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Spirituals
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Spirituals are the Southern sacred "folk" songs created and first sung by African Americans during slavery. Their original composers are unknown, and they have assumed a position of collective ownership by the whole community. They lend themselves easily to communal singing. Many are in a call-and-response structure, with back-and-forth exchanges between the leader and the group. A formal concert tradition has evolved from the original spirituals, with solo and choral arrangements based on original slave melodies, employed for performance by amateur and professional artists.
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Spirituals are emotional songs and have a strong rhythm. They are especially moving when sung by a group. A leader sometimes sings one or two lines alone, and a chorus comes in with the refrain. Spiritual singers often emphasize the rhythm by clapping their hands.
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These arrangements of the Five Spirituals grew from the arranger's desire to see a larger and more interesting repertoire for male choruses, and were created with the approval of Tippett's biographer and execture, Merion Bowen. Whilst the spirituals suit male choruses of various sizes and remain as 'basically simple' as the originals, there are several musical challenges in the arrangements.
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Spirituals and traditional songs adapted to the Civil Rights Movement as well as songs written in response to the era will be featured. Jones, an award-winning musician, educator and pastor of Detroit's Sweet Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church, will perform with public radio music host Watroba.
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While Marian Anderson's repertory contained well over one hundred spirituals, she clearly favored the arrangements of Harry T. Burleigh, Nathaniel Dett, and Hall Johnson, whose names appeared most often on her concert programs. Exhibited here is a representative recital program along with Ms. Anderson's personal copies of the music that she used in preparing for her performance.
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A pivotal event which introduced spirituals to a wide audience was Marian Anderson’s concert in 1939 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Events of the 1960’s broke long held social and racial barriers. In addition, the “Hymn Explosion” of the late 1960’s caused hymnal editors to reevaluate the scope and content of their hymnals. A plethora of hymnal supplements were published from 1969 - 1980 and many of these supplements contained a selection of spirituals which were eventually included in most standard denominational hymnals. Out of 14 hymnals surveyed here is a list of some spirituals showing which are included: “Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees (14); “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord” (14); “Go Tell It on the Mountain” (13); “There Is a Balm in Gilead” (12); “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian” (9).
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Spirituals