nathan

I’ve been searching for lesser-known works recently, and I stumbled upon a ton of music written by composers of african descent. I was listening to a work by one of these composers on youtube and I saw this comment:

and I thought it would be a good start to just make people aware that these composers exist.

so, I am only listing black composers who have at least some works in the public domain for this post (usually means music published before the 1920s), so that way any musicians who read this can find at least some sheet music on imslp, learn the music, and perform it for others. so here’s just 10 of the great composers I found:

1. samuel coleridge-taylor: he was born in 1875 and died in 1912. he was born in london, where his mother lived, and his father was from sierra leone. he was quickly recognized as a prodigy and he went on to become a very successful composer, often being compared to mahler.

here is one of my favorite works by him, the hiawatha overture

here is his wikipedia bio, which is fascinating, and here is a link to free sheet music written by him on imslp. he was a great violinist, and he has a lot written for the instrument.

2. avril coleridge-taylor: she was samuel coleridge-taylor’s daughter and become a conductor and composer, which was no small feat for a woman in the early 1900s. however, I was not able to find much about her. I found a pretty lengthy list of compositions, but very few links to recordings or sheet music, possibly because she sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of peter riley.

I found one unlisted youtube video with some of her vocal songs, but that’s all I found.

here is her wikipedia page, and if you can find more about her (links to public domain sheet music or more performances), please add it to this post.

3. ignatius sancho: even if you’re not interested in classical music, ignatius sancho is such an important figure in black history. he was born in 1729 and died in 1780, he was a composer, actor, and writer, and he was bluntly against slavery. you can read more on his wikipedia page.

here is a recording of one of his minuets transcribed for guitar

he has a small amount of sheet music on imslp, which includes the sheet music for the minuet above.

4. amanda aldridge: her story is so cool. her father was a professional actor who was famous for playing shakespearean roles, amanda was an opera singer herself, and her siblings were also musicians and singers. amanda was particularly accomplished. she studied voice under the famous jenny lind at the royal college of music, and she later lost her voice, but she still remained a reputable teacher and composer.

it’s difficult to find works and recordings, but this video has a brief biography and performances of some of her vocal pieces.

she has only two works on imslp. I believe that many of her works are out of print, and if you can find more of her works, please add them to this post.

5. scott joplin: not exactly a classical composer, but probably the most well-known name on this list, and for good reason. he wrote fantastic music and was known as the king of ragtime, which is a genre that eventually evolved into jazz and swing. you can read more about his life on his wiki page.

here’s his famous maple leaf rag

he has tons of works on imslp, and these are a great resource for pianists.

6. chevalier de saint-georges: he was a fencer, composer, colonel, violinist, and conductor. he is the first known classical composer of african ancestry. 

here is a really beautiful recording of one of his violin duos, played by a world-class violinist.

here is his wikipedia bio, and here is a link to the limited amount of works he has on imslp. other sheet music is available here, but it’s not free. 

7. robert nathaniel dett: he was born in canada in 1882 and moved to the united states when he was 11. he got his education there and had a successful career, which included performances at boston symphony hall and carnegie hall. 

here is an excerpt from his magnolia suite for piano, probably one of the prettiest pieces of piano music I’ve heard in a while

he has a good amount of sheet music available for free on imslp

and here is his wikipedia page

8. clarence cameron white: white was a neoromantic (a genre of classical music that came about in the early 20th century) composer and violinist. his early music was heavily influenced by african-american spirituals.

here’s one of his early pieces

here is his wikipedia page, and his imslp page, which only has two works. 

9. florence price: price was the first african-american woman to have one of her pieces performed by a major symphony orchestra, and I’ve recently seen some of her works performed by other major symphonies. she wrote classical music, but it’s heavily influenced by her southern upbringing. she was also very religious, and drew upon the music she heard in african-american churches.

here is a wonderful recording of her second violin concerto, which is steadily becoming a more popular piece

here is her wikipedia bio, and a limited amount of works on imslp

10. thomas wiggins: also known as “blind tim wiggins.” his biography is the hardest to read. he and his family were enslaved to the first newspaper editor in the south who was openly in favor of southern succession. when they found out thomas was blind, they considered killing him because he couldn’t do work, but they decided against it. they later found out that tom had a knack for music. he could imitate every sound he heard, and when he was granted access to the piano, he played it every hour that he could. he was a true prodigy. he toured the states and europe performing and earned an enormous amount of money, which was not given to him. 

he also likely had autism, but at the time, it was not recognized. ultimately, he was an incredibly talented man who was taken advantage of. he wrote music that was used by the confederacy, so he was criticized by many black newspapers. ultimately, I believe he was just someone who really loved music and any pro-slavery themes attached to his music were not truly his doing. 

here is one of the beautiful piano pieces he left behind

here is his wikipedia page, and the small amount of music availabe on imslp

again, that was only ten black composers who were writing music between the early 1700s and mid 1900s. there are many more. some lost to history, others who wrote under pseudonyms and we may never know their true identities, but there are some like the ones above who simply need more recognition for their accomplishments and contributions to history.