THE ESSENCE OF THE HEART

Much of the spiritual repertory has been transcribed as documentation of purely melodic and lyrical content, and many songs have been arranged by some of the greatest figures in twentieth- and twenty-first century music history, including Harry T. Burleigh, Hall Johnson, Margaret Bonds, and Jacqueline B. Hairston. On this roster of luminaries is Dr. Eva Jessye (1895-1992). If Eva Jessye is remembered at all, it is typically in the context of her role as choral director for the original production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (1935). Among a litany of other accomplishments, however, Dr. Jessye also published a collection of spiritual arrangements entitled, My Spirituals (1927). Publishing a collection of Negro spirituals was not unique at the time, but the format and content of My Spirituals is unlike any other collection I have encountered. The publication features not only Jessye’s arrangements, but also original poetry from Jessye herself, personal anecdotes related to each of the sixteen pieces, and illustrations. My goal for this project is two-fold. First, I want to bring attention to this forgotten, but uniquely important, collection of spiritual arrangements written by a trail-blazing Black woman of the twentieth century. Second, I will analyze selections from My Spirituals to illustrate how Dr. Jessye translates elements of her anecdotes into her arrangements. Spirituals tend to be interpreted in light of experiences during the period of slavery in America. This is not wrong by any means. However, Dr. Jessye’s arrangements add another layer by situating these songs through the lens of a post-Emancipation and Reconstruction experience. Through sharing Eva Jessye’s life and work, I hope to help reinforce that Black American history is not wholly defined by periods of struggle, but also through human and artistic expression.