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'Paul Robeson Legacy' with Sir Willard White: Willard White (bass-baritone), Neal Thornton (piano and arrangements), Richard Bolton (guitar); LSO St Luke’s, London 5.3.2009 (JPr)


On the 9th of  April 1898, in Princeton, New Jersey, Paul Robeson was born to a former slave, the Reverend William Drew Robeson. His mother, a teacher, died in tragic circumstances shortly thereafter in 1904. In 1910, Robeson's father became pastor of St. Thomas African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the Robeson family moved to Somerville, New Jersey. There Paul Robeson attended High School, excelling in sports, drama, singing, academics, and debating and he graduated in 1915. Robeson was awarded a four year academic scholarship to Rutgers University, only the third black student in the history of the institution. Despite the openly racist and violent opposition he faced, Robeson became an outstanding athlete and scholar. He went on to study law at Columbia in New York and received his degree in 1923. There he met and married Eslanda Cardozo Goode, who was the first black woman to be put in charge of a pathology laboratory. In New York,  Robeson began work as a law clerk but soon left the practice when a white secretary refused dictation from him. Robeson then returned to his childhood love of drama and singing and in 1924 he created the lead role in Eugene O'Neill's All God's Chillun Got Wings. Though the racial subject matter of the play was controversial, he went on to star in another O'Neill play, Emperor Jones. In 1930 he also starred as Othello in England when no US company would give him the role thus becoming the first black actor in the twentieth century to play the part. To many he is indelibly linked with the musical Showboat, where he changed the lines of the song ‘Old Man River’. His eleven films included Body and Soul, Jericho, and Proud Valley. 

These biographical details tell us only  a tiny bit  about Robeson's relevance in the twentieth century and in an interesting and, ultimately, heart-warming and stirring evening as part of the LSO/UBS Soundscapes: Eclectica series,  the distinguished bass-baritone, Sir Willard White, and his collaborator Neal Thornton, who also was responsible for the arrangements and played the piano, elaborated on Paul Robeson’s epic story. In his introduction,  Neal Thornton said that Robeson ‘paved the way for mass movements of social change’ which have now culminated in the election of the first black US President, Barack Obama. He spoke of Robeson's  ‘passionate connection with the common man’ and Willard White who quoted many of Robeson’s words during the evening spoke about how Robeson had devoted his life to the belief that ‘All men are equal before God’.

Paul Robeson’s concert career encompassed the world and his travels taught him that racism was not as prevalent in Europe as it was back home. Robeson believed in the universality of music and thought that by performing Negro spirituals and other cultures' folk songs, he could promote intercultural understanding; this was despite never having ever had a singing lesson and as Robeson said himself he ‘didn’t sing Spirituals in any tradition because I don’t know any tradition’. He believed his talents to be ‘God-given’ and said ‘I must feed my people with my songs’. As a result, he became a citizen of the world, singing for peace and equality in over twenty languages.

Throughout the 1940s,  Robeson success continued to perform on stage, in film, and in concert halls, but he remained face-to-face with prejudice and racism. After a nasty incident with Nazis in Berlin, he went on to the Soviet Union which was in his view,  a tolerant and friendly society. When he was there,  he said ‘For the first time in my life I feel I stand in full human dignity’.  Robeson began to protest about the growing Cold War hostilities between the US and the USSR and he questioned why African-Americans should support a government that did not treat them as equals. Robeson was considered an enemy by the US government and in 1947 he was named by the House Committee on Un-American Activities  - though he always denied being a communist - and was refused a passport until 1958. He accepted the Stalin Peace Prize in 1952 and this action and everything else he stood for contributed to the demise of his public career. He never gave up fighting for what he believed in and this attitude was epitomised by his response in 1949 to riots caused by a concert he was to give in Peekskill, New York, when he said ‘I won’t be frightened by burning crosses in Peekskill or anywhere else’.

In the early 60s Robeson retired through illness, from public life and then his wife of 45 years died. On his 75th birthday Paul Robeson assured all his friends that ‘Ol’ man river’ was still ‘rollin’ along’ but he died too on 23 January 1976, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a conclusion to this history lesson, we heard the words of C R L James who said of him: ‘To have spent half an hour in his company or to have 10 minutes alone with him was something that you remembered for days; and if I had to sum up his personality, I would say it was the combination of immense power and great gentleness.’

Willard White’s previous tribute ‘An Evening with Willard White – a tribute to Paul Robeson,’ was performed at Festivals throughout the UK, in the USA and in Reykjavik. When shown on BBC television and issued on CD, It  was a huge success and this new programme ‘Paul Robeson Legacy’ (the title of the 2002 CD on Linn Records) has obviously been developed from the earlier tribute but with a different selection of songs to show the musical progression through Robeson’s life.

Robeson's actual  ‘legacy’ has been as an inspiration to millions around the world because of his courageous stance against oppression and inequality. This led to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and through his stage and film performances he made inter-racial performances acceptable. In his own words: ‘To be free -  to walk the good American earth as equal citizens, to live without fear, to enjoy the fruits of our toil to give our children every opportunity in life - that dream which we have held so long in our hearts is today the destiny that we hold in our hands." 

It is difficult to pass a critical gaze on such an inspiring story illustrated by some of the most memorable tunes of twentieth century and their emotional lyrics. Willard White performed a strong selection of spirituals, folk songs, a Quilter art song and music by Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Duke Ellington and Kern, amongst others from the Robeson catalogue. My personal favourites in the first half were the spiritual ‘I gotta home in that rock’ - though it was spoilt a little by Richard Bolton’s jangly jazz guitar - and a magnificent ‘Song of the Volga boatman’ in Russian, for which Willard White in overcame the language barrier used every facet of his potent voice and physical presence to communicate the life of these people.

While Willard White shares Robeson’s soulfully resonant voice,  he  has possibly an even greater gentleness about him and maybe not quite all of the theatrical charisma that the great man must have had to bring this all off;  despite having performed Othello himself with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I am sure however that the current tribute  is a work-in-progress and that the necessary acting quality will come. I wondered whether more could have been done with the table and chair ‘cabaret style’ seating for some of the audience at his concert and whether Willard White might have moved among them for at least one song. For me, he didn’t give some of the songs quite the bite and attack that the battle-hardened Robeson might have done in order to empower his audience both spiritually and socially. Perhaps the modern musical arrangements have a little to do with this, but it was only towards the end of the evening that everything really came together from ‘Some enchanted evening’ onwards. This was sung because,  as Willard White reminded us,  although all audiences loved Robeson he seemed to have ‘a particular effect on women’. Willard White began to take more freedom with the vocal line through Duke Ellington’s ‘Solitude’ backed up by plaintive piano riff from Neal Thornton, then followed it with a soaring ‘Joshua fit the battle of Jericho’  before ending up with an impassioned ‘Ol’ man river’ which is as much a signature for him now as it was in times past for Robeson. The rousing encore of ‘Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen’ was sung as a reward for the great ovation from the very attentive audience at the end of this uplifting and life-affirming evening.

Jim Pritchard


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