Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Discussion Of The Tubman Arias From The Opera Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line To Freedom, Mahari Allene Marie Freeman

Theses and Dissertations

Nkeiru Okoye (1972-) is an American composer of operas and orchestral works whose concert and theatrical compositions have gained extensive recognition in recent years. Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom is Okoye’s most well- known opera for which she composed the music and penned the libretto. Through her compositions, Okoye bravely addresses political and racial issues and tells the stories of well-known Black figures, such as Harriet Tubman.

Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) was a prolific American hero that led runaway slaves toward freedom. For approximately a decade, she risked her life traveling to and from the South to …

What They Sang: The Religious Roots Of Spirituals And Blues, Carly A. Jensen

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

This paper investigates the religious themes in spirituals, the religious songs sung by enslaved people in America, and the blues, a predominantly Black genre from the early Twentieth century. This work aims to answer if spirituals influenced the lyrics and musical structure of the blues or if the two genres developed independently. The paper covers the origins of spirituals and the blues, their appearance in the WPA Slave Narratives, and concludes with a close analysis of the religious influence on the work of famous Blues artists. Primary sources referenced in this project include the WPA Slave Narratives, famous Blues songs, …

Gettysburg Historical Journal 2024

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Complete Issue of the Gettysburg Historical Journal 2024

(Special Section, Hymns Beyond The Congregation Ii): Spiritual Concert-Fundraisers, Singing Conventions, And Cherokee Language Learning Academies: Vernacular Southern Hymnbooks In Noncongregational Settings, Jesse P. Karlsberg, Kaylina M. Crawley, Sara S. Hopkins

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Noncongregational settings were integral to hymnody in the postbellum settler colonial context of the southern United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The incorporation of hymn singing into a wide range of noncongregational settings served Black, white, and Native populations in navigating unsettled racial dynamics during this period across the US South and its diasporas. This essay features three case studies examining hymn collections intended or repurposed for a range of noncongregational uses: spiritual collections connected with the performing ensembles of black institutions, a shape-note songbook that attempted to bridge singing convention and congregational contexts, and a …

Songs Of Sorrow, Hope, And Praise: Toward A Historical Analysis Of Negro Spirituals, Hope Victoria Dornfeld

Masters Theses

Traditional Negro spirituals play a key role in America’s music history. Spirituals were initially perpetuated by enslaved Africans in the American South through the oral tradition but today are available in a wide variety of choral, vocal, and instrumental arrangements. The lecture recital that accompanies this document will present seven traditional spirituals of varying themes: “Hold On,” “Witness,” “Deep River,” “Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” “Balm in Gilead,” “Steal Away,” and “Ride On, King Jesus.” Spirituals can be described by three closely interrelated textual categories or descriptors which correspond with their original use and historical context. Songs of sorrow are those …

"I, Too": A Graduate Voice Recital Celebrating The Works Of Four Black Female Composers, Xavier Moore

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is an extension of Mr. Moore’s graduate vocal recital program notes, highlighting the works of four Black female composers. Each chapter includes biographical information about each composer, analysis of each piece, information about the larger works, and an argument about why the works of these composers should be included in the vocal cannon.

Guide To The Cheryl A. Wall Collection Of Margaret Bonds And Florence Price Manuscript Scores, Margaret Bonds, Florence Price

CBMR Collection Guides / Finding Aids

Cheryl A. Wall was a literary critic and English professor at Rutgers University who donated three manuscript scores to the CBMR – Troubled Water by Margaret Bonds with a handwritten autobiographical sketch by the composer on the back and two works by Florence Price, Negro Fantasy and Concerto in One Movement for three pianos. The Bonds score was given to Cheryl Wall by the composer and the two Price scores belonged to her aunt, Nannie Strayhorn Reid, a classical pianist and teacher in Chicago, Illinois.

Composers And Publishers Of Parlor Songs And Spirituals From Civil War Richmond: 1861 – 1867, Michael Gray

Theses and Dissertations

This document is an historical compendium of how Richmond, Virginia contributed to a significant shift in early American music during and after the American Civil War. Firstly, we will explore the music industry practices of the 1850’s and 1860’s in Richmond, and how they were a reflection of the rest of the American South at that time. Secondly, we will explore the height of parlor song repertoire in the South, its technical simplicity, and use as a tool for music education, artistic expression, but perhaps most notably as a means of informal propaganda for the Confederate cause. Finally, we will …

Shining A Spotlight On Female African American Composer Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, Iris E. Fordjour-Hankins

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Those who are interested in learning more about Evelyn Simpson-Curenton (b. 1953) will find it challenging to find scholarly material on her life and music. She is best known for her arrangements of spirituals that were sang and recorded by Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman (whose concert recording Spirituals in Concert was released in 1991). Simpson-Curenton is also known for her choral work, “Psalm 91,” made famous by Oakwood University’s Aeolians. Though she is self-published, her absence from compilations, volumes, and anthologies for solo voice and piano is regrettable. This dissertation provides well researched scholarly information about her musical life …

John Wesley Work Iii: Arranger, Preserver, And Historian Of African American Traditional Music, Kaylina Madison Crawley

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This study focuses on John Wesley Work III’s life and career in response to the scarcity of existing research and publication devoted to him. To expand the scholarship focused on Work and to deepen the history of African American artistry, this dissertation analyzes his additions to concert repertoire through his arrangements of spirituals, investigates his scholarship, and performance— including his activities as Director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers — and provides a foundation for further analytical study of African- American sacred music. Methodology utilized in this thesis includes construction of a biographical narrative based on primary sources and analysis of …

Herndon, Bernice (Fa 1135), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1135. Student paper titled “Negro Spirituals” in which Bernice Herndon gathers together 21 hymns sung by congregants at several African American Baptist churches located in Bowling Green. Herndon also collected spirituals from family, friends, and neighbors.

Brame, Lawrence R. (Fa 861), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 861. Collection consists of Negro spirituals collected from individuals in Kentucky. Song lyrics are provided along with the names of sources who provided each song. This project was conducted by Lawrence R. Brame for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Prayer Songs: Therapy That Aided A People's Survival, Bisola Marignay

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper proposes a parallelism between existential psychotherapy and the psychospiritual healing function Negro Spirituals had for enslaved people in the United States. The songs’ beauty and profundity are asserted as having high value in their therapeutic function. The courage and wisdom enslaved people employed to resist psychic domination are discussed in conjunction with examples of their ways of maintaining hope, which is viewed as a prerequisite for their restorative use of the Spirituals. The attributes of sound and music are discussed with descriptions of how they have been used to substantiate the power of the Spirituals as distinct expressions …

History Of The Blues, Dan Rager

Dan Rager

This all inclusive History of the Blues introduction begins as early as 1400, when the first global trading routes began. Two early maps are enclosed from this period showing the direction and locations from which people, food and supplies were moved.

This research presentation illustrates African tribes such as the Arada, Dahomey and Fulani who sang music in their daily rituals and ceremonies long before they were moved to other continents. Early developmental music elements are introduced including spirituals, worksongs, Scottish ballads, Methodist and Baptist hymns, call and response, guttural effects, interpolated vocality, falsetto and blue notes. All of these …

Gospel Music Collection (Fa 770), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 770. Recorded music by gospel groups, chiefly from south central Kentucky, collected William Lynwood Montell. Also includes some recordings of singing conventions and interviews with selected artists. A small amount of correspondence and printed material is included. Many of these artists are featured in Montell's book "Singing the Glory Down: Amateur Gospel Music in South Central Kentucky, 1900-1990" published in 1991.

"Music Down In My Soul:" Achieving A Sound Ideal For Moses Hogan Spirituals, Loneka Wilkinson Battiste

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT In 1995, Moses Hogan ushered in a resurgence of interest in the arranged spiritual at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Washington, D. C. The impact of his arrangements was so profound that today he is widely recognized as being responsible for the mid-1990’s revitalization of interest in the arranged spiritual. In a day when various opinions abound on how Moses Hogan’s spirituals should be performed, the purpose of this study was to describe and define the sound ideal for Moses Hogan spirituals. Qualitative methods were used for the collection and analysis of data relevant …

Diversifying The Playing Field: Solo Performance Of African American Spirituals And Art Songs By Voice Students From All Racial Backgrounds, Emery Stephens, Caroline Helton

Music Faculty Research Publications

To further promote the performance of African American spirituals and art songs, this article offers a different perspective -- direct response from collegiate voice students, voice teachers, vocal coaches, and professional singers. In the spring of 2005, “The African American Art Song Survey” was developed and disseminated through the Internet to collect data from 220 voice teachers, coaches, and singers regarding their attitudes on performing African American classical vocal repertoire across racial backgrounds, receiving a response rate of 44% from 500 distributed surveys. Part I dealt with general demographic questions (gender, age, ethnic background, religious affiliation), and Part II addressed …

Robert Nathaniel Dett And The Music Of The Harlem Renaissance, Daniel Weaver

History Theses

While the contributions of writers and poets to the period of American cultural history known as the Harlem Renaissance are relatively well defined and understood, assessing the contributions of musicians has been more problematic. The topic has been covered indirectly through works of American music history and African American history, but there have been comparatively few works linking music directly to the goals of the movement. Much of the insight into music’s place during this period derives from contemporary writers such as Alain Locke and James Weldon Johnson, both of whom featured discussions of music in their writings. Relatively unknown …

The Afro-American Slave Music Project: Building A Case For Digital History, Laura Cepero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This public history thesis project experimented with the application of new technology in creating an educational resource aimed at twenty-first century public audiences. The project presents the history, musicology, and historiography of Afro-American slave music in the United States. In doing so, the project utilizes two digital media tools: VuVox, to create interactive collages; and VisualEyes, to create digital visualizations. The purpose of this thesis is to assess how the project balances the goals of digital history, public history, and academic history. During the production of the Afro-American Slave Music Project, a number of the promises of digital history were …

Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burnin'-Satb | 20-96425, Greg Gilpin

Music Faculty Scores

Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burnin'
Traditional Spiritual

Part Number:
20-96425

Price:
$1.85

Voicing:
SATB

Arranged By:
Greg Gilpin

"Go In De Wilderness": Evading The "Eyes Of Others" In The Slave Songs, Erik Nielson

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

This essay explores the trope of the wilderness in the slave spirituals, arguing that it functions to recreate symbolically the natural landscape into which slaves regularly took refuge in order to elude white surveillance. Drawing on a variety of sources, it considers the unique surveillance culture in the antebellum South, its effect on the everyday lives of the slaves, and the ways in which the slaves used their natural surroundings to avoid it. It then uses a close analysis of the song "Go in the Wilderness " as a point of departure for a broader discussion of the way the …

Heaven Bound Train - Satb | 21-20112, Stephen Hatfield

Music Faculty Scores

Heaven Bound Train
Spiritual

Part Number:
21-20112

Price:
$1.95

Voicing:
SATB

Arranged By:
Stephen Hatfield

Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burnin'-Sab | 20-96435, Greg Gilpin

Music Faculty Scores

Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burnin'
Traditional Spiritual

Part Number:
20-96435

Price:
$1.90

Voicing:
SAB

Arranged By:
Greg Gilpin

Singing Down The Barriers: Encouraging Singers Of All Racial Backgrounds To Perform Music By African American Composers, Caroline Helton, Emery Stephens

Music Faculty Research Publications

This chapter investigates the barriers faced by singers of all racial backgrounds when performing spirituals and African American art songs and suggests ways to eliminate those barriers.

Barriers And Benefits: The Impact Of Learning Art Songs And Spirituals By African-American Composers On Voice Students From All Racial Backgrounds, Emery Stephens

Music Faculty Research Publications

An investigation into the barriers faced by singers of all racial backgrounds when performing spirituals and African American art songs and suggests ways to eliminate those barriers.

Presented at the 2006 International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL), Washington, DC.

Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burnin' | 20-96430, Greg Gilpin

Music Faculty Scores

Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burnin'
Traditional Spiritual

Part Number:
20-96430

Price:
$1.85

Voicing:
Two-Part Treble

Arranged By:
Greg Gilpin

Featured at:
2016 KCDA Summer Conference

Spiritual, Blues, And Jazz People In African American Fiction, A Yęmisi Jimoh, Phd

A Yęmisi Jimoh

Literature and music

Go Where I Send Thee | 21-20230, Stephen Hatfield

Music Faculty Scores

Go Where I Send Thee
Spiritual

Part Number:
21-20230

Previous Part Number:
HL-230

Price:
$1.90

Voicing:
SSAA

Arranged By:
Stephen Hatfield

a cappella

Heaven Bound Train - Ssa | 21-20226, Stephen Hatfield

Music Faculty Scores

Heaven Bound Train
Spiritual

Part Number:
21-20226

Previous Part Number:
HL-226

Price:
$1.95

Voicing:
SSA

Arranged By:
Stephen Hatfield

a cappella

Featured at:
2014 USD Summer Reading Session

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 44, No. 1, Charles L. Blockson, Roland C. Barksdale-Hall, Jerrilyn Mcgregory, Terry G. Jordan

Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine

• "A Missing Link": The History of African Americans in Pennsylvania
• The Twin City Elks Lodge: A Unifying Force in Farrell's African American Community
• The Greening of Philadelphia
• The "Saddlebag" House Type and Pennsylvania Extended