The Spirituals Project - Sankofa - City Called Heaven

Loading the player...

City Called Heaven

Arrangement by Hall Johnson

Like so many spirituals, the message here is received -- and communicated -- on multiple levels, depending on the needs of the moment: Heaven is the internal spirit, here and now. Heaven is the land of freedom, in the North. Heaven is a home in Mother Africa, for repatriated slaves. Heaven is also a happy life after death, with Jesus, God and a host of angels. The connec- tion, or anticipation, of any or all of these dimensions of Heaven helps the singer to persevere, struggle, resist and maintain a solid sense of self as a child of God. The legendary composer and choral director, Hall Johnson (1888-1970), created this classic arrangement, which has been performed by countless choral groups around the world.

Videography: Ethan Crawford
Editing: Jaceson Cole

Filmed on location at Craig Hall, University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work on February 18, 2011

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.