Spirituals, Volume 1 - Soprano Recorder and Piano

The spiritual is a kind of folksong that originated in the African American communities of the United States in the second half of the eighteenth century. These songs were mostly Christian “spiritual" songs. They were used in church services but became work songs with a call and response form. Drums were not allowed on plantations, so people used handclaps and foot stomps to keep the rhythm of the spiritual.

Some spirituals were used as coded messages during the time of slavery. The spiritual “Follow the Drinking Gourd” gave the directions for slaves who wanted to run away to find the Underground Railroad. These would make great pieces to teach in Black History Month or anytime. They certainly could be used as part of a study of spirituals and how spirituals, in part, led to the development of Jazz.

These duets for soprano recorder and piano will give you a collection of easy and medium pieces for your students to play. You can use the easy selections as part of your beginning recorder program. As your students progress, you can give the students who need more challenges the duets to work on in class time or at home. These pieces can be played and sung. Piano accompaniments are included with this resource.