The Books of the American Negro Spirituals Paperback – December 3, 2002

Excellent compilation for the serious singer!

I am an opera singer, and was looking for some lesser-known spirituals to add to my repertoire, and this book has quite a few. They have accompaniments ranging from simple to moderately advanced. However, the preface -rather extensive- explains the methodology of the writing and performing of the songs, as was understood by the Johnson brothers, James Weldon and J. Rosamond. It's a great purchase, and invaluable to those of us who are interested in furthering our knowledge of this genre, and continuing to teach others about the contribution of spirituals to our lives and music today.

I was looking for a book that would be brief yet concise. Of course, I don't know all there is to know about Negro Spirituals, so I don't really know how concise it is; but it seemed to cover quite a bit of information that was useful to me. The authors speak from first hand experience, which was very helpful. Some songs were familiar to me, but many were not. I felt as if I gained a great deal from both the text of the book as well as the music and lyrics.

This is perhaps the best compilation of African American Spirituals. Both of editor James Weldon Johnson's volumes are included as are his excellent introductions. The introductions alone are worth the price of the book and more. Johnson's brother provides the arrangement, as close as possible to the most likely way(s) in which they were originally sung. The words themselves are also as close as possible to the original wording. "The Book of the American Negro Spirituals" provides a first-hand accounting of the lyrical majesty and the creative genius of the enslaved African Americans as they integrated Christian truth into their daily suffering.Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction." He has also authored "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming "Sacred Friendships: Listening to the Voices of Women Soul Care-Givers and Spiritual Directors."

For those of us who were raised with listening to singers like Mahalia Jackson, Ethyl Waters, these are so good to have in a compilation. These are songs from the heart but also with great faith.

I love praise and worship, Beautifully done in the choice of songs. The singing will bring you before the presence of the Lord,

i love spirituals and especially for a bass/baritone, the spiritual is a form that allows the low voice to shine. i purchased this work and have begun to enjoy working from sheet music with songs that previously, i only had the words, and maybe a recording to learn from.not much else to say. if you want to see how spiritual looked when they were first transcribed for musicians, this is a one stop source.

I wanted to learn the old Negro Spirituals because I love the way they sing them. I don't do them justice as a Norwegian American.