Harry Burleigh - BLACK SWANS: Earliest African-American Classical Stars - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

An amazing revival of a lost area of African American cultural history classical music performances from the early part of the 20th century. These souvenirs of the earliest such commercial recording ventures showcase forgotten examples of a great culture's accomplishments. The engineering and re-mastering, along with the exquisitely researched and annotated accompanying booklet are the joint labor of love of the Parnassus triumvirate team of Leslie Gerber, Tim Brooks, and Steve Smolian, making BLACK SWANS in my list, at least one of the top albums of the year. Album Tracks 1. Go Down Moses; Harry Burleigh 2. I Don't Feel No Ways Tired; Edward Boatner 3. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child; Edward Boatner 4. Dett In the Bottoms Barcarolle; R. Nathaniel Dett 5. Dett Magnolia Suite-Mammy; R. Nathaniel Dett 6. Delibes Lakme Bell Song; Florence Cole-Talbert 7. The Last Rose of Summer; Florence Cole-Talbert 8. Dell'acqua Villanelle; Florence Cole-Talbert 9. Arditi Il Baccio; Talbert 10. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen; Talbert 11. White Cradle Song; Clarence Cameron White (Violin) 12. White Lament; Clarence Cameron White 13. Make More Room; Hattie King Reavis 14. Gounod There Is a Green Hill; Hattie King Reavis 15. Leoncavallo Vesti la Giubba (Pagliacci); Roland Hayes 16. Donizetti Una Furtiva Lagrima (L'elisir D'amore); Roland Hayes 17. Verdi Sollene in Quest'ora (La Forza Del Destino; Roland Hayes 18. Katherine Glen Twilight; Roland Hayes 19. Bye and Bye; Roland Hayes 20. Steal Away to Jesus; Roland Hayes 21. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Roland Hayes 22. Verdi Caro Nome (Rigoletto); Antoinette Garnes 23. Verdi Ah! Fors'e Lui (La Traviata); Antoinette Garnes 24. Haydn My Mother Bids Me Bind My Hair; Antoinette Garnes 25. Faure Les Rameaux; Harry Burleigh