Search - Vallimar Jansen, Derek Campbell :: Catholic Classics 7: African American Sacred Songs

Gorgeous, Inspiring Music

AfroAmericanHeritage | Wisconsin | 02/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The performances here are gorgeous, and two songs alone would be worth the price of the CD: "Mary's Canticle" and "Softly & Tenderly" beautifuly rendered by ValLimar Jansen...talk about breathing new life into an old song!I was surprised by the contemplative nature of the majority of the songs here. Only the opening and closing songs have an upbeat tempo and even those are a bit restrained ("Soon and Very Soon" and "We've Come This Far by Faith.") Now, I realize that all Black sacred music is not, as one of my choir directors used to put it, "hootin' and hollerin'" but I'm suprised by how mellow all of the songs are here. Though the enclosed booklet contains lyrics and publication info, there are no background notes. According to the New York Public Library African American Desk Reference, there are only about 2 million Black Catholics in the US, compared to about 13 million Baptists, 8 million Methodists, 6 million Church of God in Christ, etc. Surely I'm not the only one who wants to know things like: How representative of the tradition is this music? Why were these particular songs selected? What IS the Catholic African American tradition, and where is it primarily practiced? I wish they'd told me more. (Though you can find more in LEAD ME, GUIDE ME: The African American Catholic Hymnal.)(At the time of this writing Amazon didn't list the songs, so I'll include them here):
Soon and Very Soon (Crouch 1976)
Taste and See (Moore 1983)
Lead Me, Guide Me (Akers, 1953)
He Touched Me (Gaither, 1963)
Were You There (Traditional)
Mary's Canticle (Roberts, 1993)
In the Garden (Miles, 1913)
It Is Well With My Soul (Spafford/Bliss 1876)
Precious Lord Take My Hand (Dorsey 1938)
There is a Balm in Gilead (Traditional)
Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling (Thompson 1880)
We've Come This Far By Faith (Goodson, 1965)"

Beautiful and Inspirational

G. Schuler | Bellevue, WA, USA | 01/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Recently, ValLimar Jensen came to our parish to put on a weekend "Mission", which is similar to a revival in many ways. She is not only an absolutely beautiful singer, but an inspirational speaker as well. To most long-time practicing Catholics, many of the pieces in this CD will seem closer to the Protestant tradition although there are some that are included in contemporary Catholic hymnbooks. Listen to the underlying messages and you will find them truly prayerful. ValLimar is capable of getting you up off your feet and rocking, but most of the pieces in this CD have a more devotional aspect. She is accompanied by a small orchestra and other vocalists, which is fine, but she can carry the message on her own in a very powerful way."