Singing Emancipation: The Legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers

The Fisk Jubilee Singers in Swansea

When the Fisk Jubilee Singers performed in Swansea in 1874, the city witnessed a defining moment in musical and cultural history. Singing to a crowd of more than 1,500 at the Cradock Street Music Hall (now the Albert Hall), the ensemble introduced Welsh audiences to African American spirituals for the first time. Their dignified, emotionally charged performance left a lasting impression — bridging cultures and opening ears to a musical tradition rooted in resilience, sorrow, and spiritual endurance.

A copy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ original songbook, sold during that very tour, is now preserved in the Jazz Heritage Wales Archive. It remains a powerful symbol of transatlantic cultural exchange and continues to inspire musicians and researchers exploring the intersection of Black American and Welsh musical traditions.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers Today

More than 150 years after their founding in 1871, the Fisk Jubilee Singers continue to carry their legacy across the globe. Based at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, the ensemble performs internationally and engages in education and outreach — keeping the spiritual tradition alive for a new generation.

In 2021, their 150th anniversary album Celebrating Fisk! won the Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album. They have been honoured with numerous accolades, including induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the National Medal of Arts. A major exhibition, Jubilation! Ambassadors On A Sacred Journey, recently opened at the National Museum of African American Music, and is set to tour the United States.

The Iridium Collective: A Contemporary Response

Featured throughout this sound zone is a newly arranged version of “We Are Climbing the Hills of Zion”, recorded by The Iridium Collective, a Wales-based jazz ensemble known for immersive, site-inspired work. After visiting the Jazz Heritage Wales Archive and exploring the original Fisk Jubilee Singers songbook, the group created a sensitive, contemporary response that fuses historical spiritual traditions with modern jazz improvisation.

The result is a dynamic and emotional interpretation that connects the past and present — a living tribute to the enduring resonance of the spiritual tradition and its influence on freedom music in Wales.

About The Iridium Collective

The Iridium Collective is a forward-thinking jazz ensemble formed by alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Their work draws from archives, oral histories, and place-based performance practices, combining elements of jazz, improvisation, folk, and ambient music. Through reinterpretations of spirituals and collaborations with cultural institutions, the group explores themes of memory, identity, and belonging — using jazz not only as a musical form but as a method of reflection and cultural connection.

Spirituals in Swansea Today: Brynmill Community Choir

The tradition introduced by the Fisk Jubilee Singers lives on in Swansea today, sustained in part by the work of the Brynmill Community Choir, under the direction of Margot Morgan. Spirituals continue to play a vital role in the choir’s repertoire and community work, with performances that honour and reimagine the legacy of these powerful songs. In this section of the soundwalk, you’ll hear a short excerpt from Margot Morgan’s arrangement of “The Lily of the Valley”, drawn directly from the Fisk Jubilee Singers songbook. The arrangement is performed by members of the Brynmill Community Choir — a contemporary echo of the 1874 Swansea performance, and a reminder of how spirituals continue to resonate through shared musical practice.

About Margot Morgan

Margot Morgan is a Swansea-based singer, educator, and community music leader. A long-time collaborator with Jazz Heritage Wales and Professor Jen Wilson, she has led workshops, performances, and heritage projects that centre the role of women, community choirs, and spirituals in Welsh musical life. As conductor of the Brynmill Community Choir, Margot fosters inclusive, intergenerational music-making rooted in historical awareness and collective creativity.

Explore Further

• Visit the Jazz Heritage Wales Archive at the Dylan Thomas Centre to access original songbooks, rare recordings, and oral histories.

• Read Freedom Music: Wales, Emancipation and Jazz 1850–1950 by Professor Jen Wilson.

• Discover more about the Fisk Jubilee Singers and their ongoing musical legacy.

• Explore the Jubilation! exhibition at the National Museum of African American Music.