PROFILES
Lifting His Voice Willis C. Patterson’s newly donated papers at the Bentley document a tireless fight for African American music to take its rightful place in the vocal canon. By Lara Zielin
IN 1965, WILLIS C. PATTERSON was a young, talented Fulbright Scholar who was singing in “Amerika Houses” across Germany. Each
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night he’d perform Brahms, Schubert, and Italian opera to rave reviews. That is, until a reviewer in the town of Bad Godesberg questioned why Patterson, an African American performer from the United States, would come to Germany “to sing repertory that Germans have already heard many times by equally (and often more) competent singers.” The reviewer suggested instead that Patterson perform “songs of his own racial heritage and from his own country; songs from Broadway musicals, folksongs, spirituals, and art songs.” Patterson was shocked and upset. In
his autobiography, The Unlikely Saga of a Singer from Ann Arbor, Patterson writes how he felt the reviewer’s words were “designed to put me in my place as a ‘proper’ Black singer.” As he reflected on the remark, however, he realized there was some merit to it. “I thought the criticism was, indeed, legitimate in that the concert did not contain music from my own heritage.” However, he bristled at the idea of performing spirituals, Broadway songs, or the few art songs he knew from white composers. But art song compositions from African American composers? Those piqued his interest. Patterson’s decision to research and sing African American art songs would propel his performances and work in new directions. It would change the curriculum at U-M’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (SMTD) in perpetuity. Decades later, after a distinguished career as a scholar, performer, administrator, and teacher, Patterson’s materials showcasing the discovery and the history of African American art songs would be archived at the Bentley Historical Library, along with other materials from his extraordinary achievements. The Bentley welcomed Patterson’s materials in September 2020 through a virtual event held in conjunction with the African American Music Conference. The event celebrated Patterson’s 90th birthday and honored his extraordinary contributions as well as the music he helped bring out of obscurity—and now, into the archive.
