Spirituals

When asked to personalize an introduction to this recording, the soloist, Barbara Conrad reflected: Imagine a small southwestern rural black community, rich-red soil, beautiful fields of cotton, corn, potatoes, and such clear blue skies, hot-hot sun, huge oak-trees that provided wonderful shade and gentle breezes perfumed with the unique smell of East Texas Pines. This is the place where I grew up, a place called Center Point. And where my family and friends, proudly and dutifully toiled long and hard to establish this community. They built our homes, our school and Center Point Baptist Church where I first experienced great gospel revivals and the singing of negro spirituals. It was a great old Church to worship and to vent matters of the spirit, be it troubled or exultant. It was a safe haven where all could release some of the pain of a segregated and sometimes cruel South. We, as a family, prayed, sang, shouted, and often wept for the horrible injustices done to our people. And it was in those early years of my life that I first gleaned what a great antidote these spirituals could be - how it let spirits and hearts know the ecstasy of freedom. It was in this Church that I was able to freely express all my joys and sorrows and find the source of inspiration so that Jesus, my black Jesus, could dwell in me. Where else, therefore, could I possibly do my first recording of spirituals but in the Church, where every prayer meeting began with my Bigmama singing, O, Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, when I lay My Burden Down, and often ending with my brother Dinard playing the piano and singing, Come Ye Disconsolate - (Earth has no sorrow, that Heaven cannot heal). It is not surprising that Barbara Conrad in looking into her heart dedicates this recording to her beloved brother, Dinard.