Valley Presbyterian Church
Green Valley
Green Valley
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Tucson
Tucson
Catalina Foothills H.S. Music Hall
Tucson
Tucson
They are the lessons from our elders, passed from one generation to the next, from one culture to another. They carry words of comfort, healing and hope. In the United States, the singing of hymns across the land has also spurred social change for all.
Hymns are sung by all peoples and all faiths, blending us together in a song of unity.
Blending African and Middle Eastern musical traditions with European hymns and work songs, this music, now American, is filled with faith, hope and endurance. Music has a way of unifying people. When a choir or a congregation sings together, they are creating community.
Passionate and prolific, composer David Lang (Poor Hymnal) is co-founder of of New York City’s Bang on a Can and recipient of numerous awards. His little match girl passion, hailed as “one of the top 25 works of classical music written in the 21st century” (The Guardian), earned him a Pulitzer Prize, and its recording garnered a GRAMMY for Best Small Ensemble Performance.
“With these songs [Poor Hymnal], you can actually imagine how to change yourself to live in a better world, for you and for your community and for everyone else.” – DAVID LANG, COMPOSER
A PERFORMANCE OF CLASSIC HYMNS
Amazing Grace
Down By the Riverside
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Adon Olam
Avinu Malkeinu
When the Saints Go Marching In
Lift Every Voice and Sing and
other African American Spirituals
and
Excerpts from David Lang’s Poor Hymnal
Avinu Malkeinu
When the Saints Go Marching In
Lift Every Voice and Sing and
other African American Spirituals
Excerpts from David Lang’s Poor Hymnal
Pictured above: The Fisk Jubilee Singers, founded in 1871 at Fisk University, rose from the aftermath of the Civil War to tour the U.S. and Europe, preserving and elevating the African American Spiritual as a concert art form and helping to shape our American heritage.