Alchymy Viols: Deep River
Navona Records

However unusual it might appear on paper to have the Old Music consort Alchymy Viols perform a large collection of African American spirituals, in practice the results sound totally natural. That comes as no surprise to the ensemble's Artistic Director Philip Spray, who notes that the idea of focusing on America's first folk songs makes perfect sense when the viol consort's historical raison d'être was to present the popular tunes of its time. Yet as seamless as the combination turns out to be, it's one that hasn't been done before, which makes Deep River an even more valuable offering and with the lustrous countertenor of Michael Walker II prominently featured on many of its twenty-one pieces, the release becomes an even more satisfying proposition. In their collective hands, enduring classics such as Margaret Bonds' “Hold On” and Moses Hogan's “Walk Together Children” feel reborn.

Spray not only directs Alchymy Viols, he also plays consort bass viol and English guitar in it and is joined in that regard by Wendy Gillespie (tenor viola da gamba), Joanna Blendulf (bass viola da gamba, lyre viol), Erica Rubis (bass viola da gamba), Jeremy Rhizor (baroque violin), Allison Nyquist (baroque viola), Stephanie Hall (harp), and Thomas Gerber (field pump organ, digital organ). Gillespie, Blendulf, and Rubis are regarded as some of the finest viola da gamba players currently operating, and the ensemble performs tremendously throughout. Having the bright, luminous tone and dynamic emotional expressiveness of Walker II aboard distinguishes Deep River all the more.

The singer personalizes the release with illuminating liner notes that recount his personal history with the songs and Negro spirituals in general. He gets to the heart of the matter in describing how those haunting “slave songs had the uncanny ability to express both the psychological and physical condition of their performers, resulting in Negroes' stories of resilience, hope, and despair.” Consistent with that, the material on Deep River includes sorrowful laments but also songs of joy, yearning, and celebration. They are indeed “the original folk songs of the New World, an oral tradition passed down to provide order amid chaos.” In providing succour and uplift, these spirituals helped slaves cling to their belief that a brighter future for their children and grandchildren would one day come.

In addition to songs by Bonds (1913-72) and Hogan (1957-2003), the album features material by baritone singer/composer Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949), lyric tenor/ composer Roland Hayes (1887-1977), and American composers William L. Dawson (1899-1990) and Nolan Williams Jr. (b. 1969). It should be noted that many of the songs were not composed by these figures but are instead arrangements credited to them. Adding variety to the flow of the album, some songs feature Walker II unaccompanied while others are instrumentals, with harpist Hall delivering a lovely solo treatment of Burleigh's “Through Moanin' Pines” midway through the set.

In fact, the countertenor's pitch-perfect voice is the first sound heard when it introduces the album with the traditional spiritual “Over My Head” before the ensemble joins the singer for the aching tenderness of “Deep River,” an African-American spiritual arranged by Hogan. With harp and field pump organ subtly adorning the setting, the piece is all the more powerful. Brooding by comparison are Bonds' dirge-like “Joshua Fit da Battle of Jericho,” Dawson's droning lament “Soon Ah Will Be Done,” Hayes' “Roun' About de Mountain,” and Burleigh's “Weepin' Mary.” Melody is central to these pieces, with ones such as Bonds' “Ezek'el Saw the Wheel,” Hayes' “Plenty Good Room,” and Hogan's “Walk Together Children” instantly captivating for their tuneful quality.

Whereas Walker II returns alone for Hayes' “He Never Said a Mumberlin' Word,” the singer sits out for Alchymy Viols' spirited renderings of Burleigh's “Hard Trials,” Williams Jr.'s “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” and Hogan's sunny “Walk Together Children” plus Burleigh's plaintive “My Lord What a Morning,” “Steal Away,” and “Negro Lullaby.” Hogan's arrangement of “Give Me Jesus” finds the collective at its most supplicating, the gently soaring vocalist and ensemble particularly affecting in their yearning expression. Among the better-known songs are the Negro spiritual “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” and “Hold On,” arranged by Burleigh and Bonds, respectively.

August 2024