Ysaye Barnwell – Spritual Quodlibets I – V

“Quodlibet is defined as form of music with melodies in counterpoint. Incluided here are five quodlibets composed using the melodies of a number of Spirituals. I began creating Spiritual Quodlibets in the mid 1980’s when I first conducted the Building A Vocal Community Workshop. Not only were they fun to create, but they proved an efficient way to teach the melodies and themes of many Spirituals, and a very natural way to get singers to understand, appreciate and perform counterpoint and polyrhythms. I teach these quodlibets in the oral/aural tradition, but I recognize that many choirs do not learn music in that way. Oral presentation can be found in the instructional sets: Singing in the African American Tradition and Building a Vocal Community Volumes 1 and  2 which I recorded for Homespun Tapes.”   Ysaye M. Barnwell  January 15, 2010