The Art of the Spiritual - Part III

Steve and I had great fun planning a presenting a short lecture recital on traditional African-American spirituals a few weeks ago.  Here is a video clip and a little bit of history on the third piece on our program, “Wade in the Water.”  Enjoy!

This familiar piece has two scriptural reference points.  First, it tells the story of Moses parting the Red Sea and leading the Israelites safely through on dry ground.  Second, in the New Testament, we read the story of the healing pool.  John 5:4 says, “For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.”  Again, the text seems to parallel the slaves’ yearning for freedom and for healing.  In fact, it has been suggested that this piece refers to the Underground Railroad.  Wading through rivers meant leaving fewer tracks and not leaving a scent to be traced (Gray, 2012).  The text reads:

Chorus: Wade in the water, Wade in the water, children. Wade in the water, God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water.

Verse: See that band all dress’d in white? God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water. The Leader looks like the Israelite, God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water.

Chorus

Verse: See that band all dress’d in red? God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water. It looks like the band dat Moses led. God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water.

Chorus

-- Resources: Gray, H. T.  Negro spirituals still resonate.  Myrtle Beach Online.  Accessed Wednesday, February 29, 2012.  http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/02/29/2688494/negro-spirituals-still-resonate.html.

The Art of the Spiritual - Part II

Steve and I had great fun planning a presenting a short lecture recital on traditional African-American spirituals a few weeks ago.  Here is a video clip and a little bit of history on the second piece on our program, “Deep River.”  Enjoy!

This lyrical piece symbolizes life after death and freedom for the Israelites in the Promised Land (see above).  A glimpse of a free life, this song may also have symbolized the slaves’ crossing of the Ohio River into the free states (Kimball, 2006).  The text reads:

Chorus: Deep river, my home is over Jordan, Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

Bridge: Oh don’t you want to go To that gospel feast, That promis’d land Where all is peace?

Tag: Oh deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

The use of the word “campground” in the chorus is not a biblical reference; rather, it refers to a place where a religious “camp meeting” was held.  During the 19th century in the south, a campground consisted of a series of “tents” or cabins where people could cook and sleep and a centrally-located meeting house where worship took place.  The inclusion of this term in “Deep River” could signify the desire to worship freely.  In addition, the word “peace” is left unresolved as it leads into the tag ending – a symbol of unrest and a sense of a greater reality.

-- Resources: Kimball, C. (2006). Song: a guide to art song style and literature. Hal Leonard Corporation.

The Art of the Spiritual - Part I

Steve and I had great fun planning a presenting a short lecture recital on traditional African-American spirituals a few weeks ago.  Here is a video clip and a little bit of history on the first piece on our program, “Go Down, Moses.”  Enjoy!

The first spiritual to ever appear in print in 1861 (during the first year of the Civil War), this rhythmic, march-like piece tells the story of Moses petitioning to Pharoah of Egypt to free the Israelites from bondage (Burkholder et al., 2006).  The story, as recounted in the book of Exodus states, “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me” (Exodus 7:16).  As one can imagine, African-American slaves in the American South could identify with this struggle for freedom from bondage and this spiritual likely became a song of hope (Burkholder et al., 2006).  The text reads:

Verse: When Israel was in Egypt’s lan’, Let my people go, Oppress’d so hard they could not stan’, Let my people go.

Chorus: Go down, Moses, ‘Way down in Egypt’s lan’, Tell ole Pharaoh, To let my people go.

Verse: Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses said, Let my people go, If not I’ll smite your first born dead, Let my people go.

Chorus

A typical African musical feature, the element of call and response (Burkholder et al., 2006) is exhibited in the verses with the recurring line, “Let my people go!”

-- Resources: Burkholder, J. P., Grout, D. J., Palisca, C. V. (2006). A History of Western Music, 7^th Edition. W.W. Norton & Company: New York.

The Art of the Spiritual

Some of you may remember my posts on our lecture recital last spring: The Art of Song.

Steve and I were asked to put together a program for the Women’s Fellowship at church last April so we chose three art songs from three different periods, talked about the genre (music for voice and piano), the composers who wrote this kind of music, the texts they chose to set, and our process of preparing this music for performance on the saxophone and piano.  We had a wonderful audience!

In just a few (short!) weeks, we’ll be giving another lecture recital of sorts, this time on the history of the spiritual.  We thought it might be fun to choose a few of our favorite Gospel tunes and explore a little bit of the history behind this well-loved genre.  With musical classics such as “Wade in the Water” and “Just a Closer Walk With Thee,” if you’re in the area, we’d love to have you join us for a fun, engaging program of performance and conversation!  The event, free and open to the public will be held on Monday, March 12, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Westminster.

Hope to see you there!