Let Us Break Bread Together
From Plank Road Publishing
arr. Paul Jennings
This wonderful old spiritual wears two faces. It is a rich, fun-to-sing song that can either speak of sharing a meal in a general way or breaking bread together as one does in a church service.
Then there is the underlying meaning that was prevalent for several generations of African Americans during the Civil War and before. This was a well-known slave "code song." Words and phrases took on double meanings, usually having to do with scheduling meetings, methods of escape, and directions for finding one's way to freedom.
Our arrangement of this tune opens as a solemn folk tune for a verse, then it transitions up a step adding an underpinning of an African beat. The verse begins with recorders playing the melody while the rest of your performers clap and patsch. Halfway through the verse, voices take over, with recorder joining the singers for a big ending. There is an easy to perform divisi at the end, though it is optional. (from Music K-8, Vol. 29, No. 3)
Downloadable PDFs, Performance/
Sound clips:
