R. Nathaniel Dett believed that African-American folk songs were well suited to development into high art forms, and that such development could inspire racial pride and personal dignity. He was particularly predisposed to the use of spirituals as the basis of choral compositions. His treatment of the source material included use of the entire song or only the smallest fragment; expansion, contraction, variation, and inversion of the melodic ideas; rhythmic diminution and augmentation; textual mutations and repetitions; and antiphonal and contrapuntal treatments.

Works: Dett: Listen to the Lambs (36-38), The Ordering of Moses (82-84, 143, 144), O Hear the Lambs A-Crying (134,135), Gently, Lord, O Gently Lead Us (136), Let Us Cheer The Weary Travler (137-139).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Reginald Sanders