H. T. (Harry Thacker) Burleigh

author

H. T. (Harry Thacker) Burleigh

1866–1949

A pioneering American baritone and composer, he helped bring African American spirituals into the concert hall through elegant arrangements that reached a wide audience. His music and advocacy also helped shape ideas about a distinct American classical sound.

1 Audiobook

You'll git dar in de mornin'

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 champions of African American spirituals in classical music. He studied at the National Conservatory of Music in New York and built a career as both a singer and composer, earning particular admiration for his rich baritone voice.

Burleigh is best remembered for arranging spirituals for solo voice and piano in ways that preserved their character while making them accessible to recital singers. Those arrangements were widely performed, and his work helped many listeners and musicians take spirituals seriously as concert music.

He was also part of the musical world around Antonín Dvořák, and accounts of Burleigh's singing have often been linked to Dvořák's growing interest in Black American musical traditions. Burleigh died in 1949, but his arrangements and songs remain a lasting part of American musical history.