BLACK SWANS: Earliest African-American Classical Stars

Artista: Burleigh, Harry / Boatner, Edward / Talbert, Florence

Formato: COMPACT DISCS

Gravadora/Label: PACD

Catalogo: 96067

Faixas: 1.1 Go Down Moses; Harry Burleigh
1.2 I don’t feel No Ways Tired; Edward Boatner
1.3 Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child; Edward Boatner
1.4 Dett: in the bottoms Barcarolle; R. Nathaniel Dett
1.5 Dett: Magnolia Suite-Mammy; R. Nathaniel Dett
1.6 Delibes: Lakme Bell Song; Florence Cole-Talbert
1.7 The Last Rose of Summer; Florence Cole-Talbert
1.8 Dell’Acqua: Villanelle; Florence Cole-Talbert
1.9 Arditi: Il Baccio; Talbert
1.10 Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen; Talbert
1.11 White: Cradle Song; Clarence Cameron White (violin)
1.12 White: Lament; Clarence Cameron White
1.13 Make More Room; Hattie King Reavis
1.14 Gounod: There is a Green Hill; Hattie King Reavis
1.15 Leoncavallo: Vesti La Giubba (Pagliacci); Roland Hayes
1.16 Donizetti: Una Furtiva Lagrima (L’Elisir d’Amore); Roland Hayes
1.17 Verdi: Sollene in quest’ora (La Forza del Destino; Roland Hayes
1.18 Katherine Glen: Twilight; Roland Hayes
1.19 Bye and Bye; Roland Hayes
1.20 Steal Away to Jesus; Roland Hayes
1.21 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Roland Hayes
1.22 Verdi: Caro Nome (Rigoletto); Antoinette Garnes
1.23 Verdi: Ah! Fors’e lui (La Traviata); Antoinette Garnes
1.24 Haydn: My Mother Bids Me Bind My Hair; Antoinette Garnes
1.25 Faure: Les Rameaux; Harry Burleigh

An amazing revival of a lost area of African American cultural history: classical music performances from the early part of the 20th century. These souvenirs of the earliest such commercial recording ventures showcase forgotten examples of a great culture’s accomplishments. The engineering and re-mastering, along with the exquisitely researched and annotated accompanying booklet are the joint labor of love of the Parnassus triumvirate team of Leslie Gerber, Tim Brooks, and Steve Smolian, making BLACK SWANS in my list, at least one of the top albums of the year.