Prelude for Piano on "There Is a Balm in Gilead"

This piano prelude on a familiar African-American tune tries to capture the good news that there is indeed healing for sick souls. While it is appropriate any time of year, it is especially well-suited to the season of Lent. The spiritual responds to the plaintive question of the weeping biblical prophet Jeremiah. In the face of the spiritual sickness of his people, Jeremiah cried out, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?" This song answers in the affirmative: "There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul." Thus Jeremiah's dismal view is greeted with hopeful good news. The song was first collected by the African-American musicologist Frederick J. Work (1907) but there documented examples of precursors of this song as early as 1859. Play this piece with tenderness and joy.