Lawrence Benjamin Brown

About

Lawrence Brown (1893-1972) was a singer, composer and pianist best known for his arrangements of Negro spirituals. He was a highly sought collaborative pianist and frequently performed with tenor Roland Hayes as well as toured internationally with bass-baritone Paul Robeson in the concert version of Show Boat. In 1920, Brown continued his musical studies at Trinity College in London, where he studied composition with Amanda Aldridge. He became an active participant in the musical life in London and worked with fellow musicians such as composer Roger Quilter and baritone John C. Payne. He contributed five songs to “The Book of American Negro Spirituals,” by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson, published in 1925. In 1930 he published his collection of Negro Folk Songs. The composer is credited with over 400 Spirituals and work song settings, with approximately 30 published. Brown’s Spiritual settings were recorded and performed by Robeson, contralto Marian Anderson and baritone Todd Duncan, as well as many other singers.

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Works by Lawrence Benjamin Brown