June 8, 2014 - Pentecost

Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit - William L. Dawson
Give Me Jesus - Larry L. Fleming

Hymns:Sweet, Sweet Spirit, Veni Sancte Spiritu

The music that we are singing this week is inspired by the African American tradition. The spirituals Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit and Give Me Jesus deliver simple statements of faith that will (hopefully) serve to remind us why we sing and what overall should serve to put things into perspective for us.

Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit was arranged by the African American composer, conductor and professor William L. Dawson (1899-1990). Dawson ran away from home at age 13 to enroll in the Tuskegee Institute. From there he was accepted at the all-white college, Horner Institute of Fine Arts where he earned his B.M. but was not allowed to walk across the stage. After completing further study at the Chicago Musical College and American Conservatory he taught public school in Kansas City. Then, from 1931-1956 He taught at the Tuskegee Institute where developed the choral program. This piece is filled with energy and while it doesn’t deal with the day of Pentecost it does cover the influence of the Holy Spirit which God sent to us when Jesus ascended into heaven to comfort us. The song also deals with the double meaning of many spirituals. It’s hard to read the last verse and not find the references to the Underground Railroad in the “train that runs but one way” that we “can’t be late for.” This high energy spiritual seems a fitting choice for the end of the choir season.

The communion anthem is a plaintive arrangement of the spiritual Give Me Jesus. The arrangement by Larry L. Fleming (1936-2003) is filled with quiet subtle detail and a fitting final piece for the season. This year has been a year of changes, ambitious projects and great achievements. This piece is a reminder of why we do what we do. “You can have all this world, give me Jesus.”  The simple arrangement is incredibly expressive and never obscures the text.  I think that this is a good piece to refocus ourselves as we go on break and relax for the next couple of months to ponder the nature of our ministry as a choir and to remember why we do what we do.