Dear Friends,

There may be no form of music that stems from such a deep wellspring of shared history and emotion than the African American Spiritual.  Born out of lives of oppression, degradation and humiliation, the spiritual stands as a remarkable achievement of a people who refused to be bound by their current conditions. The songs sung by the slaves utilized the concepts of melody, rhythm, harmony and form that had been brought from Africa, but the subject matter was rooted in their newly discovered Christianity.  This melding of two cultures resulted in some of the most poignant and beautiful music ever conceived. Dealing with many subjects, but usually touching in some way on the yearning for a better life, either in Heaven or more immediately as a free person in the North, the Spiritual is music of hope and freedom sung by a people of tremendous faith.

On Friday, May 17, The Michael O'Neal Singers and Chamber Singers will proudly present Songs of Hope and Freedom with Guest Conductor Moses Hogan, internationally recognized conductor, arranger, composer and pianist.  Mr. Hogan will conduct his own beautiful and exciting arrangements of spirituals as well as His Light Still Shines, his tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The writer and poet James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), best known for his poem, God's Trombones, once said:

"I think white singers, concert singers, can sing Spirituals – if they feel them.  But to feel them it is necessary to know the truth about their origin and history, to get in touch with the association of ideas that surround them, and to realize something of what they have meant in the experiences of the  people who created them. In a word, the capacity to feel these songs while singing them is more important than any amount of mere artistic technique."
 

It is my hope that in the learning and preparation of this program of spirituals all of us in the MOS have developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of the people who gave them to us. As we "feel" these spirituals, it is my fervent desire that you as audience members will "feel" them also.  Perhaps it is in the "feeling" of another people's story that true understanding begins.

I hope to see you at the concert.