Spirituals: 5 Songs for Voice and Piano

Lawrence Benjamin Brown's arragnements of five traditional spirituals were published by Schott in 1923 at a time when the American composer, singer and pianist studied composition at Trinity College in London with Alex Rowley and Amanda Aldridge. The son of a former slave, Brown established a high profile reputation as an accompanist and toured the US and Europe with the singers Paul Robeson and Roland Hayes. Commercial success followed with numerous recordings with Robeson and the pair worked together until Robeson's retirement in 1961. Many of these original recordings, including the Spirituals in this publication, have been reissued digitally. Brown died in Harlem, New York on Christmas day in 1972 and his many papers, musical scores, photographs and other materials are now housed in the Lawrence Brown Collection at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library.