Denee Barr sings Ride on King Jesus (Impromptu)
Moses George Hogan, Composer and arranger choral music and spirituals
DABVideo 2010
Note:
Date: before 1865
Composer: Traditional SpiritualPeriod: Romantic (1820-1869)
"Ride On, King Jesus" is an African-American spiritual, what was once commonly called a Negro spiritual. Most of the songs in this genre can be traced to enslaved blacks living in the southern United States in the century or so prior to the Civil War. Many of the spirituals contained hidden messages about freedom and veiled references to escape, and are thus called Underground Railroad songs. This one, however, "Ride On, King Jesus," contains a text whose purpose appears to be a strictly spiritual one, one however, that raises the slaves' ultimate worth to that of their owners with the words that Jesus "died for the rich and He died for the poor." The spiritual's melody brims with energy and brightness in its sprightly syncopations and sense of innocence. The melody begins with a fanfare-like vocal statement in the upper ranges ("Ride on, King Jesus; No man can-a-hinder me"), after which the music turns playful and bouncy, delicate and cute, too, in the way the singer softly intones the rhythmic accents of the colorful vocal line. Hardly sounding the product of the pre-Civil War era, this charming song will have strong appeal for both folk song and spirituals enthusiasts. ~ Robert Cummings, All Music Guide
http://www.answers.com/topic/ride-on-king-jesus-vocal-classical-work
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