H. T. Burleigh

H. T. Burleigh
Harry T. Burleigh
Short Name: H. T. Burleigh
Full Name: Burleigh, H. T. (Harry Thacker), 1866-1949
Birth Year: 1866
Death Year: 1949

Harry T. Burleigh (b. Erie, PA, 1866; d. Stamford, CT, 1949) began his musical career as a choirboy in St. Paul's Cathedral, Erie, Pennsylvania. He also studied at the National Conservatory of Music, New York City, where he was befriended by Antonín Dvořák and, according to tradition, provided Dvořák with some African American musical themes that became part of Dvořák's New World Symphony. Burleigh composed at least two hundred works but is most remem­bered for his vocal solo arrangements of African American spirituals. In 1944 Burleigh was honored as a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.

Bert Polman

Wikipedia Biography

Henry Thacker ("Harry") Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949) was an American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer known for his baritone voice. The first black composer who was instrumental in developing characteristically American music, Burleigh made black music available to classically trained artists both by introducing them to spirituals and by arranging spirituals in a more classical form.Burleigh also introduced Antonín Dvořák to Black American music, which influenced some of Dvořák's most famous compositions and led him to say that Black music would be the basis of an American classical music.

Tunes by H. T. Burleigh (5)AsInstancesIncipitsort descending
TOULONHarry T. Burleigh, 1866-1949 (Arranger)212343 21171 34565
MCKEEHarry T. Burleigh (Arranged)10515555 77656 11511
SWING LOWHarry T. Burleigh (Arr)131311 65111 13555
[Our Father, who art in heaven] (Burleigh)Harry T. Burleigh, 1866-1949 (Composer)333335 33332 13353
ALSTON (Burleigh)Henry Thacker Burleigh, 1866- (Composer)234565 44332 12355

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