Spirituals are the songs of slavery — here's why it matters who sings them

"Spirituals" are the moving songs that were created by African-American slaves to both lament the horrors of life as a slave and speak to personal and religious values that offer hope. When slavery ended, spirituals remained as testament to what happened during slavery's dark presence in America. They also have been sung by choirs ever since.

But does it matter who sings them? This was the question Toronto's Nathaniel Dett Chorale grappled with this summer. The Dett Chorale is made up of a diverse array of singers — many of them of people of colour — and they've been singing spirituals for a long time. Their director, Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, is humbled by the power of the songs and well versed in their history.

So when the predominantly-white Yale Alumni Chorus contacted Blyden-Taylor to learn more about the spirituals they had themselves been singing since the 1930s, the Nathaniel Dett director had to reflect on who carries on the tradition. And in this video, you'll see the results of the weekend the two choirs spent together. You'll see what it was like for them to sing spirituals as a combined ensemble, but their weekend also included much discussion, reflection and a deepening understanding of history that seems particularly relevant today.

See the Nathaniel Dett Chorale in "An Indigo Christmas...Parranda" at All Saints Kingsway Anglican Church in Toronto, December 13.

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