Sunday School. This song combined with her flawless voice is different. Its not what I’m used to, but I like it.
Roll Jerd’n Roll – Okay, based on the title of this song, its obvious that its a more…informal piece than other songs. Her voice is so operatic that it just doesn’t seem to fit. This would be more fun to listen to if a gospel diva was singing it.
Crucifixion – Okay, its a really dark song, but she’s hitting all the low notes that are near impossible for a woman and some men.
Were You There – I’m at the half way point of the album now. While her voice is absolutely amazing, if there wasn’t a pause between songs, I wouldn’t know where one stopped and another one began. I’m hoping the second half of the album won’t sound so depressing. So far, He’s Got the Whole World has been the most upbeat.
Soon-a Will Be Done – Yay! A slightly more upbeat song. You can actually hear her smile during this one.
Dere’s No Hidin’ Place Down Dere – Such a fun song! Even though its less than a minute long, I can see this one being my favorite.
Hard Trials – Nothing totally special about this song, but the fact that a song was written (and probably taken seriously) about how she’s “a methodist, methodist, methodist” is amusing to me for some reason.
Well, this was very…interesting. On one hand her contralto voice is near flawless. On the other hand, the album itself was very monotonous. I didn’t even feel much in key changes toward the middle of the album. Occasionally, an upbeat gem would sneak its way in, but not often enough. I liked this recording because I had never heard of Ms. Anderson before, and now I can look up her more operatic material which I’m sure I will enjoy more.
As always, thanks to Tom Moon for 1000 Recordings, and to rhapsody.com for keeping me legal.
