Juilliard415 presents a Suite of Dances and Songs by Ignatius Sancho, arranged by Nicola Canzano. 

Ignatius Sancho was a writer, shopkeeper, abolitionist, and composer, celebrated in the late 18th century as a prolific cultural contributor. He published four collections of compositions and a treatise entitled “A Theory of Music.” He was the first known Black man to vote in a British election, and a collection of his letters, published two years after his death, is one of the earliest accounts of African slavery written in English by a former slave.

Ignatius Sancho (c. 1729-80)
“Minuets … Compos'd by an African,” (c. 1779) “Twelve Country Dances for the Year 1779,” and “A Collection of New Songs” (c. 1769)
Minuet the 1st
Minuet the 9th
Minuet the 5th
Gavotta
“Friendship, Source of Joy” (“the words by a young lady”)
Air
“The Complaint”
The Duchess of Devonshire's Reel
“Sweetest Bard”
Hornpipe

Rachel Podger directs Juilliard415
Reginald Mobley, Countertenor
Performed and recorded on September 17, 2022 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center