Adolphus Hailstork's 'Amazing Grace'

Synopsis

On today’s date in 1875, one of the greatest musical match-makers of all time died in Spartanburg, South Carolina. His name was William Walker, an American Baptist shape-note-singing master who published several collections of traditional shape note tunes.

“Shape note” refers to a simple musical notation designed for communal singing. In his 1835 collection, Southern Harmony, Walker married a shape-note tune known as “New Britain” to the text of “Amazing Grace,” a hymn written by Anglican clergyman and abolitionist, John Newton.

Walker’s collection was a bestseller in the 19th century, and two centuries later, “Amazing Grace” has become one of the best-known and best-loved hymns of our time.

In 2011, a new orchestral fanfare based on “Amazing Grace,” by African-American composer Adolphus Hailstork, was published and subsequently recorded by the Virginia Symphony — appropriately enough, since Hailstork has served as professor of music and composer-in-residence at Virginia’s Norfolk State and Old Dominion universities, and in 1992 was named a cultural laureate of Virginia. In addition to this fanfare, Hailstork’s works range from choral and chamber pieces to symphonies and operas.

Music Played in Today's Program

Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941): Fanfare on “Amazing Grace”; Virginia Symphony; JoAnne Faletta, conductor; Naxos 8559722