Negro spiritual Gospel, the African American music

TO WHAT EXTENT CAN WE SAY THAT NEGRO SPIRITUALS AND GOSPEL’S EVOLUTION REPRESENTS THE AFRO-AMERICAN EMANCIPATION?

The main goal of this study is to make a link between the evolution of different kinds of Afro-American music and Afro-American status’ one In order to answer to this question, we had to look for two kinds of information: about music evolution and about slavery and emancipation's history. Then, we had to make the link between the periods and see if it could correspond. In other words, the main issue is to know how, singing Negro Spirituals and other Christian songs, the African American integrity improved?

I. NEGRO SPIRITUALS AND SLAVERY

A- Birth of Negro Spirituals: From Work Songs to Negro Spirituals

In the XVII^th century, the USA was a country where, in some states, slavery was important. Those slaves mostly came from Africa. In North America, slavery was abolished after American Revolution (with anti-slavery laws and constitution between 1777 and 1804), but in the southern colonies it persists for a long time – appearance of free and slave states.

African slaves used to work in big fields or as domestics in the properties of white Americans. All day long, they had to do a harsh work in tobacco or cotton fields.

There was one rule to respect when they worked: they were not allowed to speak during their long hours of hard labor. So, African slaves found a way to express themselves in fields: singing! It was called work songs, without any accompaniment but just sang with hearts of slaves.

They sang their need of support from their gods and supernatural powers, in order to survive in the new place where whites made their rules. Furthermore, slaves had to put up with the new language and the new religion that whites oblige to them. Indeed, little by little, the evangelism of the African peoples by their owners, and the diffusion of English language in blacks ethnics had an impact on the lyrics of their songs. For example, the references to their gods became references to characters of the Holy Bible and the Old Testament. It is the birth of Negro Spirituals songs.

This music still expresses their need of freedom such as work songs but while work songs only spoke about their daily life, spirituals are inspired by the message of Jesus Christ. In fact, Negro Spirituals are songs which mixed African traditions with European melodies; it is the ancestor of Gospel hymns and Gospel songs.

A painting representing slaves in a plantation of Virginia's state.

The Old Plantation, by an unidentified artist

Source: http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/SlaveTrade/collection/large/NW01

In a lot of Negro Spirituals songs, the lyrics speak of a “free country” called “home” or “the Promise Land” which refers to the free countries, it means the countries of the Northern part of the United states where the status of slaves was different: they had some rights and liberties. (see the &comparison between two songs)

Map representing free states and slave states in 186

Source: United_States_1861-01-1861-02-04.png.

Slaves sang outside of the fields too, so this music was able to be secretly developed. Progressively, they started to accompany their songs with, first, makeshift instruments. Blacks begin to do their own religious offices in “praise houses”. However, this music is not as popular as Gospel will be at the beginning of the XXth century.

B- Civil War and abolition of slavery

Between 1861 and 1865, “the American Civil War” broke out in the United States. This civil war opposed the union of Northern states and several Southern states, because of the issue of the slavery. The opponents didn’t have the same vision of what the status of slave should be. Southern states had declared their secession -which is the act of withdrawing from an organization or especially a political entity- after Abraham Lincoln's election and so on, they formed the Confederate States of America.

In 1863, an important document was published: Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. It is a document which says that all slaves of the Southern States, which were not under Lincoln's authority, are free. It is a first step in the slavery's abolition but this text was of course not respected in the Confederate States until 1865. In 1865, slavery was truly abolished.

With this little point of History, we can see that the development of Negro Spirituals correspond to a first step in the Afro-American emancipation. Music is not the explanation of liberties gains for the blacks, but it is a way of expression of their needs and desires. The music helped to abolish slavery.

After 1865, some Afro-Americans were allowed to go to school. In some universities, as Fisk University (Nashville, Tennessee), some educators and students travelled in the USA and in Europe, and sang negro spirituals. Some bands started to be known, like for example Fisk Jubilee Singers. Even if slavery was not allowed anymore, the attitude of white toward blacks in American society stayed the same. It is called racial segregation, so even though slaves were emancipated, blacks continued to sing Spirituals in order to express their fights during the Reconstruction era, when slaves gain, little by little, some rights.

We can say that the first “black's churches” appeared in the 1890's. Celebrations totally differ from whites offices. “Shouts”, hand clapping, foot-stomping, those are the differences, celebrations in churches with happiness like it was in praise houses. At the same time, Negro Spirituals became more popular thanks to some composers who arranged Negro Spirituals in a new way.

The constant improvement of Negro Spirituals gave birth, little by little, to Gospel.

II. GOSPEL AND THE BEGINNING OF A NEW AGE

A- The birth of Gospel

Indeed, Negro Spiritual is the kind of music which inspired Gospel. Because Gospel, at the beginning, was a kind of religious music which was sang during the religious ceremonies, with dance, songs and happiness: Gospel hymns. But Gospel is also described like the democratization of Negro Spiritual's songs, we call this type of songs “Gospel songs”. Gospel is the adaptation of Negro Spiritual to the music market. The meaning of the word gospel is also multiple: it refers to Sacred Christian book with Apostles' gospels but we can also divide the word in two parts in order to create two other words: God and Spell, so it also means God's spell.

The Gospel hymns are a first stage towards the Gospel songs of 1930 and, the 1930's are the real beginning of the development of Gospel. From this date, Afro-American music really left the churches to general public. Specially thanks to a man: Thomas Andrew Dorsey. He was the first to composed new songs that he called himself Gospel songs, he is considered as the Father of Gospel.

Picture of Thomas A. Dorsey

Source: http://earlygospel.com/eg-origins.htm

B- Gospel in details: From Churches to radio

Gospel hymns' structure is almost the same than the spirituals: episodes of Gospels are turned to music during a dialogue sung between a leader and a choir. This kind of music is very dynamic and the soloists are here to guide the choir. But everybody in the choir can make some improvisation. The voices are accompanied by instruments like organs or stringed instruments. In church, Gospel allows the audience to participate and so to give to the ceremony a more alive side. But let us speak about differences between Gospel and Negro Spirituals. Those differences are mostly in the lyrics: Gospel makes more reference to Jesus Christ and to Apostles contrary to Negro Spirituals which rather evokes characters of the Old Testament.

But Gospel is not only in the churches but also on the radio. And Gospel songs spread other messages than the religious ones. (see comparison between two songs). This kind of music is indisputably a musical revolt against American racism. We spoke about the racial segregation which replaced slavery when this one was abolished. Music is still the way to express the pain of Afro-American recently emancipated, but still under the white authority. Moreover, Afro-Americans followed to envy North States' “freedom”. That is why Gospel was more popular in Northern towns, like Chicago for example.

Comparison between two songs

Negro Spiritual: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”

Swing low, sweet chariot,

Coming for to carry me home

Swing low, sweet chariot,