The Negro Spiritual

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The Negro Spiritual
AN AMERICAN ART FORM PERFORMANCE PRACTICES OF
SELECTED COMPOSITIONS AND COMPARISONS TO GOSPEL

• Dr. Sonja Sepúlveda

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African Music to the Concert Spiritual

• Dr. Sonja Sepúlveda

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AFRICAN CHARACTERISTICS

• Complex rhythms
• Percussion and movement
• Harmony in open fifths and fourths
• Call and Response
• Beat emphasis that moves the melody forward
• Singers need to move

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Jesu Waca / African Chant

• Praise the name of Jesus, for the name is high.

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Ahuna Ya Tswanang Le Jesu

• Sotho tradition
• Theres no one like Jesus. Theres no one like
  Him. I looked around everywhere. I turned around
  everywhere. I finally found my Jesus. Theres
  no one like Him.
• LZ, Hsilent, NGnasal

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Ezatele / Uyaimose

• Congo/ Zimbabwe Hymn Tune
• Ezatele Come here.
• Uyaimose Come all ye people, come and praise the
  Most High. Come now and worship the Lord.

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CONCERT AFRICAN FOLK

• African song arranged into a European traditional
  choral arrangement
• Wana Baraka
• Stacks African melodies
• Call and response
• Open 5ths
• Unbridled joy
• Latin vowels
• Word stress

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Wana Baraka

• Kenyan religious tune
• They have blessings, those who pray Jesus
  himself said so. Alleluia! They have peace, joy
  and well-being.

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Bawo Thixo Somandla

• South African song, in Xhosa dialect, arranged
  into European choral style
• Stacking melodies
• Call and response
• Open 5ths
• Unbridled joy because of hope
• ThT, XClick or K, SZ, NDspoken, 2nd consonant
  most important. Qk

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Bawo Thixo Somandla

• Father God Almighty what are our sins? What have
  we done that we kill each other thus? This world
  is full of troubles. On this earth we carry a
  heavy burden. I have a continuous cry in my
  heart. Let this be over. Let this cup pass from
  me.

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Dubula, a Xhosa folk song

• Stacking of melodies
• Secular
• Polyrhythms
• Energy
• Movement
• Added sounds

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Dubula, Stephen Hatfield

• The honey bird carries sour milk. It is no good
  for my child. Let us chase him away with a big
  bang.
• XHclick (K sound at back of throat and click
  backwards like a kuh sound), PHf, THt,
  NDlike hand, NTplant, Galways hard, even
  before an e, Latin vowels, percussive
  consonants.

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Noel

• Kituba dialect, Congo
• Call and answer
• Movement
• Drums
• Polyrhythms
• Added sounds
• Passion
• Vowels like Latin

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Noel

• Noel, Jesus has come to live with us. If you
  want to know the Child, you have to come kneel.

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CONCERT SPIRITUAL

• Keeps African characteristics
• Concert Spirituals are arranged in European
  choral format retaining African characteristics
• Combines African music with European hymn tune

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Africa
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How to Sing the Concert Spiritual

• Dr. Sonja Sepúlveda

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Jester Hairston (1902-2000)
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Performance Concerns in the SpiritualAccording
to Jester Hairston

• Dialect/ Style
• Use it. All people can do it, no matter their
  color
• Tempo and Rhythm
• It is the rhythm that sells the songs
• Spirituals bring people together
• Unity through purpose with song
• Vocal Color
• Sing fully and beautifully
• Sing it with your heart

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Purposes of Slave SongsAccording to Jester
Hairston

• Religious Spirituals
• Images of King Jesus, the devil, judgment day,
  the Lord, and Heaven
• Freedom Spirituals
• Refers to Moses, the Hebrews, the people of
  Israel, and earthly deliverance
• Escape Spirituals
• Coded or telegraphed spirituals with messages of
  escape
• The Shout and Hollers
• Instruction, hypnotic song and dance
• Work Songs
• Passes time for people who worked in the fields

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Spiritual Style Categories According to John Work

• Call and Response
• Rapid in tempo and fiery spirit
• Slow sustained, long-phrase melody
• Most beautiful
• Most popular as solos
• Syncopated, segmented melody
• Segments of melody or rhythmic patterns
• Syncopated figures
• Repeated words or word phrases
• Fast tempo, usually

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In Dat Great Gittin Up MorninSoloist Herbert
Johnson

• Call and response
• Religious purpose style
• Some dialect, body percussion
• Improvisation at the end
• Rising keys represent going to heaven
• Phonetic decay adds buoyancy
• Terrace dynamics, driving energy

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Angels Rolled De Stone AwaySoloist Michael
Loredo

• Easter Spiritual
• Very chordal
• Solo and choir accompaniment
• Improvisation at the end
• Accompanied concert spiritual-not gospel
• Similar to the solo spiritual with piano

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Birth of the Concert Spiritual
Original Fisk University Singers
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Birth of the Concert Spiritual
George L. White First Arranger of the Concert
Spiritual
Ella Sheppard Fisk Jubilee Soprano, Pianist,
Choral Assistant and Arranger
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My Lord, What a Mourning George L. Whites
Original Score
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My Lord, What a Mourning

• Hymn tune texture
• This original text had the word mourning which
  changes the meaning of the song
• This was changed by oral tradition
• This is the basis of the arrangement by
  H.T. Burleigh

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Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949)
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Performance Concerns of the Spiritual According
to H.T. Burleigh

• Sing with deep feeling
• Rhythm is more important than the voice
• Never make them funnyserious music

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My Lord, What a Mornin by H.T. Burleigh

• Tempo changes
• Added parts
• Word stress
• Dialect for the word my
• Use of portato for lilt and energy
• Changing mourning to mornin

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We Shall Walk Through the Valley in Peace
arr. Moses Hogan

• Religious spiritual that has a slow, sustained
  melody. These are most beautiful and used many
  times as solos. The use of word stress is still
  very important. It also has a climax point that
  changes the energy and that is stylistic of most
  slow, melodic spirituals.

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Deep River, arr. Norman LuboffSoloist Byron Barr

• Like the last two spirituals, this is a slow
  melodic style that is based on Psalm 23. It is
  full of hope and also has a contrasting center
  section. My is sung in a dialect and word
  stress with contrasting dynamics continues to be
  very important to the style. This spiritual has
  a solo built into the middle with the choir
  accompaniment.

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William Dawson (1899-1990)
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Performance Issues in the SpiritualAccording to
William Dawson

• Recreate Spiritual motivations
• Dialect
• Rhythms are highly syncopated
• Keep the tempo
• Spirituals are serious music
• Observe markings of arranger
• Seek the real music

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Accents of William Dawson

• Legato or tenuto -
• Strong or marcato ?
• Normal Accent ?
• fz or forzando fz
• Staccatissimo ?
• Staccato
• Normal and Staccato ?
• 
  

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Portato Device
It achieves a kind of pulsation or undulation,
rather than separating the notes. It has been
notated in various ways.  Not as heavy as a fp.
The pulse of the meter is one of the most
important things in performing the Spiritual.
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Soon Ah Will Be Done Accents
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Soon Ah Will Be Done by William Dawson

• Soloist Carla Thomas
• Combining the two tempos that speak of two
  different stories
• Terrance dynamics
• Accents for energy
• Unbridled enthusiasm at the climaxes
• Portato

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Roland Carter (b.1942)
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Performance Issues in the SpiritualAccording to
Roland Carter

• Dialect
• Dont over do it
• Tempo and Rhythm
• There is a direct correlation between the tempo
  and the purpose of the song
• All strong beats are not equal
• Understand all the accents
• Dont interrupt rhythmic flow
• Vocal Color
• Use Italian vowels
• Be careful that dark sound does not hurt pitch
• Dynamics are relative
• Lilt must be flexible
• Clipping should not be too harsh

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In Bright Mansions by George L. White
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In Bright Mansions by Roland Carter
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In Bright Mansions by Roland Carter

• Thicker texture than Whites arrangement
• Use Italian vowels
• Lilt of phrases
• Combination of Madrigal style dark tone
• Changing meter to accommodate the text
• Word stress
• Anthem style

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Undine Moore (1904-1988)
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Performance Issues in the SpiritualAccording to
Undine Moore

• Tempo and Rhythm are important
• Vocal Color timbres should be chosen carefully
• Scales and their awareness are important
• Harmonies with 4ths and 5ths prominent
• Sing climax with unrestrained fullness

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Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord by Undine
Moore

• Soloists Paul Nutter and David Simmons
• Accents on unusual parts of words
• Use of two soloists gives contrast in vocal color
• Driving rhythms
• Parallel 4ths in soprano and 5ths in the bass and
  alto

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Hall Johnson (1888-1970)
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Hall Johnson

• The Negro spiritual is a distinct type of music
  which resembles no other and therefore requires
  special treatment in performance.
• The singer who has not first-hand acquaintance
  with the authentic racial style should have, for
  the best results, either an intelligent model or
  a coach who is thoroughly familiar with this
  music at its source.

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Aint Got Time to Die

• Soloists Byron Barr and David Simmons
• Extreme syncopation
• Sharp accents
• Imploded consonants like the t in aint
• Rest after takes so you can attack all
• Clip the s on Jesus
• Features lining by the soloist

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Keep Your Lamps by George L. White
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André Thomas (b.1952)
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Performance Issues in the SpiritualAccording to
André Thomas

• Dialect
• Use it but dont over do it
• Tempo and Rhythm
• Drive and energy important
• Keep it vibrant and alive
• Energy comes from a rapport, a joy, built
  between conductor and choir in rehearsal
• Vocal Color
• Rich and at the same time bright with focus

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Performance Issues in the SpiritualAccording to
Anton Armstrong

• Tempo and Rhythm
• Most important part of the spiritual
• Make sure there are accents and lilt
• Appropriate Type of Vocal Timbre/Color
• Darker hue is typical of the Afro-American voice

• Use of dialect
• Phonetic decay
• Diphthongs
• Schwa
• Clipping

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Keep Your Lamps!

• Jamey Johnson, Percussion
• Demonstration of how the tempo of a song changes
  the meaning
• Coded spiritual
• Clipped consonances
• Missing word Christian journey soon be over
  has missing will

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Rosephanye Powell (b.1970)
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Performance Issues in the SpiritualAccording to
Rosephanye Powell

• Prepare history of the song
• Study the text like a foreign language
• Use the dialect
• Stress accents and words
• Learn melody without text
• Feel the music
• Use good diction to be understood

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Im Gonna Let It Shine

• Jazz chords peppered throughout the song
• Song has thick texture
• Rhythm can not drag
• Vamp at the end that allows improvisation
• Vocal color is lighter in places to allow the
  tune to come out of the texture

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Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
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Performance Issues in the SpiritualAccording to
Moses Hogan

• Crescendo through long notes
• Terrace dynamics
• Emphasis on wrong syllable
• Clipped vowels
• Sing Off the Voice for buoyancy
• Embody the feeling and rhythm
• Loss of energy in piano sections
• Use correct diction for percussiveness

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Walk Together Children

• Clipped vowels going straight to the consonant
• Syncopation
• Easy tempo that grooves
• Improvisation at the end
• Repeated chorus
• Terrace dynamics

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Other Performance IssuesAccording to Moses Hogan

• Dialect Dont over do
• Tempo and Rhythm Most important
• Use consonants for percussiveness
• Vocal Color Full rich singing
• Thick texture of voicing can add richness and
  power

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Hear My Prayer by Moses Hogan

• Slow, long phrase melody
• Personal to Moses reflected his own life and
  death struggle
• Dedicated to Jester Hairston
• Word stress

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My Souls Been Anchored in the Lord by Moses
Hogancenter section repres
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My Souls Been Anchored in the LordMoses Hogan

• Call and answer
• Altar call at the end
• Unbridled enthusiasm
• Solo sections
• Lilt
• Anchored means to be saved in the Lord
• Clipping and accents

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Summary of Performance Issues Practices

• Burleigh feeling, rhythm, serious
• Dawson know motives, keep tempo, observe
  markings, syncopation, dialect
• Hairston listen to others, use dialect, rhythm
  most important, sing fully
• Thomas dont over do dialect, drive and energy
  important, rapport, rich and focused vocal color.
  

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Summary of Performance Issues Practices

• Moses crescendo long notes for life, terrace
  dynamics, wrong syllable is accented for sake of
  rhythm, off the voice, use diction, clip voice,
  full singing
• Powell Prepare history of the song, study the
  text like a foreign language
• Moore Sing climax with unrestrained fullness,
  scales and their awareness are important
• Carter Use Italian vowels, the lilt must be
  flexible

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Why keep the Spiritual Alive?

• The spiritual is our American Heritage and
  will bring all of us closer together through the
  sharing of this music.
• - Nathaniel Dett

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The Concert Spiritual
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Gospel

• Dr. Sonja Sepúlveda

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Gospel Style

• 1933-Thomas A. Dorsey
• Precious Lord Take My Hand.
• Influence of Jazz and the Blues
• It adds instruments such as organ, drums, piano,
  guitar or sax and adds a driving beat.
• Gospel was a direct outgrowth of the Spiritual.
  The Gospel song is accompanied. The Concert
  Spiritual is almost always a cappella unless it
  is a solo arrangement.

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Gospel Characteristics

• Call Answer
• Fast syncopated melody or slow syncopated long
  phrased melody
• Melodies that are more ornamented
• Many polyrhythms
• Instrumental accompaniment tambourine, drums and
  piano
• Ostinato melodies and rhythms
• Driving beat
• Chicago was the cradle of the Gospel

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Leaning On the Everlasting Arms

• Hymn tune
• Dareion Malone, piano

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Gods Gonna Set This World On Fire with Im
Gonna View That Holy City
arr. Moses Hogan Soloist David Simmons
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Hallelujah from The Cry of Jeremiah

• Rosephanye Powell

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Til I Die arr. by Herbert JohnsonSoloist
David Simmons
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The Storm Is Passing Over

• Arr. by Barbara Baker

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All Right by Robert Winder

• Soloists David Simmons and Beth Tuten
• Clipping
• Solos in contrast with the chorus

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He Never Failed Me Yet by Robert
RaySoloists Beth Tuten and David Simmons
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The Spiritual and GospelOur American Heritage

• It is our American heritage and will bring all
  of us closer together through the sharing of this
  music.
• Nathaniel Dett