In this episode, Christen identifies the musical characteristics that make up Black Spirituals. See how the American Black community has preserved Spirituals, in spite of its obstacles—acknowledging the transformative impact the art form has made still today. Episode Notes Research: African American Song Pre-Civil War African-American Slavery African American Spirituals The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its History from Africa to the United States Traditional Work Songs McIntosh County Shouters, “Move, Daniel” The McIntosh County Shouters Plantation Dance Ring Shout Nat Turner (1800-1831) Lift Every Voice: The History of African American Music The Origins of Proslavery Christianity: White and Black Evangelicals in Colonial and Antebellum Virginia Cultural Codes: Makings of a Black Music Philosophy Our History – Fisk Jubilee Singers Overseer And Driver Fisk Jubilee Singers The Soundtrack of the George Floyd Protests Hip-hop is the soundtrack to Black Lives Matter protests, continuing a tradition that dates back to the blues Music: “Judgement Day Outside My Door” by Lost Ghosts “Early in the Mornin’” performed by Unidentified performers at State Penitentiary, Camp #10, Parchman, Mississippi (Accessed by the Library of Congress’s National Jukebox) “Hoe Emma Hoe” performed by Larry Earl Jr., Christina Lane and Willie Wright “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child” performed by Hope Foye “Steal Away” performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers “Go down, Moses” performed by Oral Moses “Deshacer” by Azteca X “Testimony” by Cast of Characters “Against the Clock” by Nu Alkemi$t “Tomorrow Things” by GLASWING “Go Down Moses” performed by Louis Armstrong with the Sy Oliver Choir and The All Stars “Keep Your Hand on the Plow” performed by Mahalia Jackson “Sound of Da Police”, by KRS ONE “Life in Binary” by Falls “Constellations” by Chelsea McGough Transcript Christen: Welcome back to Power Play, the podcast where we bring you stories about the power of music, the music of the powerful, music as a means to power, and what happens when music and power go head to head. I’m your host, Christen Crumpler. Let’s begin! Music and Enslaved Black People (contd.) Christen: In the last episode, we left off covering spirituals’ religious origins, but I mentioned there’s another fundamental part to them: The personal testimonies of those enslaved. For spirituals under this context, there are two main styles. First, there are sorrow songs—songs themed from Biblical messages and stories of “grief, longing, and” pleading prayer. These settings were used because they showed so much similarity to the lives Black people had in slavery. [MUSIC: Judgement Day Outside My Door plays, by Lost Ghosts] Christen: One of the early forms of sorrow songs were the work songs sung during forced labor. While work songs could be in a variety of different labors, many of them came from the plantations. On plantations, singing was allowed for the enslaved, but it was—much like other aspects—not by choice. Many white overseers and Drivers—these were enslaved people that were put in charge by the plantation owners—viewed silence while working as a chance for those to conspire. They would use their power to force the enslaved workers to sing, hoping it would result in higher “productivity” and “morale.” [MUSIC: Judgement Day Outside My Door plays, by Lost Ghosts; fades into silence] Christen: Enslaved plantation workers often used a type of work song, called an “arwhoolie.” [MUSIC: Early in the Mornin’ plays, performed by Unidentified performers at State Penitentiary, Camp #10, Parchman, Mississippi] Christen: An “arwhoolie,” or also known as a “field holler,” is a “plaintive chant with only a few words, sung by a worker in the fields.” These musical conversations could also use call and response! What stood out was that it could coordinate the workers and their labor across different plantations, not just the workers within the same field. And those that were enslaved tried, in ways, creating community from this coordination. [MUSIC: Early in the Mornin’ plays, performed by Unidentified performers at State Penitentiary, Camp #10, Parchman, Mississippi; fades into silence as the next narration begins] Christen: Hidden under these hollers were feelings of misery from being in captivity, allowing the singers to pass off the songs as optimism in front of the overseers. There would be arwhoolies for many situations, detailing the different tasks of plantation life. For example, here is the arwhoolie “Hoe Emma Hoe,” performed by Larry Earl Jr., Christina Lane, and Willie Wright. In the video, the arwhoolie is being sung while the actors are hoeing the ground. But, I bet you could find other meanings for how they’re using the word hoe... [MUSIC: Hoe Emma Hoe plays, performed by Larry Earl Jr., Christina Lane and Willie Wright; fades into silence as the narration begins again] Christen: And from these sorrow-filled work songs evolved the sorrow songs of spirituals. Some notable examples are the songs “And the Moon Will Turn to Blood,” “Let My People Go,” and “O Rocks, Don’t Fall on Me.” Let me play a portion of the sorrow song “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child.” It’s another famed title detailing a sense of loneliness and mistreatment. [MUSIC: Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child plays, performed by Hope Foye; fades into silence before the next narration starts] Christen: The second style of spirituals are jubilees. These songs are in stark contrast from the mood and themes of the sorrow songs. Jubilees are filled with hope, and singing them would often release tensions. These spirituals, instead, would use Biblical messages of triumph and deliverance to bring ambition to Black people, hoping for the end of their captivity. The spiritual we heard at the beginning, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” is a part of the genre of Jubilees. Another example of them would be the spiritual “Steal Away,” which sings about salvation coming from the Lord. [MUSIC: Steal Away plays, performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers; plays alone for a bit and then plays under narration] Paving A Road to Freedom Christen: While under constant supervision, you might think it'd be impossible to sing aloud such messages of sadness and wanting to be free. Well, that’s what’s special about the spirituals during slavery. [MUSIC: Steal Away plays, performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers; fades into silence] Christen: The messages of each of the spirituals would be hidden in coded lyrics with multiple meanings. This technique is called Signifying, a skill with origins from African trickster tales and insult songs. Often, the lyrics’ context would be of anger towards slavery and wanting to be free in many ways. Many of the spirituals would recount the chronicles of the Old Testament, which held a lot of stories about freedom from bondage. The tale of Moses being an example of stories used for coded lyrics. Spirituals would incorporate themes of Moses leading the Israelites from Pharoah’s bondage in Egypt. [MUSIC: Of A Feather plays, by Falls] Christen: This use of signifying within spirituals, ring shouts, and work songs is a key factor in enslaved Black people escaping from slavery. The emotions and messages from this genre of music motivated thousands of enslaved to leave the South taking the Underground Railroad. Mention of the River of Jordan described the North and freedom. The other side of a cloud would signify heaven. Spirituals like “I Got My Ticket” are assumed to signify escape on the Underground Railroad, as comparisons between it and the actual railroad were made in its lyrics. [MUSIC: Of A Feather plays, by Falls; fades into silence] Christen: Harriet Tubman—the notable Underground Railroad conductor who escaped slavery and helped others to escape—would use the song “Go Down, Moses,” signifying escape to freedom, to identify herself to those enslaved who might want to escape to the North. The lyrics’ refrain is: “Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt’s land and tell old Pharaoh to let My people go!” [MUSIC: Go down, Moses plays, performed by Oral Moses; plays alone for a bit and then fades into silence] Christen: After Emancipation in the 1860s, Black people—newly freed from slavery—were trying to figure out what their lives would be like. This time was spent searching for their families separated by slave auctions and escaping the plantations, or trying to find work that would actually pay. In their new communities, they made African American churches that would not only serve as a religious institution, but a hub for social, charitable, musical activities and more. The power of this reclamation is critical! When for so long the Black community had to hide their worship—like ring shouts—within the shadows, they could now have establishments of their own to practice them in. But there were roadblocks making it difficult to pass them on. [MUSIC: Deshacer plays, by Azteca X] Christen: Most of the spirituals from slavery weren’t recorded or written down. So, the singing and passing down of Spirituals had largely been an oral tradition, prior to Emancipation. William Francis Allen, a white observer of the shouts and Spirituals, had a notable part in its preservation. Allen, along with Charles Pickard Ware and Lucy McKim Garrison, also white, authored the Slav
