Five Negro Spirituals
by Traditional · arranged by Lawrence Brown
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1923
- Publisher
- Free engraved edition (score and cello part) shared by the Sphinx Organization
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About this piece
Five spirituals set for cello and piano by Lawrence Brown (1893–1972), the son of a formerly enslaved father and for many years Paul Robeson's accompanist [1]: Nobody knows de trouble I've seen, Ev'ry time I feel de spirit, Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, I know de Lord's laid his hands on me, and Swing low, sweet chariot. Slow, singing settings alternate with brisk, marcato ones. The Sphinx Competition sets a selection from the set as Junior Division repertoire [2], and the set opens Anthony Elliott and Toni-Marie Montgomery's album Music for Cello and Piano by African-American Composers.
Technical overview
Moves between bass, tenor and treble clefs, climbing to D on the A string in the faster songs. Keys run up to four sharps and five flats. Dotted rhythms, triplets, grace notes and quick ornamental figures, but no double stops. Tempos range from Lento sostenuto to Allegro marcato, with ritenutos, fermatas and a closing Adagio.
Technical focus
- Accidentals
- Collaboration with Piano
- Dotted Rhythms
- Dynamics
- Grace Notes
- Hairpin Dynamics
- Legato
- Shifting
- Tempo Changes
- Tenor Clef
- Treble Clef
- Triplets