Recorded July 13-15, 1998 in Brendle Recital Hall of Wake Forest University's Scales Fine Arts Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This recording is funded by a generous grant from Wake Forest University. It is dedicated to my wife Brazell.

This compact disc features sixteen art songs and spirituals by African-American composers who have made significant contributions to our American cultural heritage in music. Many composers such as William Grant Still, Margaret Bonds, Edward Boatner, H.T. Burleigh, and Hale Smith have received acclaim and wide recognition for their compositions for solo voice and piano. However, many of these selections have not been previously recorded, and it is my desire that this compact disc assist in preserving an important part of the African-American tradition, and acquaint the listener with the extraordinary compositional output of these prolific individuals.