When the Saints Are Marching In
When the Saints are Marching In is an English sacred song and gospel piece .
Text and melody
The song was first recorded in 1896 in Cincinnati in the hymn book Songs of the Soul No. 2 published. The melody comes from James Milton Black . The text, written by Katherine Purvis , relates to the Apocalypse and describes the entry of the saints or the redeemed into the kingdom of heaven at the end of the world.
Likelihood of confusion
The piece is often confused with the much more popular world success When the Saints Go Marching In . In particular, this is often erroneously attributed to Black and Purvis, although its composer and lyricist are unknown.
Despite similar subject matter, not only the lyrics are completely different, but also the melody: While the one composed by Black is reminiscent of the solemn traditional church music , that of “When the Saints Go Marching in” is the epitome of the rapid happiness of the Jazz .
The earliest known evidence of the mix-up is a master's thesis at Penn State University from 1957 submitted by Mary Landon Russell . In the field of published literature, the error first appears in 1984 in The Great Song Thesaurus by Roger Lax and Frederick Smith , and in German literature by Dietrich Schulz -Kohn .
literature
- James M. Black: Songs of the Soul No. 2. Curtis & Jennings, Cincinnati, Ohio 1896
- Milton W. Loyer: James M. Black and Friends: Contributions of Williamsport PA to American Gospel Music. Private publication, 2004
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Source of information on website Background information on When the Saints are Marching In
- ↑ D. Schulz-Köhn The Evergreen Story: 40 x Jazz Quadriga, Weinheim, Berlin 1990, p. 328