Deep River
Harry T. Burleigh's setting of the spiritual for mixed chorus, as G. Schirmer printed it in 1914, for 4 singers, in his own four parts. The alto sings the tune, twice: the soprano waits eight bars, then floats the refrain above it, mostly on long notes. In the verse, "Oh, don't you want to go", the soprano takes the top line up to a loud high note before the soft, slow ending. Very slow and smooth.
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The parts
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The first verse
Words: traditional spiritual, as H. T. Burleigh set them (1914)Tune: traditional spiritual, as arranged by H. T. Burleigh (1914)
Deep river,my home is over Jordan,Deep river, Lord,I want to cross over into campground.
About Deep River
Deep River is an anonymous African-American spiritual, in print by 1875, in J. B. T. Marsh's The Story of the Jubilee Singers, and popularised by the singer and composer Harry T. Burleigh. This is Burleigh's own setting for mixed chorus, as G. Schirmer printed it in 1914, in E-flat as he wrote it: where his tenors or basses divide we sing one line, and two low bass notes go up an octave. It is for 4 singers, slow and smooth: the alto sings the tune twice, the soprano joining the second time, on long notes above it, then everyone sings the verse, "Oh, don't you want to go".
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