Harry T. Burleigh

Josca Moore

Music History

12/21/15

Composer Project: Harry T. Burleigh

II. Cultural and Historical Background of Composer

The early twentieth century saw huge changes in the modes and meanings of artistic production, as many movements and countries re-evaluated aesthetics, technique, color, media, meaning, and many other aspects of art. Many composers reacted to the Post-Romantic and Impressionist styles and moved in quite different directions. The single most important moment in defining the course of music throughout the century was the widespread break with traditional tonality. This was effected in diverse ways by different composers in the first decade of the century. Harry T. Burleigh was the first black composer to be instrumental in the development of a characteristically American music. He helped to make black music available to classically trained artists both by introducing them to the music and by arranging the music in a more classical form. Burleigh's art song arrangements of the spiritual and other sentimental songs were so popular during the late 1910s and 1920s, that almost no vocal recitalist gave a concert in a major city without occasionally singing them. In many ways, the popularity of Burleigh's settings contributed to an explosion of popularity for the genre during the 1920s. Burleigh also set some poems of Walt Whitman to music, and also published songs for piano and violin.

III. Biographical Sketch

Henry “Harry” Thacker Burleigh was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on December 2, 1866, the second son of Henry Thacker Burleigh and Elizabeth (Waters) Burleigh. His father was a laborer while his mother worked as a domestic servant despite being a teaching college graduate. Burleigh acquired his knowledge of Negro spirituals from his maternal grandfather, who had been born a slave but was freed after being beaten and partially blinded in punishment. Burleigh graduated from Erie High School in 1887 and worked as a laborer and later a...