Beyond Elijah Rock:
The Non-Idiomatic Choral Music of
Black Composers
The following spreadsheet is a working list of the non-idiomatic choral music of Black composers. In no way is it meant to be an exhaustive list. However, it serves to provide a starting point. Regular updates will be made.
Non-idiomatic, as it relates to black composers, refers to the original concert music that is not part of the traditional idiomatic canon associated with Black musicians. That canon includes spirituals, gospel, jazz, hip-hop, and rap among others. There will be pieces that may be based on spirituals or gospel tunes but are, at their core, original songs similar to ones that use chorale tunes in cantatas and popular songs parodied in Renaissance masses. This list does not include arrangements of existing material such as hymns or other folk songs. Available tabs at the bottom of the list are Full List, SATB, SSAA, TTBB, Other Voices, Unaccompanied, Accompanied, and Choral-Orchestral.
Additional resources including anthologies, bibliographies, encyclopedias, and organizations are listed below.
For more information about The Oxford Book of Choral Music by Black Composers (edited by Marques L. A. Garrett), visit https://www.mlagmusic.com/oxford-book-of-choral-music-by-black-composers.
José Maurício Nunes Garcia (1767–1830)
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912)
R. Nathaniel Dett (1882–1943)
“It is imperative, in my opinion, for people who are sincerely interested in the Negro and his one unmistakable contribution to American civilization, to use every opportunity to dignify the music of this people, not merely by encouraging the Negro to sing his folk songs in their truly beautiful primitive form, but also by encouraging him to show their possibilities for use as themes for anthems, oratorios, and even operas.” – Bowdoin Literary Prize Theses, Harvard University, 1920
William Grant Still
(1895–1978)
“Dean of African-American Composers”
George Walker (1922–2018)
First African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music
Undine Smith Moore (1904–1989)
“Dean of African-American Women Composers”
Recommended Starting List
Blake Morgan has also compiled a list of 31 Black choral composers and representative non-idiomatic and some idiomatic works that can be referenced and shared freely. To download, click here.
Abbreviations
S – soprano
A – alto
T – tenor
B – bass
OOP – out of print
PDF – perusal PDF available
Sop – soprano solo
Mz – mezzo soprano solo
Alto – alto/contralto solo
Ten – tenor solo
Bar – baritone solo
Bass – bass solo
View on Google Sheets
Vocal Anthologies
Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers (compiled by Willis C. Patterson)
- Edward B. Marks Music, #M891 (HL.8242)
Arias, Duets and Scenes of William Grant Still
- Volume 1: Arias for Soprano and Mezzo Soprano
- Volume 2: Arias for Tenor, Baritone and Bass
- Volume 3: Duets and Scenes
- William Grant Still Music
Art Songs and Spirituals by African-American Women Composers (edited by Vivian Taylor)
- Hildegard Publishing Company, 491-00494
A New Anthology of Art Songs by African American Composers (selected by Margaret R. Simmons, Jeanine Wagner)
- Southern Illinois University Press
Instrumental Anthologies
African-American Organ Music Anthology (volumes 1-8)
- MorningStar Music Publishers
Black Women Composers: A Century of Piano Music (1893-1990) (edited by Helen Walker-Hill)
- Hildegard Publishing Company, 490-01070
Chamber Music by Black Women Composers (edited by Helen Walker-Hill)
- Hildegard Publishing Company, 494-02665
The Collected Piano Works of R. Nathaniel Dett
- Summy-Birchard Company
Expanding the Repertoire: Piano Music of Black Composers (levels 1 & 2) (edited by Leah Claiborne)
- Hal Leonard
Four Early 20th Century Piano Suites by Black Composers
- G. Schirmer, HL.50482960
King of Kings – Organ Music of Black Composers, Past and Present (edited by James Abbington) (volumes 1-3)
- GIA Publications
Bibliographies and Encyclopedias
Brass Music of Black Composers (compiled by Aaron Horne)
Guitar Music by Black Composers (compiled by Ciyadh Wells and Neil Beckmann)
Keyboard Music of Black Composers (compiled by Aaron Horne)
String Music of Black Composers (compiled by Aaron Horne)
Woodwind Music of Black Composers (compiled by Aaron Horne)
Encyclopedia of African American Music (3 volumes)
International Dictionary of Black Composers (2 volumes)
Organizations
African Diaspora Music Project – https://africandiasporamusicproject.org/
African American Art Song Alliance – https://www.darryltaylor.com/alliance/
Institute for Composer Diversity – https://www.composerdiversity.com/
Music by Black Composers – https://www.musicbyblackcomposers.org/
National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. – https://www.nanm.org/
Resources for Diversity in Early Music Repertoire – https://inclusiveearlymusic.org/bibliography
To submit any additional music (including manuscripts and self-published) to this list, please complete this form. (Original music only, no arrangements)