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Down by the Riverside

Espiritual tradicional

Score

Read it and listen to it right here. It can't be downloaded — to sing it with your choir, use it in Cantico.

History

Down by the Riverside

“Down by the Riverside” is an African American spiritual whose refrain, “I ain't gonna study war no more”, echoes Isaiah 2:4: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares”. The edition used here dates from 1918.

About the piece

A spiritual with a lively rhythm and a message of peace. This edition carries the melody with its text, in 27 measures.

How to prepare it

The melody is short and easy to memorize, with a range of C4–B♭4 (a minor seventh). It sounds best with a firm, slightly syncopated pulse: in Cantico you can practice with the metronome so the assembly feels the beat and can add soft clapping. Alternate verse and refrain, giving the verse to one voice and the refrain to the whole choir.

When to use it

A joyful piece for Ordinary Time, and well suited to celebrations in which we pray for peace.