Each year, the Fine Arts Department at First Presbyterian Church (FPC) presents a series of performing arts experiences for the congregation and community. This year’s series begins with a concert from Sam Carlton, Classic Worship Arts Director.
Carlton, a baritone, is presenting “Deep Water” on Sunday, Aug. 18 at 3 p.m. in the FPC Sanctuary. The concert is open to the public free of charge.
Deep River is an educational concert highlighting the history of the negro spiritual. From the Mississippi to the Jordan River, water symbolizes both the trials of life and the promise of deliverance.
“It reflects the struggle for liberation, the cleansing of burdens, and the journey of a new life through Christ,” Carlton says.
The concert will feature spirituals such as Deep River, Wade in the Water, and Roll Jordan with arrangers such as Moses Hogan, Aaron Copland, and Mark Hayes.
“Presenting spirituals in a concert setting can be traced to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU), such as Fisk University,” Carlton says. “During the late 1800s post abolition America, black scholars wanted to preserve the musical and spiritual wisdom of their ancestors.”
Carlton explains scholars such as Ella Sheppard, Frederick Douglass, and W. E. B. Du Bois sought to liberate these songs from their sacred ancestry and make them available to a wider audience, especially to those who did not grow up listening to them.
Some scholars have made claims that the spiritual is the only true American-made musical genre with all other American music being iterative of preexisting genres from cultures around the world. Without the dissemination of spirituals, blues and jazz would have possibly never evolved.
Carlton received his master’s degree in choral conducting at Florida State University where he also received a bachelor of music in theory and composition. As a vocal soloist, he has made multiple appearances in Tallahassee performing with the FSU Student Opera Society, Florida State University Singers, FSU Chamber Choir, Tallahassee Community Chorus, and the Festival Singers of Florida.
His solo performances include The Presidents in Leonard Bernstein’s A White House Cantata, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, Page in Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Pilate in J.S. Bach’s St. John’s Passion. As a pianist, Samuel received first place in FSU’s annual piano competition for his performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Vingt Regards and Paul Hindemith’s Piano Sonata No. 3. He has also collaborated with many vocalists and choirs throughout the state of Florida. Samuel is also an established arranger with publications at Colla Voce and Beckenhorst Press.
The public is invited to this concert free of charge.
Find out more about FPC’s Performing Arts Series:
