This is my interpretation of the sound of one of the spirituals, “On To Glory.” I analyzed the lyrics of this song in the previous post. For the most part, I followed the image of the sheet music found in “Slave Songs of the United States” to have the main melody. I added harmonies to create a fuller sound since spirituals are sung by groups of people. The harmonies were not pre-written, so I tried to create a range of notes in the chord that fit well together while not having it be too formal. I changed a few elements of the tempo and had some vocal tracks end parts in different places than others to better reflect how not everyone who was singing this spiritual would have had sheet music to follow along to or understand the lemony aside from hearing it and copying what they heard. Also, the metronome in the background is there to emulate someone tapping the beat so everyone could be somewhat in sync. Overall, I hope this recording brings life into the spiritual so more people can listen to and understand its important meaning of asking God to help the slaves escape slavery.
