The Handel and Haydn Society will explore the connections between Handel and the creation of the American Spiritual in “Crossing the Deep.”

The concert, which is set to take on June 1 and 4, 2023 at Smith Hall at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, will feature the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra and Chorus performing movements from Händel’s “Chandos Anthems” and a selection of traditional spirituals including “In This Lan’,” “I will Trust in the Lord,” “When I am Dead” and others.

The event was created by H+H Resident Conductor Dr. Anthony Trecek-King and H+H Programming Consultant Reginald Mobley and is a way to use imagery, music, and spoken word to tell a story of hope, despair, triumph, tribulation, and the common humanity that connects us all.

In a statement, Dr. Anthony Trecek-King said, “This project was born out of the discovery that Handel had been paid in shares in a company that profited off the transatlantic slave trade. As artists, we wanted to explore the issue through music, and hopefully educate our audience in the process. On the surface, spirituals seem to be simple to perform, but the emotional depth behind the music makes it incredibly difficult to do them justice.”