Balm In Gilead: Museum Object and Cultural History

Balm In Gilead: Date: 1914; published 1954. Published by: G. Ricordi & Co., Inc., Italian, 1808 - 1994. Written by: Harry T. Burleigh, American, 1866 - 1949.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team•Updated September 29, 2026•2 min read•✓ Fact-checked

Editorial graphic for: Balm In Gilead: Museum Object and Cultural History — Editorial graphic by Pop Culture Files · not a photograph

The object in the museum catalogue

A booklet of printed sheet music for "Balm in Gilead" harmonized by Harry T. Burleigh, arranged by Ruggero Vené and published by Franco Colombo, Inc. as part of the "Ruggero Vené Choral Series of Harry T. Burleigh Negro Spirituals." The sheet music is printed in black ink on off-white paper, folded to form six interior pages of music. The front cover has the series title at the top and publisher at the bottom, set inside a decorative border. In an inset center square with another decorative border is [N.Y. 1654 / Harry T. Burleigh / Balm in Gilead / For Mixed Voices / S.A.T.B. / Price 20 cents]. The interior printed music contains parts for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, and Piano. At the bottom is the copyright notice [Copyright 1914 by G. Ricordi and Co., New York, N.Y. / Copyright 1954 by G. Ricordi and Co., New York, N.Y.]. The back cover has a listing of all titles in the series. There are no added marks or inscriptions.

Materials, dates and provenance

Date: 1914; published 1954
Published by: G. Ricordi & Co., Inc., Italian, 1808 - 1994
Written by: Harry T. Burleigh, American, 1866 - 1949
Type: sheet music
Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W: 10 13/16 x 7 in. (27.4 x 17.8 cm)
Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Topic: African American
Topic: Composers (Musicians)
Topic: Music
Topic: Musicians
Topic: Spirituals (Music)
Object number: 2011.21.18
Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Arthur Tyrill Farrell Family
Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © 1954 Franco Colombo, Inc Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.