Many Coloradans can instantly recognize these song titles but few know their origins. And fewer still would suspect that Denver is at the  forefront of revitalizing and preserving these and many other famous songs in the genre known as spirituals.T

The Spirituals Project, a nonprofit based in Denver, is committed to getting the word out about these famous American folk songs which helped form the foundation of modern R&B, gospel music, jazz, blues, and rap.

After the presentation Arthur "could not let it go," and said his love of singing spirituals grew into a personal mission to preserve a cultural tradition in danger of getting lost.

“The program [with the Denver Museum of Natural History] was really successful. I began thinking about it all the time, and dropped everything else.”

Thus, The Spirituals Project was born.

While the organization originally developed around the goal of creating a PBS documentary about spirituals, it quickly grew to include a traveling choir, educational workshops in churches and schools, and a multimedia Web site to teach about song form.

Originally written and sung by enslaved Africans in America in the 1700s and 1800s, spirituals were a way of coping with the perils of slavery, creating community, and communicating hidden messages.

“Just like young people today are able to understand hidden meaning in rap that eludes their parents, African-Americans were able to communicate important information right under their slave master’s noses,” explained Connie Rule, executive director of the Spirituals Project.

Many songs contained coded information to help slaves escaping through the Underground Railroad.

The emotional power behind spirituals has continued to hold meaning throughout American history.

Spirituals “convey human emotions of hope and freedom, which many people can identify with regardless of race,” Rule said.

The yearning for freedom and social justice expressed in spirituals can be seen throughout their varied history.

After the end of slavery, the songs continued to be sung in black churches and eventually blended with blues to help inspire modern-day gospel music.

Spirituals played an important role in the Harlem Renaissance, inspiring poetry and new spirituals arrangements written by black composers.

Spirituals music director, Ms. Bennie, leads a rehearsal.

The songs also helped to inspire music as varied as Dvorak’s "New World Symphony" to Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” to music written by Jewish composers driven out of Europe by the Nazis.

The messages behind spirituals found fertile ground in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

During this time, spirituals underwent their most significant revival since the abolition of slavery.

Songs such as “Oh, Freedom” and “Eyes on the Prize” were direct revivals of old spirituals, and “We Shall Overcome”—the hallmark freedom song of the movement—was a synthesis of a gospel hymn and the spiritual “I’ll Be All Right.”

The music that gave strength to the fight for equality in the United States also helped inspire freedom movements in Russia, Eastern Europe, China, and South Africa.

Thanks to The Spirituals Project, Coloradans have the opportunity to hear this powerful music that has long been associated with survival, resilience, and social justice.

The 80-member multi-racial and multi-cultural Spirituals Project Choir boasts singers ranging from high school students to octogenarians, providing a way for the community to connect with the spirituals. The Spirituals Project also sponsors a 25-person group as well as smaller performances.

You’ll find several opportunities to enjoy free spirituals concerts with upcoming spring and summer performances in Denver.

Visit www.spiritualsproject.org to find out how you can learn more about what Rule calls “a gift from African-Americans to the world.”