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Article " Weepin' Mary" by Harry Thacker Burleigh

Weepin' Mary, 1917, by Harry Thacker Burleigh, 1866-1949.
Weepin' Mary, 1917. Harry Thacker Burleigh, 1866-1949. Music Division, Library of Congress. Call number: M1671.W

Burleigh's brief setting of Weepin' Mary was published in 1917 in versions for solo voice and women's chorus by G. Ricordi & Co., New York. The women's chorus version was arranged by Nathaniel Clifford Page (1866-1956). Only thirty-one measures in length, the setting is a quiet, introspective piece in AAB form. The text is a commentary on a biblical passage: "But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher" (John 20:11).

Burleigh's setting is austere in its unvaried, quarter-note/half-note rhythm. His harmonic inventiveness is, therefore, all the more telling against such a simple backdrop. After setting the first phrase in diatonic triads in F minor, he repeats that phrase with subtle chromaticisms and one bold progression on "Call upon your Jesus, an' He'll draw near." On the word "Jesus," Burleigh moves from an F-minor chord directly to a G-flat-augmented chord to create a powerful, expressive dissonance.

About this Item

Title

  • " Weepin' Mary" by Harry Thacker Burleigh

Headings

  • -  Burleigh, H. T. (Harry Thacker), 1866-1949
  • -  Worship and Praise
  • -  Songs and Music
  • -  Parlor and Concert Stage
  • -  Progressive Era to New Era (1900-1929)
  • -  Traditional and Ethnic Songs and Music
  • -  Articles

Genre

  • article

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" Weepin' Mary" by Harry Thacker Burleigh. Web.. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200185376/.

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" Weepin' Mary" by Harry Thacker Burleigh. [Web.] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200185376/.

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" Weepin' Mary" by Harry Thacker Burleigh. Web.. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200185376/>.