Follow Me: The Life and Music of R. Nathaniel Dett

by Rob Simpson

Overview

Best known for his spectacular direction of the Hampton Institute Choir (1913-31), Robert Nathaniel Dett (1822-1943) was also a fine pianist, composer, and arranger of Negro folk songs and spirituals. In 1908 he was the first African American to receive a music degree for a five-year course from Oberlin Conservatory. The Hampton Choir, under Dett's direction, was the first mixed group to sing in Salzburg Cathedral in 1930. Simpson's full account of Dett as a successful professional musician, compiled primarily as a reference work, will also interest the general reader. Includes photos, analyses, and musical examples.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810826274
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/01/1993
Series:	Composers of North America , #10
Pages:	700
Product dimensions:	5.76(w) x 8.76(h) x 1.69(d)

About the Author

Anne Key Simpson (BS, piano performance; MA, musicology, Texas Women's University), formerly Staff Accompanist and the University of Southwestern Louisiana, is a freelance writer and accompanist. Her articles have appeared in American Music, Journal of Band Research, Journal of Erie Studies, American Music Teacher, College Music Symposium, The School Musician, and Music Educators Journal. Her books include Hard Trials (Harry T. Burleigh, #8 in this series) and A Gathering of Gaines (Ernest Gaines).

Editorial Reviews

...a detailed chronicle...add this delightful biography of a man who was one of the first Negro Americans to utilize Negro folk tune for classic development to your summer reading list.

Pan Pipes (Journal of Sigma Alpha Iota)

Splendidly documented here is the chronology of [Dett's] life and music, supplemented by a classified register of his works, and a discography, providing a critical component for scholars in music and Americanists. Evidencing painstaking research, the author explores peripheral areas of local history, providing new insights.

Choice Reviews

...a lengthy and substantive book....information is clearly set before us.

Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association

This account of Dett as a successful professional musician, compiled primarily as a reference work, will also interest general readers....

Reference and Research Book News

Readers will appreciate the ample treatment of Dett's life and works and the numerous examples of correspondence, programs, and other informative illustrations...a good foundation for further study on Dett and his ultimate place in American music history.

American Music

Splendidly documented here is the chronology of [Dett's] life and music, supplemented by a classified register of his works, and a discography, providing a critical component for scholars in music and Americanists. Evidencing painstaking research, the author explores peripheral areas of local history, providing new insights.

Choice

...a lengthy and substantive book....information is clearly set before us.

Notes: The Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association

...a lengthy and substantive book....information is clearly set before us.

Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association

...a lengthy and substantive book....information is clearly set before us.

Notes: Quarterly Journal of Music Library Association

Splendidly documented here is the chronology of [Dett's] life and music, supplemented by a classified register of his works, and a discography, providing a critical component for scholars in music and Americanists. Evidencing painstaking research, the author explores peripheral areas of local history, providing new insights.

CHOICE