Hall Johnson
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Hall Johnson (March 12, 1888 - April 30, 1970) was, along with Harry Burleigh, one of the two American composers who elevated the African-American spiritual to an art form, comparable in its musical sophistication to the compositions of European Classical composers.
Francis Hall Johnson was born in Athens, Georgia, the son of William Decker Johnson, an A.M.E. minister who was also a college president. Johnson received an extensive education which included a time at The Juilliard School. As a boy, he taught himself to play the violin after hearing a violin recital given by Joseph Henry Douglass, grandson of Frederick Douglass. He went on to play the violin and viola professionally, but in time he became more interested in choral music, forming the Hall Johnson Negro Choir, the first of many choral ensembles, in 1925. He also played in the orchestra for the musical, Shuffle Along, in 1921. In 1951, the Hall Johnson Choir was selected by the United States Department of State to represent the United States at the International Festival of Fine Arts held in Berlin, Germany.
Johnson wrote of the spiritual:
- True enough, this music was transmitted to us through humble channels, but its source is that of all great art everywhere—the unquenchable, divinely human longing for a perfect realization of life. It traverses every shade of emotion without spilling over in any direction. Its most tragic utterances are without pessimism, and its lightest, brightest moments have nothing to do with frivolity. In its darkest expressions there is always a hope, and in its gayest measures a constant reminder. Born out of the heart-cries of a captive people who still did not forget how to laugh, this music covers an amazing range of mood. Nevertheless, it is always serious music and should be performed seriously, in the spirit of its original conception.
Johnson was fluent in both German and French. Among the singers he coached were Marian Anderson and Shirley Verrett. His arrangements of the spirituals have been recorded by some of the world's finest artists.
Hall died during a fire at his New York apartment on April 30th, 1970. In 1975 he was posthumously honored for his work in films by being elected to the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
