Tag: Jester Hairston

Advent, Day 11: Judgment Day

Victoria Emily Jones1 Comment

LOOK: The Judgment Day by Aaron Douglas

Douglas, Aaron_The Judgment Day
Aaron Douglas (American, 1899–1979), The Judgment Day, 1939. Oil on tempered hardboard, 48 × 36 in. (121.9 × 91.4 cm). National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Photo: Victoria Emily Jones. [object record]

Born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1899, Aaron Douglas moved to New York in 1925 and became one of the leading artists of the Harlem Renaissance. He studied African art and European modernism, developing his own unique visual language that brought together influences from cubism, art deco, and African sculpture.

In his early career he worked as an illustrator for Black magazines, including The Crisis and Opportunity, and accepted a commission by the esteemed poet James Weldon Johnson to illustrate his collection God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse. After the book’s publication in 1927, numerous other commissions followed, including large-scale murals. In 1944 Johnson established the art department at Fisk University in Nashville and taught there until his retirement in 1966.

The Judgment Day (1939) is based on one of Johnson’s illustrations for God’s Trombones, made to accompany a poem of the same title. It showcases his signature style of silhouetted figures and flat, hard edges.

In the painting, the archangel Gabriel stands astride earth and sea, summoning the living and the dead to judgment with a blast of his horn. He holds the key to the kingdom of heaven, which he’ll open to those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Christ. A bolt of lightning rips through the sky on the left, and on the right, a light ray shines down onto a praying figure who is ready for the great accounting.

LISTEN: “In That Great Gettin’ Up Morning,” African American spiritual | Arranged by Jester Hairston and performed by the Leonard De Paur Infantry Chorus, 1953

I’m a-gonna tell you ’bout the comin’ of the judgment
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
I’m a-gonna tell you ’bout the comin’ of the judgment
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
There’s a better day a-comin’
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
There’s a better day a-comin’
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)

Refrain:
In that great gettin’ up morning
Fare thee well, fare thee well
In that great gettin’ up morning
Fare thee well, fare thee well

Oh preacher, fold your Bible
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Preacher, fold your Bible
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
For the last soul’s converted
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Oh, the last soul’s converted
(Fare thee well, fare thee well) [Refrain]

Blow your trumpet, Gabriel
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Blow your trumpet, Gabriel
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Lord, how loud shall I blow it?
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Blow it right calm and easy
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Do not ’larm all my people
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Tell them all to come to judgment
(Fare thee well, fare thee well) [Refrain]

Then you’ll see them coffins bustin’
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Then you’ll see them corpses risin’
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Then you’ll hear that rumblin’ thunder
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Then you’ll see that forkèd lightnin’
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Then you’ll see the stars a-fallin’
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Then you’ll see the world on fire
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Then he will call sinners
(Fare thee well, fare thee well)
Then he will call sinners
(Fare thee well, fare thee well) [Refrain]

Springing Up (Artful Devotion)

Victoria Emily JonesLeave a comment

Wild Flowers of the British Isles by Su Blackwell
Su Blackwell (British, 1975–), Wild Flowers of the British Isles, 2013. Cut paper from a 1907 book written and illustrated by botanist Harriet Isabel Adams.

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;
my whole being shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.

—Isaiah 61:10–11

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SONG: “Amen” | Negro spiritual, arr. Jester Hairston | Performed by Harry Belafonte on Streets I Have Walked, 1963; re-released on Belafonte’s 2001 compilation album, Christmas

The word “Amen” is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for “surely,” “indeed,” or “truly.” Here’s Hairston introducing and leading his arrangement at a concert in Odense, Denmark, in April 1981:

For a fantastic overview of the song’s recording history, including audio, click here. I was excited to find it included in The Presbyterian Hymnal I recently bought, #299, arranged by Nelsie T. Johnson. My church always sings the Danish Amen at the conclusion of our worship service, but I think this African American call-and-response “Amen” would be a fun twist for high holy days like Christmas or Easter.

Wild Flowers of the British Isles (detail) by Su Blackwell

For Further Reading:

This post belongs to the weekly series Artful Devotion. If you can’t view the music player in your email or RSS reader, try opening the post in your browser.

To view all the Revised Common Lectionary scripture readings for the First Sunday after Christmas Day, cycle B, click here.