Biography
Born Francis Hall Johnson yet widely recognized simply as Hall Johnson, this influential figure earned equal renown through his original compositions, the creation of several internationally celebrated choirs, and an extensive body of publications focused on gospel and broader traditions of Black music. His earliest and most decisive exposure to sacred choral repertoire came from his father, who served as a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal church in Athens, Georgia. A second formative presence was his grandmother, a former slave whose deeply affecting renditions of spirituals left a lasting impression. Rather than relying solely on oral transmission, Johnson pursued formal training at Atlanta University, Allen University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Juilliard School, and the University of Southern California.
He launched his professional life as a violinist in the renowned orchestra led by James Reese Europe. Soon afterward, Johnson established a private teaching studio where he instructed students on violin and additional instruments he had mastered. In 1921 he performed in the pit orchestra for the Broadway production Shuffle Along. His growing interest in choral writing drew him back to the spirituals of his youth and prompted the founding of the Hall Johnson Negro Choir in the autumn of 1925. The ensemble quickly began concertizing and broadcasting in New York City, and it made its first commercial recordings for RCA Victor in 1928. Early the next decade the choir introduced one of Johnson’s major works, a cycle of spirituals composed for the Broadway musical The Green Pastures. Building on that success, Run Little Chillun reached the Broadway stage in 1933; over the following twelve years the singers contributed to the film adaptation of The Green Pastures as well as the Hollywood productions Lost Horizon and Cabin in the Sky.
Johnson continued to assemble large-scale choral ensembles, organizing festival choirs on both American coasts and supplying them with original repertoire. He also produced numerous spiritual arrangements for solo voice and piano that attracted interpreters of the stature of soprano Marian Anderson. His Easter cantata “Son of Man” received its premiere in the spring of 1946. In 1951 the ensemble, now known as the Hall Johnson Choir, was chosen to represent the United States at an international festival in Berlin and subsequently toured abroad for several months. Johnson likewise contributed articles on the history of spirituals and the craft of choral performance. He issued the important anthology Thirty Spirituals Arranged for Voice and Piano, underscoring in its preface that the singers’ attitude formed one of the genre’s essential elements: “...this music covers an amazing range of mood. Nevertheless, it is always serious music and should be performed seriously, in the spirit of its original conception.”
Even acquaintances familiar with Johnson’s accomplishments were startled by his command of French and German; at least one opera coach at Juilliard voiced astonishment at the thoroughness with which he had prepared a student in German lieder. During his lifetime he received numerous awards, and after his death he was inducted posthumously into the Black Filmmaker’s Hall of Fame. Johnson died in 1970 as the result of a fire in his New York City apartment.
He launched his professional life as a violinist in the renowned orchestra led by James Reese Europe. Soon afterward, Johnson established a private teaching studio where he instructed students on violin and additional instruments he had mastered. In 1921 he performed in the pit orchestra for the Broadway production Shuffle Along. His growing interest in choral writing drew him back to the spirituals of his youth and prompted the founding of the Hall Johnson Negro Choir in the autumn of 1925. The ensemble quickly began concertizing and broadcasting in New York City, and it made its first commercial recordings for RCA Victor in 1928. Early the next decade the choir introduced one of Johnson’s major works, a cycle of spirituals composed for the Broadway musical The Green Pastures. Building on that success, Run Little Chillun reached the Broadway stage in 1933; over the following twelve years the singers contributed to the film adaptation of The Green Pastures as well as the Hollywood productions Lost Horizon and Cabin in the Sky.
Johnson continued to assemble large-scale choral ensembles, organizing festival choirs on both American coasts and supplying them with original repertoire. He also produced numerous spiritual arrangements for solo voice and piano that attracted interpreters of the stature of soprano Marian Anderson. His Easter cantata “Son of Man” received its premiere in the spring of 1946. In 1951 the ensemble, now known as the Hall Johnson Choir, was chosen to represent the United States at an international festival in Berlin and subsequently toured abroad for several months. Johnson likewise contributed articles on the history of spirituals and the craft of choral performance. He issued the important anthology Thirty Spirituals Arranged for Voice and Piano, underscoring in its preface that the singers’ attitude formed one of the genre’s essential elements: “...this music covers an amazing range of mood. Nevertheless, it is always serious music and should be performed seriously, in the spirit of its original conception.”
Even acquaintances familiar with Johnson’s accomplishments were startled by his command of French and German; at least one opera coach at Juilliard voiced astonishment at the thoroughness with which he had prepared a student in German lieder. During his lifetime he received numerous awards, and after his death he was inducted posthumously into the Black Filmmaker’s Hall of Fame. Johnson died in 1970 as the result of a fire in his New York City apartment.
Albums
Singles