The spiritual “Deep River” can attribute its success to Harry Burleigh, the son of a former slave who, from the late 19th to mid-20th century, made his living as a composer and professional baritone singer. The onetime assistant to the great Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, Burleigh produced a concert arrangement of “Deep River” that would have a significant impact on the presentation of it and other spirituals on the concert stage.
