Passage III

Marian Anderson in Concert

It has been said that Marian Anderson's concerts were much like communal celebrations than singing events. Her voice had extraordinary range and power, but equally moving was her presence on stage. Sincerely, gracious, always in full command of her art, she seemed completely absorbed in every song she sang.

There is perhaps no superior example of her ability to reach out to an audience than the concert she gave on Easter Sunday in 1939. It was, therefore, originally scheduled to be given at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. But several weeks before the engagement, the organization that owned the hall canceled the contract because members objected to an African American singing there.

The decision created controversy that spread throughout the country. When word of what happened reached the president's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, her first response was to resign from the organization. The second thing she did was to arrange for Anderson to sing before the nation, her listening audience, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Anderson wrote that she was in her autobiography so nervous she barely remembered that day. Before her a sea of faces stretched all the way to the Washington Monument, and behind her towered the statue of Abraham Lincoln. She was introduced to Supreme Court justices members, of the House, and Senate, executive department heads, and other dignitaries. Then she walked over to the bank of microphones.

Anderson began by singing the national anthem, after which she sang several opera pieces and spirituals. Her splendid voice was broadcast into homes all across the country. With her mastery of various musical styles and the richness and control of her renditions, she made that Easter Sunday one of the nicest days of the year.

Whether performing Verdi at the Metropolitan Opera or singing folk spirituals on one of many concert tours, Anderson embraced her audiences with the same largeness of spirt. When she retires in 1965, (44) she had won over not only their acclaim but their enduring affection.