Term Paper on "Spiritual Gospel"

Term Paper 6 pages (1914 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Spiritual Gospel Music

Once thought of as only Black Southern Christian music, gospel music has "transcended those limits to become a profound force in American music and popular culture" (Petrie Pp).

The history of gospel-spiritual music is deeply tooted in the musical tradition of the African-American slaves and even deeper in the African music tradition in general (Roots Pp). It is a creation that grew from the enormous culture shock that came to blend African culture with European Anglo-Saxon traditions (Roots Pp). At first the slave trade, started by the Europeans in the early 1500's and lasting until 1864, brought relatively small numbers of slaves to the new continent but soon shiploads were arriving regularly (Roots Pp). Although historians disagree on the exact number of slaves imported to America, an fairly good estimate is somewhere between 10-15 million (Roots Pp). When arriving these slaves brought not only their labor with them, but a completely new and rich music culture, which eventually resulted in jazz, blues, and gospel music, and significantly came to shape American society and history (Roots Pp).

Generally speaking, the slaves came from three areas in Africa. The first, West Coast of Africa, referred to as the Ivory Coast and occupied today by Senegal and Guinea, is an area strongly influenced by the Islamic religion and was musically characterized by long melodic lines, ornamental singing and string instruments (Roots Pp). The second, the rainforest area, is occupied today by Ghana and Nigeria and is musically characterized by very complex rhythms and big percussion-drum ensembles (Roots Pp). The third, the Congo-Angola area, is an area dominated by polyphonic vocal music, divided into many parts, which is also characterized by call and response between the soloist and the vocal group (Roots Pp).

During this time, Africa was a continent with a rich and highly developed cultural and musical life (Roots Pp). From cradle to grave, music, signing, drama and dancing were a natural and integrated part of African cultural because for "almost every activity in the life of the individual or the community, there was an appropriate music" (Roots Pp).

The drum, essential to most forms of African music, was an important part of the society not only for celebrations but due to the fact that it was used to communicate between one village and another (Roots Pp). The music was usually characterized by complex polyrhythms which were often improvised, and performed with a steady beat (Roots Pp). The slaves implemented this use of distinctive rhythms and syncopation into their music and today's contemporary gospel music is still filled with complex rhythm fills from its African origin (Roots Pp). "The same polyrythm beat flowed down the stream of time. In the late '60s and early 70s, the same beats and dances muted and found its way into the worship services of both Protestant and Catholic Churches" (Heron Pp). Dancing was also an integrated part of the African society, as a form of communication as well as a creative expression and recreation (Roots Pp). Poetry and drama were often mixed into the music and dances, creating a type of theater or musical (Roots Pp). African music was generally based upon the modal and pentatonic scales with melodic improvisation as well as text improvisation (Roots Pp). The vocalist improvised based upon the music and the occasion, often creating a kind of musical dialogue or shift singing between the soloist and the group of vocalist, as the soloist sang a phrase the group would repeat or answer, sometimes backed up by loud comments from the audience (Roots Pp). This 'call and response' became a vital part of the development of Spiritual and Gospel music (Roots Pp).

When arriving in America, slaves, with only memories and their musical heritage, were most often separated from their families and tribe members in an effort to assimilate them to the new culture (Roots Pp). Culture shock and language barriers increased the feelings of alienation and confusion among the slaves who found a commonality in music for although they came from different parts of Africa, most African music was similar (Roots Pp). "Songs and dance were methods of passing down tribal culture from generation to generation" (Thomas Pp). When introduced to Christianity, its message affected them greatly, especially stories such as Moses and the people of Israel, and helped them endure their own hardships and trials (Roots Pp). From blending their African musical heritage with the Christian religion, the English language, and the musical tradition from the Anglo-Saxon church, the slaves created a totally new music form (Roots Pp).

From work songs, which dealt with oppression and the hardships of labor and were created to make working in the fields easier, emerged the Spirituals, which dealt with the same aspects of life as the work songs, but with more of a biblical content (Roots Pp). The traditional Spiritual, Deep River, is a good example of how the slaves struggled with life's hardships while dreaming of a better life (Roots Pp). Some Spirituals were created during work, while many were created during slave services or camp meetings which were held at night on the plantations after the end of a hard days labor and at which congregations were active, responding to the preacher with loud comments (Roots Pp). "Their church meetings involved prayer, singing, hand clapping, dancing, telling of personal spiritual experiences, and sometimes shouting and preaching" (African Pp). When someone would sing a few words from the sermon or from a Bible verse, the entire congregation would begin to sing and dance, creating a Spiritual song (Roots Pp). This call and response technique between the soloist and the congregation or the workers is one of the most discernable African musical heritages in Spirituals (Roots Pp).

It was the end of the Civil War before Spirituals began to be recognized outside the slave community (Roots Pp). As the number of black churches grew, the slaves brought their music and their Spirituals into the churches, filling their services with inspiring and uplifting congregational songs (Roots Pp). The development of the Spirituals and the evolvement of the black church laid the musical foundations for what is called Gospel Music today (Roots Pp). "The word 'Gospel' itself is derived from the Old English word 'Godspel' and refers to a narrative or an idea or principle accepted as unquestionably true" (Thomas Pp).

Beginning in the early twentieth century African-American religious music entered a new age with the birth of black Pentecostal churches and denominations (Moore Pp). With a strong worship emphasis on emotionalism and speaking in tongues, many traditional hymns were instantly 'gospelized' by increasing the tempo and, often adding percussion accompaniment (Moore Pp). "Instrumental in this phenomena was Charles Price Jones of Jackson, Mississippi, founder of the Church of Christ (Holiness) USA, who as the father of African-American Pentecostalism composed over 1,000 songs for his congregation" (Moore Pp). Jones' songs were unique in that they expressed the feelings and expressions of African-Americans after slavery (Moore Pp).

Beginning in the 1920s, black religious music was introduced to the Quartet movement (Moore Pp). Although most sacred music was sung by congregations, The Fisk Jubilee Singers of Nashville were responsible for popularizing the groups as they sprang up east of the Mississippi River (Moore Pp). Due to their amazing popularity, record companies such as RCA Victor, Paramount, and Columbia, cashed in on the demand for this type of music in the Urban North by recording and promoting the quartet sound (Moore Pp). Moreover, radio stations sought to capitalize on the growing popularity of black religious music, such as WLAC in Nashville that, with its 50,000 watts, played the music at night to listeners as far away as Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York (Moore Pp). In 1926, V.O. Stamps and J.R. Baxter founded the Stamps-Baxter Music Company (Scoville Pp). Several teacher-composers have worked for this firm and the associated V.O. Stamps School of Music, where the Stamps Quartet and several other quartets were formed and trained (Scoville Pp). The Stamps Quartet "is still the centerpiece of gospel music' (Scoville Pp).

In 1932 Thomas A. Dorsey, a jazz and blues pianist, organized a gospel choir at Chicago's Pilgrim Baptist Church and the following year organized the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses and thus began a career that led him to compose over 500 songs, including "Take My Hand Precious Lord" (Moore Pp). Dorsey also opened a gospel music publishing house and soon thereafter was labeled the Father of Gospel Music (Moore Pp). Mahalia Jackson, one of many who worked with Dorsey and considered by many today as the 'World's Greatest Gospel Singer,' made several recordings, including her most popular, 'Move On Up a Little Higher' which catapulted her into gospel music fame and international stardom (Moore Pp).

The 1950's brought other artists such as the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Blind Boys of Alabama who filled churches, auditoriums, and jazz festivals with their unique style (Moore Pp). The media sought to take advantage of the popularity… READ MORE

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