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“A MUSICIAN CAN CONVEY A MESSAGE JUST AS WELL AS A PREACHER”
416
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(MUSIC.) HANDY, W.C.
Archive of 9 items signed by Handy for the
Fischer family.
Unsung Americans Sing.
* 4 music sheets * Three Typed Letters *
Photograph. Format and condition vary.
Vp, 1951-56
[4,000/6,000]
TLsS (3). The first, elaborately answering questions about his music: “My opinion of the music
which is popular today is that it is in keeping with the spirit of the times which are somewhat chaotic
because of world conditions; I can’t call it good neither can I call it bad . . . I consider the ‘St. Louis
Blues’ the most outstanding of my compositions because the people say it is . . . Gershwin’s music is
representative of America . . . I am working on various compositions although blind . . . [M]y interest
in Ethiopia goes back to the building of Solomon’s Temple and the Queen of Sheba . . . [W]e fought
two World Wars unprepared and if we are not in a War now I would like to know what it is, so, you
have had these wars as a result of ignoring Theodore Roosevelt’s big stick policies although politicians
may dispute this . . . My father a preacher said, ‘he had rather follow me to the grave than to see me
be a musician,’ and yet . . . I have sent my spirituals and sacred music around the world showing that
a musician can convey a message just as well as a preacher . . .” 2
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