Advertisement

NEGRO SPIRITUALS AT UNION MONDAY NIGHT

Rosamond Johnson and Taylor Gordon to Give Recital--Former Has Written Two Books of Songs

Rosamend Johnson, baritone and planist, and Tayler Gordon, tenor, will give a recital of negro spirituals on Monday night at 8 o'clock in the Harvard Union.

Having just completed a country wide tour, Johnson and Gordon are preparing to sail for a series of performances in London early this summer.

Johnson, who in collaboration with James Weldon Johnson has written two books of American negro spirituals, says about these "finest examples of folk-art in the world", as he terms them: "There is material in these spirituals worthy of use by our best composers. With their infinite variety of rhythm, their plaintive melodies and unusual harmonies, they can furnish inspiration for the highest music....The negro has been largely unable to express himself except in song. Perhaps that is why his music has such powerful appeal....I have termed this music noble, and I do so without any qualifications."

Advertisement
Advertisement