Uploaded June 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Requiem: "Clara, Clara, don't you be downhearted"
Act III, Scene 1 from "Porgy and Bess"
Music by George Gershwin, lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
Eva Jessye Choir, Decca Symphony Orchestra directed by Alexander Smallens
Recorded May 15, 1940
Decca 29070 (12-inch)
Act III, Scene 1. The storm is over, and the residents of Catfish Row are mourning the death of Clara, Jake and Crown.
Eva A. Jessye (1895-1992) choral director, performer, musical director for a number of Broadway productions of "Porgy and Bess" in the 30's - 50's. She was the first black woman to receive international distinction as a professional choral conductor and had a collection of spiritual arrangements published in 1927 titled "My Spirituals". In the 1920s she created her own choral group, the Original Dixie Jubilee Singers which was eventually renamed the Eva Jessye Choir. She directed the group both on stage and on radio and was the choral director for MGM's "Hallelujah", directed by King Vidor. In 1935 Jessye was selected by George Gershwin to be choral director for the original production of his 1935 folk-opera, "Porgy and Bess." For the next three decades, Jessye was associated with almost every Porgy & Bess production worldwide, earning the unofficial title of 'curator and guardian of the score.'
The Requiem: "Clara, Clara, don't you be downhearted"
Act III, Scene 1 from "Porgy and Bess"
Music by George Gershwin, lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
Eva Jessye Choir, Decca Symphony Orchestra directed by Alexander Smallens
Recorded May 15, 1940
Decca 29070 (12-inch)
Act III, Scene 1. The storm is over, and the residents of Catfish Row are mourning the death of Clara, Jake and Crown.
Eva A. Jessye (1895-1992) choral director, performer, musical director for a number of Broadway productions of "Porgy and Bess" in the 30's - 50's. She was the first black woman to receive international distinction as a professional choral conductor and had a collection of spiritual arrangements published in 1927 titled "My Spirituals". In the 1920s she created her own choral group, the Original Dixie Jubilee Singers which was eventually renamed the Eva Jessye Choir. She directed the group both on stage and on radio and was the choral director for MGM's "Hallelujah", directed by King Vidor. In 1935 Jessye was selected by George Gershwin to be choral director for the original production of his 1935 folk-opera, "Porgy and Bess." For the next three decades, Jessye was associated with almost every Porgy & Bess production worldwide, earning the unofficial title of 'curator and guardian of the score.'
