As electronic technology advances from 78s, LPs, and audio cassettes to CDs, the lovers of song hold onto their memories, cherishing the great performances of the past as they continue to re-appear in ever newer, and on the whole better, sonic manifestations. The new RCA CD re-issue of performances by the American contralto Marian Anderson,¹ in documenting an important part of this remarkable artist’s career, can only arouse our deepest gratitude for the miracle of sound recording, even as it confirms our present propensity to look to the past for vocal splendor and beauty.

Born in Philadelphia in 1902, the daughter of poor parents, Marian Anderson was what used to be called a Negro and what is today called a black. That is not the most important fact about her, though reasons of fate and the ill will of many people, past and present, conspire to make any account of her life incomplete without mention of the “race question” as it affected her and her audience. Ars longa, vita brevis: the most important fact about Marian Anderson is that in her prime she was one of the greatest singing artists of the century.

First, a few facts about her career. She studied singing in Philadelphia, financed by a small educational fund from her church. In 1925, she won first prize in a New York Philharmonic competition, and duly sang with the orchestra at an outdoor concert in Lewisohn Stadium in August of