HomeMusic of the MastersFolksongsSpirituls, Hymns and GospelsPopularTwo-part arrangementsMiscellaneous and ChristmasPrice List and A-Z ListingContact/Pricelist

 

SPIRITUALS, HYMNS & GOSPELS (3)

You can click on the TTBB music mini-scores in the left-hand column to view some pages of the score. A TTBB musical sample in MP3 format is available for most of the songs - click on the singer or loudspeaker icon in the right-hand column to hear it. If you wish to download it for playing on your own sound system, right click on it and choose "save target/link as...".
TTBB sheet music sample
2 pages
Ride the Chariot

This exhilarating spiritual looks forward to the Day of Judgement with eager enthusiasm and a confident sense of readiness. "I'm gonna ride in the chariot to see my Lord".  Piano. Cat no 1502 - price code D - duration c.2'25"

TTBB  music sample
TTBB sheet music sample
2 pages
Rock-a My Soul

"My soul got happy and I stayed all day" when  I rocked my soul "in the bosom of Abraham". A rocking arrangement, too!  Piano. Roberton Publications 53102 (please order direct)- price code X - duration c.2' 45"

 
TTBB sheet music sample
2 pages
Rock of Ages - Jubilee

A rarely-heard, ebullient spiritual, and one that deserves to be better known. Its TTBB chorus provides a very different setting of the celebrated words "Rock of Ages, cleft for me", and the tune was used by the folk singer Woody Guthrie for his song This Land Is My Land.  Piano. Cat no 1525 - price code C - duration c.1'20"

 
TTBB sheet music sample
2 pages
Shall We Gather at the River?

God be with you and this hymn both come from the American church of the late 19th century. The two composers were contemporaries and the hymns written within four years of each other. Robert Lowry was a Baptist minister in Pennsylvania and a prolific hymn writer. He produced over 150. Shall we gather.... remains his best-known one. The river notion is of course borrowed from the spirituals.  Piano or organ. Cat no 1558 - price code C - duration c.3'25"

   
TTBB sheet music sample
2 pages

Standing in the Need of Prayer

"Not my brother nor my sister but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer". The slave is realistically aware of his own shortcomings, but nevertheless he expresses them with infectious rhythm and good humour.  Piano with soloist (or group). Cat no 1556 - price code C - duration c.2'20"

TTBB  music sample
2 pages

There Is a Balm in Gilead

The world-famous gospel singer Mahalia Jackson said that There is a Balm in Gilead was her all-time favourite. In Biblical times the area of Gilead (north of the Dead Sea) was well-known for the export of balm and aromatic spices. The mood of this TTBB setting is appropriately soothing.  Unaccompanied. Cat no 1519 - price code B - duration c.2'25"

2 pages
This Little Light of Mine

The idea for This Little Light comes from John's gospel. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works". However, the unknown poet develops his own special slant, with no reference at all to theology. The light may be little, but it seems to penetrate everywhere, and the memorable and much-loved tune shines brightly.  Piano. Cat no 1548 - price code C - duration c.2'30"

 
TTBB sheet music sample
3 pages
This Train

Also known as “This train is bound for glory”, the song is a traditional American gospel song that was first recorded in 1925 by Woods Blind Jubilee Singers and subsequently by other black religious groups. The slave imagines many roads to heaven. Sometimes he rides a chariot or climbs Jacob’s ladder. The arrival of the first locomotives to the South modernises his vision. The train has no room for gamblers, high tone women or cigar smokers, but it carries “my father, mother, sister and my brother”. It is “bound for glory”. Piano. Cat.no.1582 Price code D – duration c.2’05.

Music sample
2 pages
Wade in the Water

The words of spirituals are not always what they seem. In this case they appear to be yearning for freedom. However, these verses convey a hidden meaning. The escaping slave is told to Wade in the Water  because then the pursuing police bloodhounds would lose his scent.  Piano. Cat no 1554 - price code D - duration c.2'10"

2 pages
When the Love Comes Trickalin' Down

Another little-known spiritual, and set in a blues style, but the message is very positive. "Brother/sister/father you ought to be there when the love comes trickalin' down".  Piano. Cat no 1522 - price code D - duration c.2'45"

3 pages
Who Built the Ark? / The Old Ark's A-moverin'

Two spirituals, both about Noah's Ark, are combined, allowing the vessel to be both built and then moved. It sails at a fair rate of knots, too!  Piano (possible audience participation).  Cat no 1555 - price code B - duration c.2'10"

 

Home page

Design by PFG and Andrew Evans.