'Crossing The Deep' connects Handel's choral works with spirituals by enslaved Africans

When the Handel and Haydn Society found records detailing iconic composer George Frideric Handel’s ties to the slave trade, it responded in a way only the organization could: through music and performance. Rather than “canceling” the composer or disavowing the history, two of the society’s staff members created “Crossing The Deep,” a special concert series showing the parallels between the choral works of Handel and the spirituals of enslaved Africans in America. We speak with creators Dr. Anthony Trecek-King and Reginald Mobley about what’s in store for this year’s concerts.