Sisters In Song; Women Hymn Writers. Leslie Clay

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Katherine was born in St. Joseph, Missouri and wrote her first piece of music at age fifteen. After graduating from St. Joseph High School, she studied music at Wellesley College. Wellesley kept her on as an assistant in the music department, teaching music theory and piano. I wonder if she ever met her elder fellow instructor Katherine Lee Bates, the author of “America the Beautiful”? In any event, many of Davis’s 600 plus compositions were written for the choirs at other schools where she also taught.

      Her most famous work, “The Little Drummer Boy” was composed and published in 1941 under the pseudonym C.R.W. Robertson. This was after decades of music composition. One version of the story’s origin says that she wrote the song while trying to take a nap. The song became famous when it was recorded by the Trapp Family Singers. Since then it has appeared in more than 200 versions in seven languages. She published “Let All Things Now Living” under another pseudonym, John Crowley. It has since become a favorite Thanksgiving hymn.

      Jeanine Deckers

      1933-1985

      “Dominique”

      The Singing Nun was born as Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers, later known as Sister Luc Gabriel when she was a nun in the Dominican Fichermont convent in Belgium. She became famous as Soeur Sourire (Sister Smile) after she recorded the hit song “Dominique” in 1963. She gave concerts and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on television. In 1966, Warner Brothers made a movie about her starring Debbie Reynolds. In 1967, she left the monastery to continue her musical career and become a secular missionary under her birth name. Religious songs and songs for children comprised her repertoire. Most of her earnings went to the convent. She operated a school for special needs children. In the late 1970s, the Belgian government claimed she owed back taxes. Deckers had given her earnings away and she had no receipts to prove the donations. Citing financial difficulties in a note, she and her companion of ten years committed suicide. That same day, unknown to her, the Belgian association that collects royalties awarded her about $300,000, more than enough to pay her debt.

      “Dominique” is a lively song about the personal theological battle waged by a Spanish monk against the thirteenth century Albigensian heresy. The Albigensians, also known as Cathars, flourished in Europe from the late 1100s to about 1325. They opposed many of the Catholic Church’s positions, with some groups more heretical than others.

      Margaret Pleasant Douroux

      1941-

      “Give Me a Clean Heart”

      Margaret, daughter of a Baptist pastor, grew up in Los Angeles, then got her bachelor’s degree at California State University and later got two master’s degrees, teaching credentials, and finally a Ph.D. at the University of Beverly Hills. With her teaching credentials, she taught and served as a guidance counselor and psychologist for thirteen years with the Los Angeles schools. Her religious education began when she performed as an accompanist in the children’s choir at her father’s church. Later, she became the pianist for the Sunday School Baptist Training Union and the Young People’s Choir. The family often hosted many gospel singers in the home, including Mahalia Jackson. This immersion in gospel no doubt influenced Margaret’s musical direction. She has composed hundreds of gospel music pieces and many of her songs are aired on gospel radio and television stations. She founded the Reverend Edward A. Pleasant Publishing Com-pany, as well as the Heritage Music Foundation. As she stated, “The mission of the Heritage Music Foundation is to nurture and preserve the legacy of gospel music and its goal is to build a ‘Gospel House’ in which to perform gospel music, create a hall of fame, record and teach.”

      “Give Me a Clean Heart” expresses the dichotomy of humility and longing for success. It reflects the struggle of African-Americans for success in the economy and society while mirroring the request in Psalm 51:10 for a clean heart and a steadfast spirit.