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		Remembering “When Marian Sang...” by Kit Eakle originally appeared in NCAKE Newsletter

After writing an article for the last NCAKE newsletter on the children’s book “Follow the Drinking Gourd” by Jeanette Winter, it was suggested that I write a regular feature on children’s literature that can be used in the classroom. The same day I read a review in the New York Times on a new children’s book about the great American singer Marian Anderson. The book, titled “When Marian Sang” is by Pam Munoz Ryan, with gorgeous pictures by Brian Selznick, a team that has also recently published a children’s picture book about Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Memories of Marian Anderson, one of the seminal figures of American music of the last (20th) century, struck an emotional chord with me. Speaking with a younger friend, well versed in music, but who had no idea who Marian Anderson was, further prompted me to write this review in hopes of doing my own small part in preserving her spirit and memory.

My initial emotional response to “When Marian Sang,” however, is the real topic of this article. Thinking of Marian Anderson again, my memories went back to the open, earnest hearted my youthful passion for music and civil rights. Marian Anderson, was the great contralto who had sung on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after the Daughters of the American Revolution had turned down her manager’s request to sing at Constitution Hall in 1939. She was to sing in my hometown, Richmond California, at the Richmond Auditorium, right here in the Bay Area. I believe I was 13. I desperately wanted to attend, but my parents were not able to take me as they had other plans. For the first time in my life, however, they encouraged me to attend. And so I attended my first concert alone.

I remember little of the bus ride to downtown Richmond or the particulars of the concert. B

ut I do remember the dignity of her presence, standing alone on stage and the depth of the impression left by that magnificent voice. So when I read the words of Ms. Munoz Ryan, “she sang her heart with dignity. Her voice left audiences … in hushed awe as they strained to hold on to the memory of every opulent note” and see the sepia toned beauty of Mr. Selznick’s close-up portrait of Marian singing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, I remember the dignity of Ms. Anderson’s awesome, yet warmly human presence standing next to the piano. I remember the congruence of round sensuous lips and closed eyes with the intimate depth of feeling and the round tones of that voice. And I remember that, for the first time in my life I experienced the joy of having a famous and familiar sound made carnate in a never-to-be-forgotten present of live performance.

Yes, as a child, I heard Marian Anderson, live and in person. For those of you who have not, and for those who have never even heard of this great American performer, find “When Marian Sang,” and get the recording of the songs that are quoted in the book called simply “Spirituals”. If you are not familiar with her work, get ready to be overwhelmed by one of the twentieth century’s most powerful voices.

As in other similar books, I have recreated the text for the book to include the written music for the songs quoted in the book at http://www.musickit.com and click on the link to "Black History Month" at the top of the page. I hope you will take advantage of my work and connect your children to written music using this link.

But more than making a recommendation for any particular book, this reawakening of one of my youthful inspirations in pursuing music as a career, leads me to encourage all of you to share with your students the personal experiences that have led you on the musical path. Our children and students need to learn not only the rudiments of musical vocabulary. They also need to know how deeply music has moved us to explore its mysteries. Only in that process will our students’ own inspirations be validated as musical learning experiences that are truly an integral part of their lives.



“When Marian Sang” by Pam Munoz Ryan Pictures by Brian Selznick
ISBN 0-439-26967-9
CD of songs in the book “Marian Anderson - Spirituals” RCA - #63306
ASIN: B00000GV4D
For more info on Marian Anderson and this book go to www.musickit.com/blackhistorymonth or www.mariananderson.org