The Journey of Harriet Tubman |SATB Chorus| 25m
(Premiere performance of the bakersfield college chamber singers, dr. jennifer garrett, conductor and commissioner)
Notes from the publisher
This 5-movement (multi-media) work pays tribute to one of the great heroes of the emancipation era. Because scholars have no idea how these spirituals were performed before the Civil War, Dr. Kean's goal was to compose and arrange music in a style that is evocative of the enslaved African's frame of reference based upon their west African musical heritage and in their sociological context.
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Dr. Kean chose to accompany the spirituals with the kalimba (thumb piano) to honor the sub-Saharan African tradition of connecting with their ancestors and the marimba to sound like the west African balafon.
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Half of all the music and film royalties from this composition goes to "The Equal Justice Initiative", a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. Please visit https://eji.org/about/
Steal Away
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Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus
Steal away, steal away home
I ain't got long to stay here.
My Lord, He calls me,
Calls me by the thunder.
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My Lord calls me,
Calls me by the lightning.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home.
I looked over Jordan and what did I see?
Comin' for to carry me home
A band of angels coming after me!
Comin' for to carry me home.
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home.
If you get there before I do
Comin' for to carry me home
Tell all my friends I'm coming too!
Comin' for to carry me home.
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Go Down, Moses
When Israel was in Egypt land
Let my people go!
Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let my people go!
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Go down Moses
Way down in Egypt land
Tell all pharaoh to let my people go!
The Lord told Moses what to do
He said: Let my people go!
To lead the Hebrew children through
Let my people go!
Oh, Freedom
O freedom, O freedom,
O freedom over me!
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And before I'd be a slave,
I'd be planted in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free!
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There be singin'
There be singin'
There be singin' over me.
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And before I'd be a slave,
I'd be planted in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free!