Choral Arrangements of Spirituals: Birth and Perpetuation of a Genre

Author(s): Patricia J. Trice

Source: The Choral Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1 (AUGUST 1996), pp. 9-13
Published by: American Choral Directors Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23550830
Accessed: 07-10-2017 04:14 UTC

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 Choral Arrangements of
Spirituals: Birth and
Perpetuation of a Genre

by Patricia J. Trice

Phot usedcourtesyofthePinyWodsCountryLifeSchol, Piney Wo ds, Mis is ip i.

The Cotton Blossom Singers, ca. 1925-30

Birth of a Genre Col ege Choirs in the Ninet enth Century

The term "spir tual" is a ni et enth-century ap el ation for The choral ensembles performing spir tuals during the ni e
songs with relig ous texts created by African slaves in America. te nth century wer primarily col ege choirs from historical y
The songs wer a part of the slave culture in the United Sta es black insti utions of higher learni g. The Fisk Scho l, founded
as early as the late sevente nth century and, along with slave in 1868 in Nashvil e, Ten es e , was one of seven col eges
work songs, continued West African oral tradit ons of com u- established by the American Mis ionary As ociation for the
nal creativ ty, spontaneity, expres ivenes , record-ke ping, coded col egiate and theol gical education of re d slaves. In 1871 the
mes ages, and metaphor. Fisk Jubile Singers first introduced spir tuals to the general
When the camp-me ting movement began in the South public. Nine Fisk students, led by scho l treasure and music
around 175 , slaves wer permit ed to partic pate. Their in- teacher George L. White, set out on a tour of the Midwest and
volvement, which included singing spir tuals, marked the sur- Northeast o raise money for building construction on their
facing of slave songs outside the planta ion. Betwe n 1815 and new campus. Orig nal y cal ed the Col red Christian Singers
1820 a few revi al spir tuals began to ap ear in Protestant and organized to perform clas ical music, they wer renamed
hymn bo ks. Slave Songs of the United Sta es by Wil am Francis the Fisk Jubile Singers by their director in October 1871,
Al en, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Gar ison, the during a tour stop in Columbus, Ohio. The Singers' early
first col ection devoted entirely to spir tuals and slave work programs included anthems, Irish bal ads, sentimental songs,
songs, was published in 1867. In June of the same year, Col - temperance songs, patriotic songs, and a few spir tuals. By the
nel Thomas Wentworth Hig inson published the article "Ne- time the group reached New York City, White realized the
gro Spir tuals" in the Atlantic Monthly. Thes two publications audience ap eal of the spir tuals and began to devote a larger
wer largely responsible for documenting the arly history of share of the program to them. By the nd of the nsembles tour
the spiritual.1 in May 1872, the Jubilee Singers had raised $20,000, making
In a 1994 study I examined the conventional musical char- possible the construction of Jubilee Hall on the Fisk campus,
acteristics, or "tropes," shared by African music, African-Ameri- Fisk ensembles, still containing some of the original singers,
can spirituals, and spiritual arrangements.2 The following article toured until 1878 both in this country and in Europe, singing
chronicles some of the mixed-voice performing groups who, for heads of state and in some of the world's most important
because their concert programs included spirituals, generated a concert venues. Subsequent student ensembles from Fisk con
need for formalized choral arrangements of slave songs. certized well into the twentieth century. They helped remove
the stereotyped impression of "negroes" created by black-face
Patricia J. Trice is Professor of Music at Hillsborough minstrel performers.3 Following White's retirement, John Wesley
Community College, Tampa, Florida, and cofounder of the Work II (1871—1925), his brother Frederick Jerome Work
Spiritual Renaissance Singers. (1880—1942), and his son John W. Work III (1901—67) carried
on the tradition at Fisk by researching, collecting, and arranging

AUGUST 1996 PAGE 9

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spirituals. John W. Work III, in particular, programs on the NBC network during the tablished until the 1920s and 30s. Enor
was an important arranger. Many of his 1930s.4 From 1913 to 1937 the Hampton mously successful during the 30s, t
spirituals still appear in publishers' catalogs. Choir was led by two of the most impor- Golden Gate Quartette, the Southerna
The sixteen-voice Hampton Institute tant scholars and composer-arrangers in and the Wings Over Jordan Choir g
Choir, though not quite as well known the spiritual tradition: R. Nathaniel Dett, numerous public concerts, broadcast r
internationally as the Fisk Jubilee Singers, from 1913 to 1931, and Clarence Cameron lar radio programs, made recordings, a
was equally active. With Thomas Fenner White, from 1932 to 1937. published collections of spirituals refle
as music director, the choir began touring . . , ing their styles. Of the mixed-voice en
in February 1873. Unlike the Fisk singers, Uollege ^ ^ sembles of that era, however, the Eva Jessye
who abandoned their studies while on tour, Xwentieth Century Singers and the Hall Johnson Choir made
the Hampton singers studied regularly and Because touring was a successful the most significant impact on the devel
completed examinations upon returning fundraiser for many black college choirs, opment of choral arrangements of spiri
to the Hampton campus. Performing un- the practice continued well into the twen- tuais as a genre. Eva Jessye (1895-1992)
accompanied, they sang mostly spirituals tieth century. Perhaps the most unique were had a well-earned reputation as a choral
but also included Stephen Foster songs the several ensembles known as the Cot- conductor, composer, and arranger of
and other popular favorites in their reper- ton Blossom Singers, students at the Piney spirituals and other songs. She formed
toire. They aired a series of half-hour radio Wood Country Life School near Braxton, the Dixie Jubilee Singers, which later was
Mississippi. The school was founded in renamed the Eva Jessye Singers. The group
1909 by Laurence Jones, who espoused sang on New York City radio in the 1920s
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as many as thirteen ensembles of male, tion picture Hallelujah (1929), music di
female, and mixed voices toured designated rector of the Gertrude Stein-Virgil
THE areas, each with its own director. The Thomson Broadway production of Four
school's president or his wife sometimes Saints in Three Acts (1934), and music
DRINKER LIBRARY
traveled with the singers.5 director for the original production of
OF William Levi Dawson (1899-1990) Porgy and Bess (1935). Her singers per
CHORAL MUSIC founded the Tuskegee Institute Choir in formed in Saints and Porgy. From the date
1931, just after he was named head of the of the ensemble's formation through its
new School of Music at the Institute in performance as the official choir for the
Tuskegee, Alabama. At 110 voices the 1963 March on Washington, the group's
Low-cost rental music for choir was much larger than the Fisk or reputation for impeccable tone quality
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out North and South America. The choir's and meticulous attention to attire came
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1 Over
■ 700 titles
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1 Spans
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the Renaissance
Renaissanceto
tothe
the that it, along with luminaries such as and professionalism Jessye demanded.
20th Century Martha Graham and Ray Bolger, opened The choir disbanded in 1970, and Jessye
•1 Sacred
Sacred and
and secular
secular the Radio City Music Hall in December began a new career that included guest
•■Large
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1 Orchestra
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formany
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titles Westminster Records and performed on puses, consulting, and acting in feature
■ Call
Call Monday-Friday,
Monday-Friday, several radio series—on NBC during the films.7 Though she was a prolific com
9-5 Eastern time 1937—38 season, on CBS in 1945, and poser and arranger, most of her works are
on ABC in 1946.6 Dawson arranged many in private collections,
spirituals—still currently available—for In 1925, Hall Johnson (1888-1970),
the Tuskegee Choir in versions for mixed, violinist, arranger, composer, conductor,
Drinker Library of Choral Music women's, and men's voices. and consultant, organized the Hall
The Free Library of Philadelphia r , . . . Johnson Negro Choir, later renamed the
1901 Vine St. Professional Choirs in the Hall Johnson choir In addition to c
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1189 Xwentieth Century certizing with the choir, he directed
(215)686-5364
(215) 686-5364 Professional ensembles specializing in performance of spirituals in the 1
the performance of spirituals were not es- Broadway production of Green Pastu

PAGE 10 CHORAL JOURNAL

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The choir performed in movies (Swanee the performance of spiritual arrangements, and Henry Ward Beecher. The ensemble
River, The Green Pastures, Way Down The New York-based ensemble, which has has produced two recordings—Harlem
South, and Cabin in the Sky) and on ra- toured the United States, Italy, Africa, China, Spiritual Ensemble in Concert and Free at
dio, television, and recordings. Johnson's and Russia, comprises six singers, a pianist, Last—on the Arcadia label.11
writings, both literary and musical, illus- and a percussionist. Accompanied spiritual The Tampa-based Spiritual Renais
trate his understanding of the nature of arrangements, some with orchestra, are the sanee Singers was founded in August 1989
spirituals and his desire to preserve and specialty of the ensemble, but traditional, by Patricia Trice and Annetta Monroe
perpetuate their integrity. His choir em- unaccompanied settings are a part of its because of their concern that unaccom
barked on national and international repertoire as well. Clemmons also founded panied arrangements of spirituals were dis
tours, including a 1951 tour of the United the nonprofit American Negro Spiritual Re- appearing from high school, college, and
States and Europe sponsored by the U.S. search Foundation, which not only pro- university choral programs. Personnel in
State Department. He remained active in vides information for aspiring young the twenty-voice ensemble consists mostly
civic and musical affairs in New York City musicians but also serves as a networking of music students and professionals but
until his death in 1970.8 Johnson's large center for African-American youth choirs. also includes musicians whose vocations
catalog of spiritual arrangements includes In September 1994 the Harlem Spiri- lie outside the field of music,
many settings for solo voice and piano as well tual Ensemble premiered the cantata Sis- The Spiritual Renaissance Singers has
as for unaccompanied men's, women's, ters of Freedom at William Jewell College, no single director. Rather, the ensemble
and mixed voices. Liberty, Missouri. Commissioned by the continues the tradition of communal cre
p . . „ , . ensemble, the cantata is based on the lives ativity practiced by Africans and African
I roressional ensembles of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Americans. Interpretation is agreed upon
Active Today Composed by Linda Twine, it contains by the members of the ensemble, and
The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers of spiritual arrangements scored for soloists, pieces are conducted by a member when
Los Angeles, formed in 1964 by Albert ensemble, two actresses, piano, and per- necessary. Its Tampa Bay-area programs
McNeil, has sung in more than sixty- cussion. Joseph Joubert orchestrated the consist of spirituals by established arrang
three countries since its first European work for performance by the ensemble ers as well as arrangements by Trice and
tour in 1968.9 The group's repertoire in- during the 1995—96 seasons of the India- Ann Hawkins, a charter member of the
eludes spirituals, jazz, gospel music, Porgy napolis Symphony, Milwaukee Sym- group. Revenues from concerts and a
and Bess excerpts, and folk songs from phony, and Concordia (New York City) 1992 recording are used to stock the Sing
around the world. McNeil is also active as Symphony. Twine is at work on a com- ers' music library, contribute to local
an arranger and consultant. panion cantata, Brothers of Freedom, which causes, and fund the Spiritual Renaissance
The Brazeal Dennard Chorale was will commemorate the lives of Frederick Singers Vocal Scholarship at the Univer
founded in 1972 by Brazeal Dennard to Douglass, Denmark Vesey, John Brown, sity of South Florida in Tampa. As a part
preserve the roots of the African-Ameri
can choral heritage and to perform sig
nificant choral works by black composers.
The seventy-voice Chorale performs in
concerts and workshops throughout the
country. It appeared at the 1995 ACDA
ÍÍKVU Música Mundi
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cludes a Youth Chorale, a training en
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series, "Classical Roots," was developed Concert Touring Specialists on 5 CONTINENTS
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Tuscany International Children's Chorus Festival
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four Dennard arrangements as well as fa Música Mundi, Inc.
miliar settings by Dawson, Work, and 111 Main Street, Suite 2 • Los Altos, CA 94022 J
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the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, the only
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AUGUST 1996 PAGE 11

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of its community outreach, the ensemble Moses Hogan with personnel from two A Proud Legacy
funded two proposals from Hillsborough ensembles he founded earlier: the New African-American spirituals chronicle
County (Florida) teachers to implement World Ensemble, organized in 1980, and and comment on the lives of African
teaching units about spirituals during the the New Orleans Heritage Choir, estab American slaves, expressing their dreams
fall 1995 semester. The Singers also spon- lished in 1991. The Chorales organization and hopes for the future and reflecting
sored, with Hillsborough Community includes a community ensemble, regional their determination to survive slavery and
College, a workshop on spirituals for chapters, touring ensemble, and a perform live as free people. Ever since the slave
church musicians in January 1996. ing artists roster. The Chorale performed songs emerged from the closed society of
The Moses Hogan Chorale, based in at the 1995 ACDA National Convention the plantation, they have appealed to
New Orleans, was organized in 1993 by in Washington, D.C. It has been invited, people all over the world. The spiritual
as one of thirty select choirs, to represent arrangements made in the 1870s for the
the United States at the World Sympo Fisk Jubilee Singers helped to preserve the
sium on Choral Music in Sydney, Austra songs by translating them into an idiom
CHOIR
CHOIR ROBES
ROBES lia, in August 1996. Its repertoire consists that could be shared with a wider audience

EXPERT $0£95 almost exclusively of arrangements by in a concert setting. The arrangers who
TAILORING ^UUP Hogan. The Chorale's recordings include followed perpetuated the spiritual's ex
Finest Fabrics including the soundtrack for the 1995 PBS special pressiveness and exciting innovations in
Permanent Press and Wash &
Wear. Superior Quality. Free Color
"The American Promise," released on rhythm, texture, form, and sonority.
Catalog and Fabric Swatches on
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Windham Hill Records in September Significantly, many of the spiritual ar
Toll Free 1-800-826-8612 1995, and volumes one and two of The rangers were conductors who sought to
Choral and Vocal Arrangements of Moses increase and enrich the repertory of their

- — P.O. Box
III EGENCY
P.O. Box 8988-CJ
8988-CJ
Hogan, a collaboration between the Cho
rale and countertenor Derek Lee Ragin,
released in 1995 and 1996, respectively.12
ensembles. In addition to the historically
significant figures discussed above, other
noteworthy arrangers are Jester Hairston,
Jacksonville, Florida 32211
who, early in his professional life, was a
singer and assistant to Hall Johnson;
Undine Moore and J. Harold Montague
at Virginia State College; Roland Carter
The
The lush
lushvocals
vocalsof of
a a at the Hampton Institute; Wendell
major
majorAmerican
Americanmale
male
chorus
chorus
are are Whalum; and Leonard de Paur. Whalum
and de Paur led two important male en
just
just aaphone
phonecall
call
away...
away... sembles: the Morehouse College Choir and
the Leonard de Paur Chorus respectively.

TheVOCAL Mixed-voice ensembles specializing in

the performance of spirituals during the
Majority' , nineteenth and twentieth centuries not
only shared the spirituals with a wider
audience but also created a new idiom for

MUSIC presenting the songs in a concert setting.

This genre—unaccompanied arrange
never, ments of African-American spirituals—

ends now stands as the largest single body of

folk-song arrangements in Western cho
ral art literature.

NOTES
Portia K. Maultsby, Afro-American Religious
Music: 1619—1861" (Ph.D. diss.,
University of Wisconsin—Madison, 1974),
"Your
"Your performance
performanceat at
thethe
recent
recent
SWACDA
SWACDA
convention..
convention..
.was absolutely
.was absolutely
123, 141; John Lovell, Jr., The Black Song:
EXQUISITE!..
EXQUISITE!...You
.You
stole
stole
thethe
audience's
audience's
hearts!"
hearts!" The Forge and the Flame (New York:
Glenda
GlendaCasey,
Casey,President-SWACDA
President-SWACDA Paragon House, 1972), 400.
To
To receive
receivea aCatalog
Catalogofof
current
current
recordings
recordings
or toor
place
to place
your order
your order Patricia J. Trice, "Unaccompanied Choral

Call or Fax Arrangements of African-American

Spirituals: The 'Signifying' Tradition

l'800-VMSONGS
l'800'VMSONGS Continues," Choral Journal 34 (February
1994): 15-21.

PAGE 12 CHORAL JOURNAL

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3 Tilford Brooks, "A Historical Study of Black
Music and Selected Twentieth-Century
Black Composers and Their Role in
American Society" (Ph.D. diss., Washington
University, 1972), 182; James Weldon
Johnson and J. Rosamund Johnson, The
Book of American Negro Spirituals (New
York: Viking Press, 1925), 47; George
Keck and Sherrill V. Martin, ed., Feel the
Spirit: Studies in Nineteenth-Century Afro
American Music (Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 1988), 108; Lovell,
403, 406-407.
' Lovell, 408-410.
5 Ben E. Bailey, "The Cotton Blossom Singers: 11 François Clemmons, telephone interviews by
Mississippi's Black Troubadours," The
Black Perspective in Music 15 (Fall 1987):
134; Lovell, 418-20.
6 Lovell, 417-18.
Donald F. Black, "The Life and Work of
Eva Jessye and Her Contributions to
American Music" (Ph.D. diss., University
of Michigan, 1986), 35, 107; Lovell, 421;
Hildred Roach, Black American Music:
Past and Present, vol. 2 (Malabar, FL:
Brazed
Brazed Dennard
Dennard
Hush!
Hush! Somebody's
Somebody's
Callin' My
Callin' My
Name
A 1802, S.A.T.B.; D 0436, S.A.B.; C 0278,
T.T.B.B.; EA0144, 2-PT
Great Day
A 1895, S.A.T.B.
Steal Away
C 0279, T.T.B.B.
AUGUST
This content downloaded from 132.174.254.12 on Sat, 07 Oct 2017 04:14:46 UTC
Krieger Publishing, 1985), 37; Peter
Seidman, "Eva Jessye," reprinted in The
Black Perspective in Music 18 (1990):
259, 262.
8 Hall Johnson, "Notes on the Negro Source
Spiritual," in Readings in Black American
Music, ed. Eileen Southern (New York:
Readings
W. W. Norton, 1971), 274-75; Lovell, in
448-49; Roach, 100.
' Albert McNeil, telephone interview by American
author, August 30, 1992.
10 CD notes, Brazeal Dennard Chorale, Hush!
Choral
Somebody's Calling My Name, Brazeal Music
Dennard Chorale BDCD1, 3.
Composers' Writings,
author, September 23, 1992; August 30, Interviews & Reviews
1995; Griselda Steiner, "Go Tell It on Compiled & Annotated by
the Mountain," Orgánica (Summer 1992): David P. DeVenney Cloth $25.00
13, 19. Paper $15.00
12 Moses G. Hogan, "Moses Hogan," press
release, 1995; Moses G. Hogan, "Moses
The College music Society
Hogan Chorale," press release, 1995.
202 West Spruce St. • Missoula MT 59802 • USA
Phone: (800) 729-0235; FAX: (406) 721 -9419
-Cj E-mail: cms® music.org
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1996 PAGE 13
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