Sung by the Treble Choir of St. James, Baton Rouge
Shannon Gallier, Director of Music
Austin Clark, Organist
“Let us break bread together” is a rare example of an Afro-American Spiritual inspired by the Eucharist. The sedate and ordered structure of most liturgical worship services does not lend itself to the apparently spontaneous, call and response style that gave birth to Spirituals like “Go down Moses,” “Swing low, sweet chariot,” and “Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel?” However, there were slaves who regularly attended Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Methodist services, wherein they would have been exposed to the Eucharist. While Eucharistic Spirituals are rare, the repetition of phrases fits within the genre, and the use of the Kyrie “Lord have mercy (on me),” at the end of each stanza also helps “Let us break bread” achieve crossover status.
Members of the Treble Choir of St. James are auditioned and receive a generous annual scholarship. We are now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 Choir Season. The Choir is open to girls and boys (with unchanged voices), ages 11-17. Please contact Shannon Gallier at sgallier@stjamesbr.org for more information on joining this outstanding ensemble.