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R. Nathaniel Dett (1882–1943)

Robert Nathaniel Dett was born in Drummondsville, Ontario, Canada. His ancestors were among the slaves who escaped to the North and settled in that slave-founded town. In 1901, Dett began studying piano with Oliver Willis Halstead in nearby Lockport. Three years later he was admitted to the Oberlin Conservatory, where he majored in piano and composition. In 1908, Dett received his B.M. degree, winning Phi Beta Kappa honors. Dett’s later education included studies at Harvard University under Arthur Foote (1920-21), and the American Conservatory in Fountainebleau with Nadia Boulanger. In 1932, he completed a Master of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Dett’s most important work began in 1913 at the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. He trained the choir at that traditionally African-American school to a new level of musical excellence. His 40-voice Hampton Singers performed at Carnegie Hall in January 1914. Dett rose to the position of director of the Music Department at Hampton in 1926, the first black to hold that job. That same year, Oberlin Conservatory awarded Dett an honorary Doctor of Music degree, another first for an African American. On December 17, 1926, the 80-voice Hampton Choir assumed national prominence as it performed by invitation at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The unaccompanied program contained Dett’s trademark mix of repertoire–early English music, works from the Russian liturgy, Christmas carols, and arrangements of spirituals. In 1930 the choir achieved another milestone as it embarked on a European tour under the auspices of George Foster Peabody, a philanthropic patron of the arts and Hampton Institute trustee. En route to New York, the group sang for President Herbert Hoover on the White House lawn. The choir of 40 select voices went on to impress audiences during its six-week tour of seven countries. After earning his master’s degree in 1932, Dett resigned from Hampton and moved to Rochester, New York. He died in 1943 while serving as choral advisor for the United Services Organization and touring with a women’s choir in Battle Creek, Michigan.
   - Library of Congress

COMPOSITIONS                                                           Dett  Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre   ~ ~ ~   Dett on Dett
UNDATED
No More Auction Block, orchestra (????, unpublished)
Quartet, string (????; pub. c1974)
Symphonic suite, E minor, piano (????)
Symphony, E minor (????)


After the Cakewalk, march cake-walk, piano (1900) [arr. by Lee Orean Smith] [S.1]
Cave of the Winds, a march and two-step, piano (1902) [S.2]
Churning Song, medium voice and piano (1903) [S.16]
Etude, A-flat, piano (c1903; fp. 10 March 1903) [no "S" number]
Inspiration Waltzes, piano (1903; fp. 10 March 1903) [S.3] [3 waltzes]
To mother, voice(?) and piano (1904; fp. 11 Oct 1904) [no "S" number]
Confessional, violin and piano (c1908) [dedicated to Donald Morrison] [no "S" number]
Dinah kneeding dough, voice and piano (c1908) [text: Paul Laurence Dunbar] [no "S" number]
Freda, piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
From the Sea [and other sketches], voice and piano (?c1908) [no "S" number]
Gratitudes and inspirations, chorus (c1908) [no "S" number]
Il peneroso, piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [after John Milton] [dedicated to George Hastings] [no "S" number]
My Agnes from Niagara, piano (1909) [S.4]
Prelude, piano (c1908) [no "S" number]
[Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen, violin and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908)] - EB
My song, violin and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [dedicated to George Andrews] [no "S" number]
Prelude, adagio ma non troppo, and finale, piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
To the sea, voice and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
Twilight, voice and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
Oh whisp’ring tree, voice and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
Niagara Falls (a Novelty), march and two step, piano (1909) [no "S" number]
Magnolia (5pcs), suite for piano (1912) [S.5]
In the Bottoms, (5pcs) "characteristic suite", piano (1913/1926) [S.6] [ded. to Percy Grainger] [also arr. for pf 4-hd; and 2 pianos]
    - arr. for chorus and piano (1934) [S.76]
Hampton, my home by the sea, chorus, w/piano reduction (1914) [S.47] [text: R. Nathaniel Dett]
Listen to the Lambs, soprano & chorus [SSAATTBB] (1914) [S.48] [ "a religious character in the form of an anthem"]
Slow movement on an old Negro spiritual, string quartet (1915)
Music in the Mine, tenor & chorus (1916; fp. 21 Feb 1922, Carnegie Hall/N.Y. Oratorio Society) [S.50] [an unaccomp. folk-song scena]
O Holy Lord, chorus [SSAATTB] (1916) [S.49]
I'll never turn back no more, high voice and chorus (1917) [S.52] [dedicated to: Hampton Choral Union & Hampton Choir]
A thousand years ago or more, high voice and piano (1918; pub. 1919) [S.18] [text: Frederick H. Martens]
America the Beautiful, chorus and piano (1918) [S.51] [text: Katherine Lee Bates]
Go on, mule!, medium voice and piano (1918) [S.17] [text: J. Fletcher Bryant] ["an army camp folk-song"]
Weeping Mary, anthem, soprano and chorus (1918) [S.53]
The Chariot Jubilee, tenor solo, chorus and piano (or organ, or orchestra) (1919) [S.54]
Done paid my vow to the Lord, medium voice and female chorus [SSA] (1919) [S.55]
Follow me, medium voice and piano (1919) [S.19]
I’m so glad trouble done last always, voice and piano (1919) [S.20] ["a Negro spiritual"]
 - I’m so glad trouble done last always, female chorus [SSA] and piano (1919) [S.56]  ["a Negro spiritual"]
Magic moon of molten gold, high voice and piano (1919) [S.21] [text: Fredeick H. Martens]
O Mary, don’t you weep, chorus (1919)
Somebody's knocking at your door, medium voice and piano (1919) [S.22] [also many other arrangements] [also in: RF-SN@HI]
 - Somebody's knocking at your door, chorus and piano (1919) [S.57]
 - Somebody's knocking at your door, tenor and female chorus [SSA] (1932) [S.70]
Don't be weary traveler, chorus [SSATBB] (c1920) [S.60] [award Francis Boott Prize/Harvard, 1920] [motet, based on Negro spiritual]
There’s a meeting here to-night: Negro Spiritual, female chorus and piano [3-part] (1921) [S.59] [pub. in other collections]
Enchantment (4pcs), piano (1922) [S.7] [dedicated to Percy Grainger] ["a Romantic Suite for the piano on an original program"]
Nepenthe and the Muse, piano (1922) [S.8] [dedicated to Arthur Foote]
O, the land I'm bound for, medium voice and piano (1923) [S.24]
Ope' yo' eyes, high voice and piano (1923/1924) [S.26] [text: The Album of a Heart, by R. N. Dett] [sometime: "Open yo' eyes"]
Poor me, medium voice and piano (1923) [S.23] [dedication: Marian Anderson] [also for chorus]
 - melody taken from Folk songs of the American Negro, by the Work brothers
Ramah, violin and piano (1923) [S.9]
The winding road, low voice and piano (1923) [S.25] [text: Tertius van Dyke]
Zion, hallelujah, medium voice and piano (1923) [S.27]
A man goin' roun' takin' names, low voice & piano (1924) [S.30]
Cotton Needs Picking, piano (1924) [S.10]
Gently Lord, o gently lead us, soprano & chorus (1924) [S.61] [text: Thomas Hastings] [a Bahama folk song in the form of an anthem]
I'm a-goin' to see my friends again, medium voice and piano (1924) [S.31]
Fair Weather, piano (1924/1926) [S.11]
Sonata [No. 1], F minor, piano (c1924)
There's a man goin' 'round takin' names, solo and chorus (1924)
The voice of the sea, low voice and piano (1924) [S.29] [text: from The Album of a Heart, by R. Nathaniel Dett]
Were thou the moon, low voice and piano (1924) [S.28] [text: Album of a Heart, by R. Nathaniel Dett]
Sonata [No. 2], E minor, piano (c1925)
Don't you weep no more, Mary, chorus (1926) [S.66] [a motet, likely based on Negro spiritual]
God understands, medium voice and piano (1926) [S.32] [text: Katrina Trask]
Let us cheer the weary traveler, chorus (1926) [S.64] [motet based on Negro spiritual]
O hear the lambs a-crying, soprano and chorus (1926) [S.65] [anthem based on Negro spiritual]
Son of Mary, chorus (1926) [based on a traditional Negro melody] [S.63]
There's a star in the east, female chorus [SSA] (1926) [S.62]
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?, chorus (1926) [also in: RF-SN@HI]
Religious Folk-songs of the Negro as Sung at Hampton Institute, chorus, w/opt. piano (165 pieces) (1927) [S.67] . . . see  here
As children walk ye in God's love, chorus (1928/1930) [S.69]
Cinnamon Grove (4pcs), a suite for the piano (1928) [S.12]
Lead gently, Lord, and slow, low voice and piano (1929) [S.33] [text: Paul Laurence Dunbar]
My day, low voice and piano (1929) [S.34] [text: Daniel S. Twohig]
Ave Maria, baritone and chorus (1930) [S.68] [text: Frederick H. Martens] [a motet]
The Ordering of Moses, sacred cantata (oratorio), soli, chorus and orchestra (1932; fp. 7 May 1939) [S.79]
Rise up shepherd an' foller, chorus (1932) [S.71] [also many other arrangements] [in: RF-SN@HI] [Rise up shepherd and follow]
 - Rise up shepherd an' foller, tenor, male chorus [TTBB] and piano (1936) [S.77]
Sit down servant, medium voice and piano; or chorus (with tenor solo) and piano (1932) [S.35] [also many other arrangements]
As by the streams of Babylon, soprano and SATB (1933) [S.74]
Drink to me only with thine eyes, chorus (1933) [S.72] [text: Ben Jonson]
Go not far from me, O God, baritone and chorus (1933) [S.73]
Wasn't that a mighty day?, voice and chorus (1933) [S.75]
The Dett Collection of Negro spirituals, chorus, w/some piano & some solo voices (1934/36) [S.78] . . .  see  here
O Lord, the hard-won miles, a sacred song, low voice and piano (1934) [S.36] [text: Paul Laurence Dunbar]
Parade of the Years, incidental music, orchestra (1934?) [for a play by Edward Hungerford] [?for the 1934 Rochester Centennial]
Pathways of Progress, incidental music, orchestra (1934?) [for a play by Edward Hungerford] [?for the 1934 Rochester Centennial]
Iorana, medium voice and piano (1935) [S.37] [text: J. Henry Que] ["Tahitian maiden’s love song"]
Dust, Dust and Ashes, motet, chorus (1936)
On that Sabbath morn, anthem, chorus (1936)
American Sampler, orchestra (1937; fp. 2 Oct 1938, radio broadcast by Columbia Broadcasting Symphony) [S.13]
The lamb, female chorus [3-part] (1938) [text: William Blake] [an idyll]
Now rest beneath night’s shadows, hymn anthem, female chorus [SSAA] (1938) [S.80] [text: Paul Gerhardt]
Tropic Winter (7pcs), a suite for solo piano (1938) [S.14] [also arr. for orchestra]
I'm goin' to thank God, high voice and piano (1940) [S.39]
Ride on, Jesus, high voice and piano (1940) [S.38] [also arr. for chorus]
So we'll go no more a' rovin', female chorus [SSAA] (1940)
I'm goin' to tell God all my troubles, voice and piano (1940) [for Dett's protege, soprano Dorothy Maynor]
Ask for the old paths, anthem, chorus (1941)
City of God, anthem, chorus (1941) [text: Samuel Johnson]
Heavenly Union: a spiritual, baritone (or tenor) solo and chorus (1941)
When I survey the wondrous cross, female chorus [SSAA] (1941)
Eight Bible Vignettes, piano (1941-43) [S.15]
Go on, brother!, high voice and piano (1942) [S.40]
Hymn to Parnassus, medium voice and piano (1942) [S.42] [text: R. Nathaniel Dett & anonymous source]
The Soul of America Defend, medium voice and piano (1942) [S.41] [text: R. Nathaniel Dett]
What kind of shoes you gonna wear?, medium voice and piano (1943) [S.44]
Ascapezzo, female chorus (1943)
I'm a-trav'ling to the grave, voice and piano (1943) [S.43] **
In that morning, high voice and piano (1943) [S.46]
Now we take this feeble body, high voice and piano (1943) [S.45] ["Negro funeral hymn"]
Spirituals for voice and piano (1946) [all songs previously published separately]
Negro Spirituals, chorus, some with solos (pub. 1959) [S.78]  see  here   [all from Dett Collection of Negro spirituals, 1934]


** I'm a travl'in to the grave; or Travelin' to the grave; or We are trav’ling to the grave - all the same???
?no S.58
?no S.81-88, 90 . . . and on


WORKS BY GENRE                                                            Dett Links     ~ top of page ~     Dett on Dett
Orchestra
No More Auction Block, orchestra (????, unpublished)
Mammy, piano [also arr. for organ, pub. 1918; also arr. for strings, piano, and winds]
American Sampler, orchestra (1937; fp. 2 Oct 1938, radio broadcast by Columbia Broadcasting Symphony) [S.13]
 - Martyrs [based upon the record of the martyrdom of Jean de Breboeuf]
 - Liberators [after a poem by Philip Morin Freneau]
Tropic Winter, a suite for solo piano (1938) [S.14] [also arr. for orchestra]

Band
[some of Dett's works have been arranged for band by other composers]

Chorus w/Orchestra
The Ordering of Moses, sacred cantata (oratorio), soli, chorus and orchestra (1932; fp. 7 May 1939) [S.79]
 - Introduction
 - All Israel's Children
 - O Lord, Behold My Affliction
 - God Looked on Israel
 - And from a Burning Bush
 - Lord, Who Am I?
 - Who Hath Made a Man Dumb?
 - Orchestra Interlude
 - And When Moses Smote the Water
 - March of the Israelites
 - The Egyptians Pursue
 - And When They Reached the Other Shore
 - Come Let Us Praise Jehovah [
 - Sing Ye to Jehovah
 - He is King of Kings
     - ?The Song of Miriam, soprano, female chorus [SSA], [and piano?] (?1939) ["Come, let us praise Jehovah"]

Choral
Gratitudes and inspirations, chorus (c1908) [no "S" number]
Dance (Juba) [from "In the Bottoms", 1913] - arr. for chorus and piano (1934) [S.76]
Hampton, my home by the sea, chorus, w/piano reduction (1914) [S.47] [text: R. Nathaniel Dett]
Listen to the Lambs, soprano & chorus [SSAATTBB] (1914) [S.48] [ "a religious character in the form of an anthem"]
 - or female chorus [SSAA], 1923
Music in the Mine, tenor & chorus (1916; fp. 21 Feb 1922, Carnegie Hall/N.Y. Oratorio Society) [S.50] [an unaccomp. folk-song scena]
O Holy Lord, chorus [SSAATTB] (1916) [S.49]
I'll never turn back no more, high voice and chorus (1917) [S.52] [dedicated to: Hampton Choral Union & Hampton Choir]
America the Beautiful, chorus and piano (1918) [S.51] [text: Katherine Lee Bates]
Weeping Mary, anthem, soprano and chorus (1918) [S.53]
The Chariot Jubilee, tenor solo, chorus and piano (or organ, or orchestra) (1919) [S.54]
Done paid my vow to the Lord, medium voice and female chorus [SSA] (1919) [S.55]
I’m so glad trouble done last always, female chorus [SSA] and piano (1919) [S.56]  ["a Negro spiritual"] [from voice & pf work]
O Mary, don’t you weep, chorus (1919)
Somebody's knocking at your door, chorus and piano (1919) [S.57] [from voice & pf work]
Somebody's knocking at your door, tenor and female chorus [SSA] (1932) [S.70]
Don't be weary traveler, chorus [SSATBB] (c1920) [S.60] [award Francis Boott Prize/Harvard, 1920] [motet, based on Negro spiritual]
There’s a meeting here to-night: Negro Spiritual, female chorus and piano [3-part] (1921) [S.59] [pub. in other collections]
Gently Lord, o gently lead us, soprano & chorus (1924) [S.61] [text: Thomas Hastings] [a Bahama folk song in the form of an anthem]
There's a man goin' 'round takin' names, solo and chorus (1924)
Don't you weep no more, Mary, chorus (1926) [S.66] [a motet, likely based on Negro spiritual]
Let us cheer the weary traveler, chorus (1926) [S.64] [motet based on Negro spiritual]
O hear the lambs a-crying, soprano and chorus (1926) [S.65] [anthem based on Negro spiritual]
Son of Mary, chorus (1926) [based on a traditional Negro melody] [S.63]
There's a star in the east, female chorus [SSA] (1926) [S.62]
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?, chorus (1926) [also in: RF-SN@HI]
Religious Folk-songs of the Negro as Sung at Hampton Institute, chorus, w/opt. piano (165 pieces) (1927) [S.67] . . . see  here
As children walk ye in God's love, chorus (1928/1930) [S.69]
Ave Maria, baritone and chorus (1930) [S.68] [text: Frederick H. Martens] [a motet]
Rise up shepherd an' foller, chorus (1932) [S.71] [also many other arrangements] [in: RF-SN@HI] [Rise up shepherd and follow]
 - Rise up shepherd an' foller, tenor, male chorus [TTBB] and piano (1936) [S.77]
Sit down servant, medium voice and piano; or chorus (with tenor solo) and piano (1932) [S.35] [also many other arrangements]
As by the streams of Babylon, soprano and SATB (1933) [S.74]
Drink to me only with thine eyes, chorus (1933) [S.72] [text: Ben Jonson]
Go not far from me, O God, baritone and chorus (1933) [S.73]
Wasn't that a mighty day?, voice and chorus (1933) [S.75]
The Dett Collection of Negro spirituals, chorus, w/some piano & some solo voices (1934/36) [S.78] . . .  see  here
Dust, Dust and Ashes, motet, chorus (1936)
On that Sabbath morn, anthem, chorus (1936)
The lamb, female chorus [3-part] (1938) [text: William Blake] [an idyll]
Now rest beneath night’s shadows, hymn anthem, female chorus [SSAA] (1938) [S.80] [text: Paul Gerhardt]
So we'll go no more a' rovin', female chorus [SSAA] (1940)
Ask for the old paths, anthem, chorus (1941)
City of God, anthem, chorus (1941) [text: Samuel Johnson]
Heavenly Union: a spiritual, baritone (or tenor) solo and chorus (1941)
When I survey the wondrous cross, female chorus [SSAA] (1941)
Ascapezzo, female chorus (1943)
Negro Spirituals, chorus, some with solos (pub. 1959) [S.78]  see  here   [all from Dett Collection of Negro spirituals, 1934]

Chamber
Quartet, string (????; pub. c1974)
Slow movement on an old Negro spiritual, string quartet (1915)

Instrument and Piano
Confessional, violin and piano (c1908) [dedicated to Donald Morrison] [no "S" number]
[Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen, violin and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908)] - EB
My song, violin and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [dedicated to George Andrews] [no "S" number]
Ramah, violin and piano (1923) [S.9]

Piano
After the Cakewalk, march cake-walk, piano (1900) [arr. by Lee Orean Smith] [S.1]
Cave of the Winds, a march and two-step, piano (1902) [S.2]
Etude, A-flat, piano (c1903; fp. 10 March 1903) [no "S" number]
Inspiration Waltzes, piano (1903; fp. 10 March 1903) [S.3] [3 waltzes]
Freda, piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
Il peneroso, piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [after John Milton] [dedicated to George Hastings] [no "S" number]
My Agnes from Niagara, piano (1909) [S.4]
Prelude, piano (c1908) [no "S" number]
Prelude, adagio ma non troppo, and finale, piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
Niagara Falls (a Novelty), march and two step, piano (1909) [no "S" number]
Magnolia, suite for piano (1912) [S.5]
 - Magnolias
 - The Deserted Cabin [also arr. for organ, pub. 1918]
 - My Lady Love
 - Mammy [also arr. for organ, pub. 1918; also arr. for strings, piano, and winds]
 - The Place Where the Rainbow Ends
In the Bottoms, a "characteristic suite", piano (1913/1926) [S.6] [ded. to Percy Grainger] [also arr. for piano 4-hd; and 2 pianos]
 - Prelude (Night)
 - His Song [also arr. for organ, pub. 1921]
 - Honey (Humoresque) [after the poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar]
 - Barcarolle (Morning)
 - Dance (Juba) - arr. for chorus and piano (1934) [S.76]
Enchantment, piano (1922) [S.7] [dedicated to Percy Grainger] ["a Romantic Suite for the piano on an original program"]
 - Incantation
 - Song of the Shrine
 - Dance of Desire
 - Beyond the Dream
Nepenthe and the Muse, piano (1922) [S.8] [dedicated to Arthur Foote]
Cotton Needs Picking, piano (1924) [S.10]
Fair Weather, piano (1924/1926) [S.11]
Sonata [No. 1], F minor, piano (c1924)
Sonata [No. 2], E minor, piano (c1925)
Cinnamon Grove, a suite for the piano (1928) [S.12]
 - Moderato molto grazioso [After John Donne]
 - Adagio cantabile [After Rabindranath Tagore]
 - Ritmo moderato e con sentimento, quasi gavotte [ After Henry W. Longfellow]
 - Allegretto
Tropic Winter, a suite for solo piano (1938) [S.14] [also arr. for orchestra]
 - The Daybreak Charioteer
 - A Bayou Garden
 - Pompons and Fans
 - Legend of the Atoll
 - To a Closed Casement
 - Noon Siesta
 - Parade of the Jasmine Banners
Eight Bible Vignettes, piano (1941-43) [S.15]
 - Father Abraham (1941)
 - Desert Interlude (1942)
 - As His Own Soul (1942)
 - Barcarolle of Tears (1943)
 - I Am the True Vine (1943)
 - Martha Complained (1942)
 - Other Sheep (1943)
 - Madrigal Divine (1943)

Symphonic suite, E minor, piano (????)
Symphony, E minor, [????] (????)

Vocal
Churning Song, medium voice and piano (1903) [S.16]
To mother, voice(?) and piano (1904; fp. 11 Oct 1904) [no "S" number]
Dinah kneeding dough, voice and piano (c1908) [text: Paul Laurence Dunbar] [no "S" number]
From the Sea [and other sketches], voice and piano (?c1908) [no "S" number]
To the sea, voice and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
Twilight, voice and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
Oh whisp’ring tree, voice and piano (c1908; fp. 6 June 1908) [no "S" number]
A thousand years ago or more, high voice and piano (1918; pub. 1919) [S.18] [text: Frederick H. Martens]
Go on, mule!, medium voice and piano (1918) [S.17] [text: J. Fletcher Bryant] ["an army camp folk-song"]
Follow me, medium voice and piano (1919) [S.19]
I’m so glad trouble done last always, voice and piano (1919) [S.20] ["a Negro spiritual"]
Magic moon of molten gold, high voice and piano (1919) [S.21] [text: Fredeick H. Martens]
Somebody's knocking at your door, medium voice and piano (1919) [S.22] [also many other arrangements] [also in: RF-SN@HI]
O, the land I'm bound for, medium voice and piano (1923) [S.24]
Ope' yo' eyes, high voice and piano (1923/1924) [S.26] [text: The Album of a Heart, by R. N. Dett] [sometime: "Open yo' eyes"]
Poor me, medium voice and piano (1923) [S.23] [dedication: Marian Anderson] [also for chorus]
 - melody taken from Folk songs of the American Negro, by the Work brothers
The winding road, low voice and piano (1923) [S.25] [text: Tertius van Dyke]
Zion, hallelujah, medium voice and piano (1923) [S.27]
A man goin' roun' takin' names, low voice & piano (1924) [S.30]
I'm a-goin' to see my friends again, medium voice and piano (1924) [S.31]
The voice of the sea, low voice and piano (1924) [S.29] [text: from The Album of a Heart, by R. Nathaniel Dett]
Were thou the moon, low voice and piano (1924) [S.28] [text: Album of a Heart, by R. Nathaniel Dett]
God understands, medium voice and piano (1926) [S.32] [text: Katrina Trask]
Lead gently, Lord, and slow, low voice and piano (1929) [S.33] [text: Paul Laurence Dunbar]
My day, low voice and piano (1929) [S.34] [text: Daniel S. Twohig]
?The Song of Miriam, soprano, female chorus [SSA], [and piano?] (?1939) ["Come, let us praise Jehovah"]
Sit down servant, medium voice and piano; or chorus (with tenor solo) and piano (1932) [S.35] [also many other arrangements]
O Lord, the hard-won miles, a sacred song, low voice and piano (1934) [S.36] [text: Paul Laurence Dunbar]
Iorana, medium voice and piano (1935) [S.37] [text: J. Henry Que] ["Tahitian maiden’s love song"]
I'm goin' to thank God, high voice and piano (1940) [S.39]
Ride on, Jesus, high voice and piano (1940) [S.38] [also arr. for chorus]
I'm goin' to tell God all my troubles, voice and piano (1940) [for Dett's protege, soprano Dorothy Maynor]
Go on, brother!, high voice and piano (1942) [S.40]
Hymn to Parnassus, medium voice and piano (1942) [S.42] [text: R. Nathaniel Dett & anonymous source]
The Soul of America Defend, medium voice and piano (1942) [S.41] [text: R. Nathaniel Dett]
What kind of shoes you gonna wear?, medium voice and piano (1943) [S.44]
I'm a-trav'ling to the grave, voice and piano (1943) [S.43] **
In that morning, high voice and piano (1943) [S.46]
Now we take this feeble body, high voice and piano (1943) [S.45] ["Negro funeral hymn"]
Spirituals for voice and piano (1946) [all songs previously published separately]
 - What kind of shoes you going to wear?
 - In that morning
 - Go on, Brother
 - Hymn to Parnassus
 - Now we take this feeble body
 - I'm a-trav'ling to the grave

** I'm a travl'in to the grave; or Travelin' to the grave; or We are trav’ling to the grave - all the same???

Incidental
Parade of the Years, incidental music, orchestra (1934?) [for a play by Edward Hungerford] [?for the 1934 Rochester Centennial]
Pathways of Progress, incidental music, orchestra (1934?) [for a play by Edward Hungerford] [?for the 1934 Rochester Centennial]
incidental music about The Underground Railroad
incidental music about Frederick Douglas
Two symphonic pieces for CBS Radio


DETT LINKS                                                            Works by Genre      ~ top of page ~      Dett on Dett
Higher Ground: How R. Nathaniel Dett Made his Mark in Rochester (Emily Morry, Rochester History)
Nathaniel Dett: His Life and Works (Vivian R. Mc Brier, Associated Publishers,1977)
The R. Nathaniel Dett Reader (Jon Michael Spencer/Duke University)
Robert Nathaniel Dett and the Music of the Harlem Renaissance (Daniel Weaver, Buffalo State University)
Rediscovering the genius of R. Nathaniel Dett (Mona Seghatoleslami, Classical 91.5 WXXO-FM)
Religious Folk-songs of the Negro - as sung at Hampton Institute (pub. 1927)
Short Choral Works of R. Nathaniel Dett (Garrett, Marques Lamar Aramis, FSU)  also  here
The Six Piano Suites of Nathaniel Dett (Clipper Erickson, Temple University)

Composer's website

Dett @ Wikipedia
Dett @ The African American Art Song Alliance
Dett @ Africlassical
Dett @ Afrovoices
Dett @ Black Past
Dett @ The Canadian Encyclopedia
Dett @ ClassicsToday
Dett @ Discover Niagra
Dett @ EBSCO
Dett @ ERIC
Dett @ Facebook
Dett @ Free Library of Philadelphia
Dett @ Marques Lamar Aramis Garrett
Dett @ Hampton University    also   here
Dett @ Hymnology Archive
Dett @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Dett @ Library of Congress
Dett @ Library of Virginia
Dett @ Lied.net
Dett @ MusicWeb International
Dett @ Song of America

Publisher
Dett @ The Boston Music Co.
Dett @ John Church Co.
Dett @ J. Fischer & Bro.
Dett @ Hall & McCreary Co.
Dett @ Mills Music Inc.
Dett @ Theodore Presser
Dett @ G. Schirmer
Dett @ J. C. Swackhamer
Dett @ Clayton F. Summy Co.
Dett @ Internet Archive
Dett @ IMSLP

Streaming Audio
Dett @ Classical Archives
Dett @ Marques Lamar Aramis Garrett
Dett @ PRX (Public Radio Exchange)
Dett @ SoundCloud

Recordings
Dett @ ArkivMusic
Dett @ AppleMusic
Dett @ Discogs

Video
Dett @ YouTube
Dett @ Vimeo

Dett on Dett: Who was R. Nathaniel Dett? (VIDEO)
Composers Speak on the Web at Pytheas
                            ~ click on composer picture to listen ~

. . . and check out more    Composers Speak on the Web    at Pytheas