Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life

Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life very clearly aimed to give visual expression to Black music before the latter had become established. Visual heroisation of the working class, so typical of the 1930s, cedes to an implausible drama about jealousy and lovesickness among the middle-classes. The combination of emotion – above all, of suffering – and music is nonetheless unambiguous and moving.