Hey, it’s Alina! You MUST go check out the music of Ysaÿe Barnwell. Her song “Wanting Memories,” is on constant repeat in my brain. Ysaÿe Barnwell is a multi-talented musician, composer, and scientist. There is not much that this woman doesn’t do. She conducts music workshops such as "Building a Vocal Community: Singing in the African American Tradition", wrote the book “No Mirrors in my Nana’s House,” holds a bachelor’s, master's, and Ph.D. in speech pathology, is an actor, an arranger, and sings bass. That’s right, A FEMALE BASS! Barnwell was the first to truly introduce me to the African American singing tradition back in 2014 when she visited Michigan State University’s Women’s Chamber Ensemble. I admire her union of vocal arts with the artistic world around her. For 34 years, she was a member of Sweet Honey In The Rock. Her work with American Sign Language led to the inclusion of an interpreter for all of the ensemble’s performances. But more on Sweet Honey in the Rock later. For now, you can listen to them sing Barnwell’s “Wanting Memories.”

And just one more thing! Listen to the vulnerability in the lyrics. Barnwell wrote this piece back when both of her parents were alive. However, by the time it was recorded, her father had passed and mother has also since passed. As she puts “in a sense, the song was an unconscious wish or prayer that actually came true.”

Recordings: https://youtu.be/vW2TpW4gCt8 & https://www.ymbarnwell.com/larger-works

Find out more about Ysaÿe Barnwell here: https://www.ymbarnwell.com