Gospel, Jazz and Blues evolved from the music of slavery.
One of the saddest, most inhumane and despicable chapters in American history is, without a doubt, the slave trade. Yet ironically those heavily burdened people left us with a genre of music, that is described as unique and unequaled, anywhere else in the world.
Historians trace the beginning of the slave trade to 1619, when a Dutch ship brought twenty African natives to Jamestown, Virginia. In subsequent years more and more Africans were brought to the Colonies.
Nikki Giovanni, in her book, On My Journey Now, describes the arrival of the slaves poignantly:“Stepping off the ships to a language that demeaned them, to a topography totally unfamiliar, to a God they did not know, they nonetheless found a way to laugh, love, and believe in tomorrow.” Giovanni goes on to say, “As sad as slavery was going to be it was an opportunity for the people to imagine new lives.”
After arrival in the Colonies, the slaves were cleaned up and put on the auction block. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, says it all: “Human property is high in the market and is therefore, well-fed, well-cleaned, tended, and looked after, that it may come to sale sleek, strong, and shining.” This description applied to the beginning of the horrendous process, for a “quick sale” at auction, but was not necessarily the case after the sale to the new owner. America wanted cheap labor and slavery was the answer.
After the sale, all the slaves had to look forward to was a lifetime of servitude, and in some cases, hard discipline, and mental and physical suffering. The work was long and hard; from sunup to sundown.
It is said the music slaves created started with moans on the long arduous sea voyage to the New World. Later it morphed into the spiritual songs. Since the Africans came from different tribes and locations, they had different customs and languages; the moans and ultimately the music they created was galvanizing and common grounds for a meeting of the minds.
Eugenie Rocherolle, in her book, It’s Me O Lord, describes, “The songs were created by captive slaves who, in their helplessness and despair, found solace and hope for their survival in these songs.These spirituals, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, and Nobody Knows the Trouble I See, speak eloquently of the sadness of their lives.”
At the end of the workday, even though they were dead tired, many did not go to bed. Instead, they brought whatever they had – a pot for a drum, a flute made from wood and a comb for a mouth harp – and with these instruments they made music. The music they made was invigorating and stimulating.Through their music they told their troubles to the Lord.
The slaves created work songs and developed their own rhythms. They didn’t like the work, but they were proud of what they did. Many hated the people in charge – the overseers – they worked because they had no choice.
To ease the workload, the boredom and burden of their labors, spiritual songs provided comfort and solitude. They also expressed a feeling of devotion and they wished for an ultimate freedom from bondage. This helped to release pent-up emotion and sorrow. Spirituals were considered songs of survival. They provided an escape for the spirit, not available to captive souls.
“Spirituals were not only sacred songs for worship, baptism, and funerals, but secular songs as well—like cotton picking, rowing, loading river boats, and singing children to sleep. They could also serve as a coded signal for a secret nocturnal religious meeting or for escape to the north on the underground railroad,” wrote Sandra Jean Graham in her book, Spirituals and the Birth of a Black Entertainment Industry.
This aspect of slave songs was virtually unknown to slave holders and overseers. It was a way of communication with other slaves and with the underground railroad. The words of the songs appeared innocent to the overseers and they did not know that the slaves were possibly planning to escape or start a revolt. The slaves were very clever and astute in their form of communication and transmitting information. The universal meaning of the songs speaks of the challenges that enslaved the Africans daily. The songs were also expressions of religious faith.
Composers of these songs were virtually unknown. It was a meeting of individual talents for the melody and content and a group response for the chorus part. The songs were of oral tradition—basically unwritten and unpublished. Because there was no written record, the songs only existence was in performance.
The Spirituals have several related progenitors including slave shouts, ring dances, African heritage chants, Anglo-American hymnody, and camp meeting songs. The camp meetings attracted hundreds and thousands, of both white and black people. The hymns resembled the spirituals because they usually had a verse and refrain not unlike the spirituals. Some hymns became known as ‘shouts’ that became a style of hymnody prevalent among Southern rural, black and white people.
Note-wise, most spirituals have fewer scale notes than the typical seven tone major scale. The pitches used are do, re, mi, sol, and la, fa and ti are missing. The missing ti or seventh degree of the scale, prevents the strong pull toward do that is almost always present in melodies in major keys.
Tempo is dictated by the use or purpose of the song, the mood and occasion. If it’s a work song the tempo or speed of the song may be rather quick with a regular beat. If the song has more of a sacred or prayerful feeling the tempo might be slower with a rhythm that is freer and not so regular. Many slave songs were songs of survival from the horrendous plight in which they found themselves.
Another form of spiritual music is the ring shout. Irving Schlein, in his book, Slave Songs of the United States, describes the ring shout. “Jacobs Ladder was a ring shout – a ring shout is a ‘round’ like, Row, Row, Row, Your Boat. You start singing one at a time and end up at the same place. Simplicity of melody and words were of utmost importance in the slave songs.”
Slaves developed plantation songs that were composed of both African musical elements and European elements. The songs were prominent in the last decades of the 18th century. The African American spiritual, also called Negro spiritual, was one of the largest and important forms of American folk songs.
Perhaps, for the first time, some of the spirituals appeared in publication. This was a landmark effort in 1867, titled, Slave Songs of the United States, authored by William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware and Lucy McKim Garrison.
Sandra Jean Graham, in her book, Spirituals and the Birth of a Black Entertainment Industry, wrote“Fearing that emancipation would lead to increasing acculturation of blacks and therefore the extinction of their folk songs, the editors sought to preserve the music while it was still possible.” This was one of the reasons for publishing the songs.
The contents of the book contain, spirituals, work songs, field hollers, soldiers’ songs of the Civil War, and Freedom Songs. Of course, this was just a small sample of the hundreds of songs that lived in the oral tradition of performance before they were on paper or published. The book was extremely popular and created much interest. It sold out in its first printing.
Some of the slaves dared to learn to read and right. This was a very risky and dangerous thing to do. If they were caught, they would be punished severely and most likely sold. The owners and overseers did not want their slaves to get ideas about escaping, freedom, revolting, or other notions that might undermine their status as property of the owners.
As hideous and immoral as the slave trade was in American history, the musical contribution of these people engendered a genre of music that developed into a rich tapestry of unique American music. Gospel, Jazz and Blues evolved from the music of slavery.
Please join us as The Danville Community Band presents “American Icons: Goldman, Rogers & Sousa, Sunday, March 15, 2020, 2:00 P.M. at the Blackhawk Museums, Danville. Concert free with Museum entrance and free parking. Please submit your questions and comments to: banddirector01@comcast.net. Visit our website at www.danvilleband,org for up-to-date information about the Danville Community Band
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