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aptitude for storytelling. Upon reading the text, one Folk/Secular
might find the work to be self-centered and narcissistic.

Christmas Gift, hand it here! No Ne Li Domi (You Can’t Dance with Me)
Christmas Gift, won’t you hand it here! TTBB, unaccompanied
Christmas Gift, hand it here! Duration, 2:35
I said it first so now hand it here! Bourne Co., 1971

Ranges
However, this negative perception is quickly dis-
missed once the reader understands the traditional hol-
iday game that inspired the work. According to Hair-
ston, early Christmas morning one friend would knock
on the door of another friend’s house and then quickly
hide. Upon opening the door, the hidden friend would Hairston regularly collaborated with his contem-
jump out and the two friends would race to exclaim, poraries throughout his career. Seven of his published
“Christmas gift!” The friend who said it last would then works were written in collaboration with another com-
36
have to give the other a small gift. Hence the phrase, poser (refer to Table 1). During the second half of the
“I said it first so now hand it here!” Anecdotally, Hair- twentieth century, Hairston expanded these collabora-
ston noted that an individual would sometimes knock tions to a global level, leading choirs throughout the
on the front door and then sneak in through another world as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U. S. State
entrance to surprise their friend from behind to win Department, expanding his knowledge and apprecia-
the game. 37 tion of diverse cultures. The Ghanaian folk song No
Composed in the style of jazz, the work is structured Ne Li Domi (You can’t dance with me) represents both
in a repetitive verse-chorus form. The optional tenor Hairston’s collaborative spirit and interest in diverse
soloist sings each verse supported by the wordless vo- cultures.
cables of the ensemble. The wordless vocables, or scat No Ne Li Domi, for tenor-bass chorus, was written in
singing, utilized during the verses simulate the sonori- collaboration with Ghanaian composer Jonathan Mi-
ties of a jazz band, with the basses imitating the double chael Teye Dosoo. Incorporating a macaronic text in
bass (i.e., “boom”) and treble voices imitating the brass both English and Adangbe (indigenous Ghanaian lan-
section (i.e., “duwah”). guage), the work tells the story of a dance contest in
Although only piano accompaniment is notat- which a boy refuses to dance with a girl because she is
39
ed in the score, a recording of The Voices of Walter a poor dancer. Predominantly in Adangbe, the text is
Schumann, with Hairston singing the solo, incorpo- short and highly repetitive, with a pronunciation guide
rates both a drum set and double bass. This recording provided on the last page of the octavo, making it ac-
is available on YouTube and can be accessed using the cessible to tenor-bass ensembles that can manage the
QR code on page 26. 38 divisi.
Musically, the work is highly influenced by Western
tonality, imitating Glee club sonorities of the mid-twen-
tieth century, which are possibly a result of Hairston’s
involvement. It should also be noted; use of percussion
is not indicated in the score but acceptable considering
the Ghanaian dance basis of the work. According to
Jude Nwankwo, dancing in Africa requires instrumen-
tal accompaniment. As such, No Ne Li Domi would be
incomplete without percussion. Interestingly, Nwank-
40
wo also notes the collaborative nature of composer and

CHORAL JOURNAL October 2025 Volume 66 Number 3 29