Video
Historical Narrative
This spirited arrangement for T.T.B.B. voices was dedicated to Fred Sipes and the Murray Wright High School Male Chorus of Detroit, Michigan. Murray–Wright High School, once a thriving center for arts education within the Detroit Public Schools system, served the city’s downtown, midtown, and New Center communities until its closure in 2007.
Under the leadership of choral director Fred Sipes, the male chorus gained recognition for its disciplined tone and expressive performances. It is likely that their association with the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) brought them into contact with Betty Jackson King, who served as NANM’s national president and maintained close ties with educators and performers across the Midwest.
King’s dedication of this arrangement acknowledges both the excellence of Detroit’s young male voices and the broader cultural exchange between the Chicago and Detroit musical communities that she helped to foster. The work reflects her lifelong mission to preserve and elevate the Negro spiritual through refined choral artistry
Musical Description
Written in A-flat major (four flats) and marked Steady, this spirited arrangement for T.T.B.B. voices captures both the rhythmic vitality and narrative drive of the traditional spiritual. Betty Jackson King structures the work in clear sectional phrases, alternating between call-and-response dialogue and strong unison passages that simulate the movement of the ark.
The piece opens with a steady rhythmic pattern in the basses, grounding the music with a sense of motion, while the tenors enter with syncopated melodic figures that mirror the lilt of a work song. King’s harmonies are rich and full, characteristic of her male-chorus writing, using open intervals and parallel motion to convey depth and power. The repetition of the text “Ole Ark’s a-moverin’ and I’m goin’ home” reinforces the song’s steady pulse and spiritual assurance.