Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair is a familiar American folk song with Scottish origins. As with many folk songs, more than one version is known; the tune most well known to us comes from John Jacob Niles (1892-1980), a folk song collector and composer also known for his composition, from traditional sources, “I wonder as I wander”. Famously recorded by Nina Simone in 1959, and performed again in this historic recording of 1969, the song is a favorite of folk artists, with notable versions by Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Rhiannon Giddens among many others.
Many versions of the lyrics exist as well, but all describe the beloved in superlative terms and express an ardent and devoted love.
This spring, The Canticle Singers will perform a setting of Black Is The Color by the contemporary American composer Nathaniel Adams (b.1986) that marries this simple, haunting melody to shimmering dissonances, some rich and some delicate, to establish a mood of melancholic longing.
Challenging to perform and exciting to hear, the setting has an expansive and almost sacred quality.
Nathaniel Adams is a New York-based composer, arranger, singer, and pianist fluent in a wide range of musical styles including contemporary, baroque, jazz, and Anglican chant.
His works, praised as “sophisticated and voluptuous” (Chicago Classical Review) have been performed internationally.
He is the composer in residence of the St. Charles Singers of St. Charles, IL and has received commissions from such groups as the Manhattan Chorale, the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys (Manhattan), the men’s a cappella group Home Free, Cantamus of Iowa State University, the Swedish barbershop quartet Ringmasters, and the World Youth Choir.
Mr. Adams sings with The St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, Pomerium (specializing in early music), and Early Music New York.