In this essay I explore how early African-American gospel music can be interpreted from a theological liberation perspective. To highlight the most important parts of liberation theology, I take help from Gustavo Gutiérrez' A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation, and James H. Cone's Speaking the truth: ecumenism, liberation and black theology. Both of these are representative in respective area. Gutiérrez within Latin-American liberation theology, and Cone within African-American liberation theology. To explain the background and theology of gospel I mainly use the works Holiness and Worldliness: Theologies of Black Gospel Music in the Sanctified Church by Awet Andemicael and Black Gospel Music and Black Theology by Louis-Charles Harvey. I then exemplify the theology of gospel by presenting and analyzing a selection of popular gospel lyrics, with a liberation theme. This selection includes "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen", "Oh Mary Don't You Weep", "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and "Through It All". An expression of a spiritual liberation through Jesus is found in these gospel lyrics, while an expression of political liberation is found only in the shadow of the spiritual. This I problematize, and aim some criticism towards Cone and Harvey. They argue that in African-American and gospel theology, Jesus gives strength for the weak, so that they may be able to fight for their own liberation. I then conclude that gospel cannot be understood as a complete expression of liberation theology, but as a part of it. Even as a part of the liberation process. Meaning that in the process where the African-American Christian seek God, she finds the Holy Spirit who guides her to gospel music. Through gospel the African-American can express her emotions and thereby grow closer to Jesus, who provides her with strength. This leads to the liberation of the African-American Christian.

With a medium level of technical and interpretive difficulty, these arrangements of “Three Spirituals” are aimed at more advanced pianists. Lasting around 1½ to 2½ minutes each, the three movements are all fairly short and can be performed separately or – as recommended by the composer – in the order given here.:“Go Down, Moses” “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child” “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen” / Die Arrangements der hier vorliegenden Ausgabe von „Three Spirituals“ richten sich mit ihrem in spieltechnischer Hinsicht mittleren Schwierigkeitsgrad und ihren musikalischen Anforderungen an schon etwas fortgeschrittenere Klavierspieler. Mit einer Dauer von circa eineinhalb bis zweieinhalb Minuten haben alle drei Sätze eine überschaubare Länge und können sehr gern einzeln oder – empfehlenswerterweise – in der hier abgedruckten Reihenfolge vorgetragen werden.:“Go Down, Moses” “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child” “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen”