by Bishop Andre Woods, popularized by Keith Pringle
learned from Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell‘s sharing in Singing in the African American Tradition and Maggie Wheeler in Golden Bridge Choir.
Lyrics:
I feel like going on
I feel like going on
Though trials mount on every hand
I feel like going on
All (builds across the 4 parts)
Parts separated, in this order:
- Melody
- Melody+other parts
- Harmony Melody
- Harmony Melody+other parts
- Counter
- Counter+other parts
- Simpler Counter
- Simpler Counter+other parts
- Both Counters featured
- Both Melodies featured
- All 4 Parts Together in full volume
Kaitie says: This is how oral tradition works. I learned this song by singing it with Maggie Wheeler in Golden Bridge Choir. I came up in community singing directly under Maggie’s guidance, and she came up under Ysaye’s. I know Maggie was teaching based off the arrangement Ysaye created for her work with Singing in the African American Tradition, but she arranged changed some details to fit her choir. Over the years of singing it to myself, in my memory I have changed more details, merged harmonies, etc.
As I approached teaching it, I went back to the source and have been listening to Ysaye’s teaching tracks as well as Maggie’s. I’ve also dug deeper into the origin of the song and other important versions of it (see below.) I’ve also gotten in touch with myself and with which aspects of the arrangement feel most resonant for myself to use with my current choir. Therefore, the version in my teaching tracks is my modulation of Ysaye’s and Maggie’s teachings. If you are a songleader who wants to use this arrangement, please pay respect by giving support and homage to its true pathway into being, and do your due diligence by researching the song yourself – maybe you’ll find something you didn’t know about it, too.
In this video St James Mass Choir sings, with Bishop Andre Woods on the organ
First popular recording by Keith Pringle, 1982
Here’s Sing Portland singing Ysaye’s arrangement: