Expressions of Freedom: Anthology of African-American Spirituals, Complete Edition, a Collection for Voices and Orff Instruments

This is a really great Orff and American culture resource. Rene Boyer-Alexander does a great job of explaining the background of spirituals in her introduction to the book. I actually used it as a reading for my 8th grade class which opened up a discussion with the students how how to respectfully perform and uphold the integrity of the spirituals we perform in class. This really set the tone for the students in how they approached the material. We have only performed one of the pieces in the book so far ("In That Great Git'n Up Morning," p. 71) and it is appropriately challenging for the students. There are a wide variety of tunes in the book, some of which are accessible for 3rd grade-upper elementary students and others that would be fantastic repertoire for a middle school mixed choir. The pieces I have looked at fall comfortably into my students' singing range. Each tune has a small paragraph at the bottom of the page describing the tune history and other important information. These little facts, along with the intro, allow for a good incorporation of American history as well as introduce students to discussions on race. This is a great music classroom resource and I highly recommend it.

Fantastic compilation by a fantastic educator! Dr Boyer rocks!