African American composer, performer, and music educator William Levi Dawson

(1899-1990) used the rich vitality of his musical heritage as a basis for all types of music,

including arrangements of folk songs and original compositions. Dawson had many genres of

music he specialized in especially classical. Although Dawson's choral arrangements were

popular, he was best known for his Negro Folk Symphony. An example of his well known song

is the Negro Folk song Soon Ah Will Be Done which had its world premiere by the

Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski (1934). In this work the composer

used melodic and rhythmic language borrowed from Negro spirituals, along with original

material in the same idiom. The symphony was imaginative, dramatic, and colorfully

orchestrated. Dawson was a director and consultant to many festival group. There are no articles

about Dawsons influence in music, but since most of his songs are negro symphonies, I would

conclude that his influence in music has to do with his life experiences or those of his color. My

favorite quote from Dawson is, Chances are like lighting: they never hit the earth at the same

spot twice. So when a chance comes your way, grab it cause it may never come again.

Depending on how or structured the song is, the tempo and the key is different. If we are

specifically talking about the William Lewis Dawson version, then the tempo is 100 BPM(beats

per minute) metronome in a key of C Minor. There are dramatic dynamic shifts between the

refrain and each verse, moving from pianissimo to fortissimo. In addition to this, the verses also

have accents on nearly every note making them choppy and separated; another stark contrast

from the smooth and legato refrain. The differences between the refrain and verses directly

reflect the text: the earthly troubles ob de worl are characterized by quiet dynamics, small
intervals, and with soft final consonants like ob and worl, which calls to mind an individual

that has been beaten down over the course of a long and weary life. The verses, which speak of

goin home t live wid God, are much more fanfare-like, with accented notes, and harder final

consonants like want, all of which change the character of the music to express firm joy and

hope in the heavenly reward. It is this kind of dramatic shift in all aspects of the music, from

verse to refrain, that adds interest and variety to the piece. The historical significance of the song

is the uniqueness of the song. It reflects the dialect of the originators of most spirituals: black

slaves. These individuals were likely never taught to read or write, and would have been

inherently illiterate, resulting in a unique type of speech that is often replicated within traditional

spirituals through the phonetic spelling of certain words.

Within the genre of spirituals, this setting by Dawson is one of the true greats, a classic of

the repertory since its original publication in 1934. Dawson as well as this song is truly a

profoundly influential musical figure. Soon Ah Will Be Done brings us a remarkable

combination of excitement and sadness. The tempo marking (Allegro) lets us know that the piece

is supposed to move along, without getting bogged down in sentimentality. After a lifetime of

weepin and a-wailin, the excitement of going to see not only ones mother in heaven but also

Jesus is tremendous indeed, almost too much to bear. This song is an example of field songs that

African Americans would sing while in the fields. Sometimes they would just sing to pass by the

time. Other times these songs would have a deeper meaning. The song starts out pianissimo with

the lyrics "soon ah will be done wid de troubles of de world". These lyrics evoke an emotion of

secrecy, like they are trying to hide what they are saying, like a code. Much of this song is sung
in the style of a broken chorale. It also has a section where it goes into a polyphonic sounding

section. This song is significantly a prayer that the African slaves would sing, for hope of a better

day.

References

Soon Ah Will Be Done. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2017, from

http://ibhlmusic713.weebly.com/soon-ah-will-be-done.html

William L. Dawson (composer). (2017, February 17). Retrieved March 01, 2017, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_L._Dawson_(composer)

Technologies, I. P. (n.d.). News and Views. Retrieved March 01, 2017, from

http://listeninglab.stantons.com/title/soon-ah-will-be-done/1422/

Soon Ah Will Be Done William L. Dawson. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2017, from

http://www.notediscover.com/song/william-l-dawson-soon-ah-will-be-done