This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series about Spiritual and Gospel versions of "Twelve Gates To The City" (also known as "Oh What A Beautiful City").
Part I provides information about the Biblical inspiration for "Twelve Gates To The City" and cites some early recordings of this song.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/03/several-lyric-versions-of-twelve-gates.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases several lyric versions of the song "Twelve Gates To The City" (also known as "Oh What A Beautiful City" and "Meet Me In The City"/"Have You Heard Of A City").
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/03/rev-gary-davis-twelve-gate-to-city.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases a sound file of Reverend Gary Davis singing "Twelve Gates To The City". Biographical information about Reverend. Gary Davis is also included in that post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-famous-davis-sisters-african.html for Part IV showcases several YouTube examples of the Famous Davis Sisters singing "Twelve Gates To The City" / "Meet Me In The City". Biographical information about the Famous Davis Sisters is also included in that post along with selected comments from two of the discussion threads for those featured examples.
Thanks to the unknown original composers of "Twelve Gates To The City". Thanks also to all those who are featured in early recordings of this song and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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THE BIBLICAL INSPIRATION FOR THE SONG "TWELVE GATES TO THE CITY"
From https://www.cinchreview.com/twelve-gates-to-the-city/10682/
..."The song “Twelve Gates to the City” was inspired by chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation, where John’s vision of the New Jerusalem is described.
It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
The walls of the city are said to be made of jasper, and the city itself is described as “pure gold, like clear glass.”
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INFORMATION ABOUT EARLY RECORDINGS OF "TWELVE GATES TO THE CITY" & LYRICS SUNG BY REV. GARY DAVIS
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=24482
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 04:32 AM
...”Here is the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song:
Twelve Gates to the City
DESCRIPTION: Spiritual: "Oh, what a beautiful city/There's twelve gates to the city, halleluiah"; "Three gates in the east, three gates in the west/Three gates in the north, three gates in the south."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (recording, Norfolk Jubilee Quartet)
[...]
RECORDINGS:
Marian Anderson, "Oh! What a Beautiful City" (Victor 10-1040, 1943)
Blind Gary [Davis], "Twelve Gates to the City" (ARC 7-04-55, 1937; rec. 1935) (1992, on "Harlem Street
Singer," Prestige Bluesville CD OBCCD-547-2(BV-1015); recorded 1960))
Blind Boy Fuller w. Sonny Terry, "Twelve Gates to the City" (Vocalion 05465, 1940)
Galilee Singers, "What a Beautiful City" (Decca 7765, 1940)
Norfolk Jubilee Quartet, "Oh What a Beautiful City" (Paramount 12929, 1930; rec. 1929)
Pete Seeger & Sonny Terry, "Twelve Gates to the City" (on SeegerTerry)
Pete Seeger, "Beautiful City" (on PeteSeeger18)); "Twelve Gates to the City" (on PeteSeeger42); "Oh, What a
Beautiful City [Twelve Gates to the City]" (on PeteSeeger47)
Sonny Terry [pseud., Saunders Terrell], "Beautiful City" (on Terry01)
[...]
NOTES: I know there are earlier recordings of this piece (it was a showpiece for Rev. Gary Davis), and probably earlier printed citations too, but I haven't found them yet. - PJS
The image of the heavenly city may possibly be derived from Chapter 21 of the Apocalypse, which mentions "the holy city, the new Jerusalem" (21:2), but the twelve gates of the city, three on each side, although mentioned in 21:3, are ultimately taken from Ezekiel 48:30-34. - RBW"
The Ballad Index Copyright 2016 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle."...
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INFORMATION ABOUT EDWARD BOATNER, AN EARLY ARRANGER OF THE SONG "OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CITY" AS WELL AS SOME OTHER AFRICAN AMERICAN SPIRITUALS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Boatner
"Edward Hammond Boatner (1898–1981) was an African-American composer who wrote many popular concert arrangements of Negro spirituals.
Biography
Boatner was educated at Western University in Quindaro, Kansas, Boston Conservatory and received a Bachelor of Music from the Chicago Music College (Now the College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University). He also studied music privately. He began as a Concert singer with the encouragement and assistance of Roland Hayes — who performed many of Boatner's works on his concert programs—and choral director R. Nathaniel Dett. He also sang leading roles with the National Negro Opera Company. For the National Baptist Convention, he served as the director of music from 1925 to 1931. Boatner was a professor for Samuel Huston College (now Huston-Tillotson University) and Wiley College in Marshall, TX. He then settled in New York conducting a studio and directed community and church choirs. This allowed him to concentrate more on composing.
[...]
Music
Notable arrangements: [song titles]
Oh, What a Beautiful City
Let Us Break Bread Together
Soon I Will Be Done
Trampling
I want Jesus to walk with me, for Marian Anderson
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/04/edward-boatner-earliest-known-arranger.html for the related 2018 pancocojams post entitled "Edward Boatner, The Earliest Known Arranger of The African American Spiritual Trampin & Certain Other African American Spirituals"
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfpvEVssiAM for a YouTube video of a soloist singing "Oh! What A Beautiful City" as arranged by Edward Boatner.
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This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series.
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