Three Spirituals for Orchestra

Julia Perry made arrangements of negro spirituals throughout her life, from her earliest set of published works through her final decade. She also adopted the expressive and stylistic traits of the spirituals in many of her original works. Three Spirituals recalls traditional elements like call-and-response structures and imitations of handclapping. But Perry reshapes these traditional tunes using 20th-century techniques: melodic fragmentation, canonic sequencing of motivic cells, austere textures, and mildly dissonant accompaniments. The expressive energy of her arrangements stems from their rhythmic vitality, range of color, and formal concentration. The first song is “Roll, Jordan, Roll.” The third is “Dere’s No Hidin’ Place Down Dere.” The identity of the second spiritual is unknown, as is the date of composition of the entire work, though the manuscript parts were likely created between 1965 and 1970.

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