Bonds: I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to be Free
Expected to ship in 1-2 weeks.
Minimum Order Qty: 10
- Composer: Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
- Editor: John Michael Cooper
- Format: Choral Octavo
- Instrumentation: SATB Choir, Soprano
- Work: I wish I knew how it would feel to be free (1969)
- UPC:
- Size: 6.9 x 10.4 inches
Description
In 1969, soprano Leontyne Price commissioned Bonds to set I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free and three other spirituals for performance with the Rust College A Cappella Choir. The setting reflects Bonds's distinctive approach to the spiritual as a genre, featuring active accompaniments that interact with the main melody. in the first three verses, the solo soprano carries the main theme, but in verse 4 the chorus takes the tune while the soprano adds a soaring melody – a musical imagining of the symbolic image of a bird soaring to the sun and joyously singing a song of freedom.