Hallelujah Chorus: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A photocopy of a narrative essay written by James Baldwin and outlining a musical and dramatic collaboration between Baldwin and Ray Charles. The essay is typed in black ink on white paper and consists of five total pages: four interior pages as well as a title page.

The cover page reads [HALLELUJAH CHORUS] at center with [BY / JAMES BALDWIN] at the lower right. The first page is not numbered at the top and begins "My earliest notes indicate that Ray Charles is a A: Troubadour, B: Poet, C: Lover, D: Preacher, E: Tragic Artist." The remaining pages are numbered at the top center. The content of the essay describes Ray Charles and his music before giving a tentative outline for the proposed show. On page three, Baldwin writes, "I am sketching a blue-print for what is, after all, an unprecedented improvisation." The document ends with several paragraphs of prose identified as "JB's opening, after Lift Every Voice." which introduces the event as a "testimony service," and muses on the relationship of "Hallelujah" to "Amen." The essay ends on page four with "But I am here only as a witness, to say, Amen. The right Reverend Ray Charles is testifying, singing Hallelujah: Listen."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1973
• Written by: James Baldwin, American, 1924 - 1987
• Subject of: Ray Charles, American, 1930 - 2004
• Owned by: Ralph Joseph Gleason, American, 1917 - 1975
• Type: essays
• Type: treatments (documents)
• Medium: toner on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 14 x 8 1/2 in. (35.6 x 21.6 cm)
• Place depicted: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Literature
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Soul (Music)
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2011.68.1.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.