Work
I'm A-Going to Join the Band
for solo bass voice, TTB choir and piano
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About
This is the third of 3 spirituals written early in 2005 with secondary school choirs in mind. Each takes a text from the Afro-American tradition of spirituals and sets it in a style suggestive of that tradition. The other two works are 'Sunday Morning Band' and 'Witness for my Lord'. As with the other pieces written around the same time, the voicing here is aimed at developing choirs or choirs with limited resources, in this case three part male voices rather than the more common TTBB layout. A solo bass (or baritone) voice takes a significant role in the piece, with the choir parts remaining fairly repetitive from verse to verse. After a slightly slower introduction, the music is underpinned by a strongly rhythmic piano part throughout. The text talks of joining a band, the band of those who belong to God. There are references to typical images of the spirituals, the Jordan river, Joshua's well-known battle, and Galilee.
Text note
traditional text, African-American spiritual