On the Delos CD 'Great Day!' Indra Thomas sings spirituals with both fervor and vocal refinement

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[GreatDay! Indra Thomas Sings Spirituals; Indra Thomas, soprano; Sandra Lutters, piano; Delos DE 3427 (2012)]
Shorter Universityof Rome, Georgia is a Baptist institution which announced on October 25,2012 that Indra Thomas would give a free concert of samples of themusic on GreatDay! OnNov. 2, 2012:
“October25, 2012- Internationally acclaimed soprano Indra Thomas will debutselections from her new CD, GreatDay! Indra Thomas Sings Spirituals,during an upcoming concert at Shorter University. The event will beheld Friday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Brookes Chapel and is open tothe public at no charge.

“Thomas,a 1993 graduate of Shorter, has built a successful career performingin operas around the globe. She is considered one of the foremostAida in the world today, having recently performed the role during anationally televised performance in France, with the HamburgischeStaatsoper, at the Bregenz Festival in Austria, at the Palau De LesArts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain, and at the Avignon MusicFestival. She made her New York recital debut during the 2010-2011season at Weill Recital Hall.”

OnOctober 30, 2012 AfriClassical posted: “'Great Day! Indra ThomasSings Spirituals' on Delos CD.” Lindsay Koob writes the linernotes of the recording:
“Whilethe spirituals in this album are rendered by a single soloist, the'call-and-response' style (with rhythmic clapping) is an additionalfeature of 'GreatDay'(track 15), in which Ms. Thomas's lines are intermittently echoed bya vocal trio. 'JoshuaFit the Battle of Jericho' (tr6) and 'Witness'(tr10) stand as examples of both the manic African dance influence aswell as high-energy biblical storytelling.”
Thenotes tell us that messages other than religion, including earthlyliberation from captivity, can be seen in several of the songs,including StealAway, Deep River, Sometimes I Feel l a Motherless Child andThere is a Balm in Gilead. Thenotes also explain: “Indra Thomas, a minister's daughter, was bornand raised in Atlanta, GA. Her mother, a gifted amateur singer,served as young Indra's first voice teacher, introducing her tospirituals at an early age.”

Theperformances of Indra Thomas on GreatDay!reflect both the emotional fervor and the refined professionalism of anaccomplished operatic soprano who grew up singing traditional AfricanAmerican spirituals. We were not surprised when MeganMashburn posted this comment on AfriClassical on November 2,2012:

“Iam so excited about this recording! I have heard Ms. Thomas performlive, which was a truly moving, enriching experience. She is one ofmy favorite singers. She always sings with such clarity and passion,taking the listener to a place of intimacy and joy!
“I'mbuying a copy of this recording for myself and friends and family forgifts. This is definitely something I do not want to miss out on!”


[HenryThacker Burleigh (1866-1949) and Margaret Allison Bonds (1913-1972) are profiled at AfriClassical.com,which features acomprehensive Works List and a Bibliography for each composer byProf. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com Burleigh arranged GiveMe Jesus; Deep River; Steal Away; andThereIs A Balm in Gilead. Bondsarranged He'sGot the Whole World in His Hands.]
Disclosure:Areview copy of this recording was provided by the record label.

Comment by email:
Thank you so much Mr. Zick. I saw the review and loved it. All the best! Peace and love!  Indra  [Indra Thomas]