author
H. T. (Harry Thacker) Burleigh
1866–1949
A pioneering American composer and baritone, he helped bring African American spirituals into the concert hall and into the wider story of American classical music. His work connected Black musical traditions with a new national sound at the turn of the 20th century.
1 Audiobook
You'll git dar in de mornin'
by H. T. (Harry Thacker) Burleigh, Frank Lebby Stanton
About the author
Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1866, Harry Thacker Burleigh became one of the most important early arrangers of African American spirituals. He studied at the National Conservatory of Music in New York and built a career as both a singer and a composer, earning recognition for his rich baritone voice as well as for his concert songs.
Burleigh is especially remembered for shaping spirituals for classical performance without losing their emotional power. Accounts of his life also note his connection with Antonín Dvořák, whom he is said to have acquainted more deeply with African American musical traditions during Dvořák's time in the United States.
Over time, Burleigh came to be seen as a key figure in the development of a distinctively American art music. His legacy rests not only on his own compositions and arrangements, but also on the way he helped preserve and elevate Black musical heritage for new audiences.