To celebrate Black History Month, it only seems proper to take a moment and listen to some spirituals, the folk songs that emerged from slavery.

Soprano Georgine Stark, familiar to local audiences from her performances of classical works such as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Bach’s “B Minor Mass” with the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, brings a new twist to traditional spirituals with “How Sweet the Sound,” a recital in commemoration of Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr.

On Sunday Stark will perform arrangements by Moses Hogan, a classically trained, prize-winning pianist who turned his talents to spirituals and gospel music. Hogan formed his own group, the Moses Hogan Chorale, which specialized in that genre and became an internationally recognized chorus in the 1990s. He died of a brain tumor in 2003 at age 45.

Stark grew up singing in church, but since she attended a Catholic church in Buffalo, N.Y. — “The stuff I heard was Catholic stuff, in Polish,” she said with a laugh — spiritual music was mostly foreign to her. She discovered Hogan’s music a few years ago during a trip to New York.

“I’m always going to music stores to find new music, and I just saw his arrangements of spirituals. I was looking through it in the music store and thought, ‘Wow, these look really, really great,’” she said.

She didn’t work at them until about two years ago, when she sang a couple at a concert.

“I was really moved by his arrangements,” she said. “Then I learned more about him and his history and his tragic death.”

“He really brings the spiritual to a different level, because most of the time when you hear a spiritual, it is in church, and usually the accompaniment is simplified because the congregation usually sings along. … When Moses Hogan took these along, he brought a certain level of sophistication to the accompaniment, which I think really augments the moving lyrics.”

An example is Hogan’s arrangement of the tune “He Never Said a Mumblin’ Word,” a song about Jesus’ Crucifixion. The relatively simple arrangement includes a short solo introduction for piano, followed by rolled chords. “It’s a really thoughtful arrangement,” Stark said. “You feel like you’re transported there.

“The slaves, once they learned about Jesus, were able to identify with who he was as a man. So for me, in this song they’re not just saying, ‘Isn’t it a pity that this is happening to him,’ but, ‘Isn’t it a pity that it’s happening to us,’ as well.

“And he didn’t say a word, and so we don’t say a word either, because nothing good would come out of us saying anything.’”

Her concert will feature her husband, violinist Darel Stark, who will compose violin parts to go with Hogan’s music, and pianist Sachi P. Hirakouji.

Georgine Stark will also discuss the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his connection with spirituals. She pointed out that the civil rights leader often asked his wife, Coretta Scott King, a trained classical singer, to sing spirituals at his services and speeches.

“They were always an important part of his preaching and his message for civil liberties and civil rights,” Stark said.

“One thing that’s funny is that Mr. King actually sang himself. His wife was interviewed one time, and the interviewer asked, ‘Mrs. King, how is your husband’s voice?’ And she said ‘Well, his voice is great — for the choir.’”