Public Reception of the Fisk Jubilee Singers

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Ella Yarris

The Fisk Jubilee singers are hailed as key pioneers of “concert spirituals”, arrangements of African-American spirituals meant for the stage. They were extremely successful in their earliest years, around the 1870s: they were invited to perform at the White House, Queen Victoria commissioned a floor-to-ceiling portrait of the original members as a gift, and they raised enough funds on tours in the US and Europe to build the first permanent building at Fisk University.

Jubilee Hall at Fisk University, funded by the Fisk Jubilee Singers tour

To investigate the public’s opinion of the Jubilee Singers, I looked to an article in The Aldine, a monthly arts magazine printed in New York during the 1800s. At first glance, the review (from March of 1873) is complimentary. However, upon closer reading, some misconceptions about the Fisk Jubilee Singers become apparent. This article is evidence of how, while the Fisk Jubilee Singers were extremely successful and popular, the public’s perspective during the 1870’s still upheld racist ideas that are often applied to musics outside of the European canon.

The first thing I would like to highlight to this point was that the author claimed the Singers’ skill was natural talent.

“They have art; but it is the product of a rich natural gift, polished by natural taste and discrimination […] A musical voice seems to be a characteristic endowment of their race,”

This idea that musical talent is passed down rather than taught can be historically seen associated with many non-European musical traditions, including African percussion and Appalachian banjo music (as we discussed in class). This tactic “others” the music, and fails to recognize the hard work of the musicians. In this case, although the author is complementing the Jubilee Singers, they also say that the group lacks “cultivation” and “scientific instruction,” a Eurocentric value judgement which reveals the problematic side of this claim.

A second comment of note in this article can be found when the author is discussing the songs that the Fisk Jubilee Singers perform.

“They are clearly not the product of civilization, and yet an instinct seems to have taught their makers to follow strict musical laws. Wild and irregular as many of them seem on first hearing […] the strangest phrases can be correctly expressed in musical notation.”

When the author refers to “musical laws” and upholds musical notation as the “scientific” way to do things, they imply that this is the right and true way to express music. This reminds me of how transcriptions of Native American music were thought to be sufficient by their creators, but when the transcriptions are compared to audio recordings, there are large discrepancies. In both cases, the European musical framework is assigned more value. In fact, the author says that the way spirituals follow “musical laws” despite their creators lack of formal musical education is proof that these laws are “what the ear requires,” a claim which is ill-conceived in multiple ways.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an inspiring success story, and they still perform today as one of the most acclaimed choirs in the country, often serving an ambassador role internationally. However, this review makes it clear that even in their success, the Jubilee Singers were not exempt from discrimination and bias in the public eye.

“MUSIC.: THE JUBILEE SINGERS.” The Aldine, A Typographic Art Journal (1871-1873), 03, 1873, 67, https://www.proquest.com/magazines/music/docview/124830318/se-2.

Fisk Jubilee Singers. “Our History.” Accessed October 2, 2024. https://fiskjubileesingers.org/about-the-singers-2/our-history/.

Sacred turned Spiritual

Posted on October 13, 2023 by Leigha Daniels

Henry Thacker (H.T) Burleigh, was a black American, classical composer who was known for his compositions and arrangements of spirituals. H.T. Burleigh was also an accomplished professional singer. “Harry Thacker Burleigh played a significant role in the development of American art song, having composed over two hundred works in the genre. He was the first African-American composer acclaimed for his concert songs as well as for his adaptations of African-American spirituals.”¹

“Burleigh was surrounded by music from a young age,” his mother was his first music teacher and throughout his childhood he was a dedicated church performer. As he grew older, sacred music was no longer his niche. Burleigh was quite the accomplished singer, he attended the National Conservatory in New York, eventually on scholarship. One important event/events that should be noted is that while Burleigh was at the National Conservatory, Antonín Dvořák became the director of the program. Throughout Burleigh’s time there, the two became quite close. Burleigh would often sing spirituals to Dvořák which he used as inspiration for some of his compositions and even used “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” as a theme in the first movement of his symphony “From the New World.”²

³
Burleigh wrote a few works based on plantation melodies he learned throughout his childhood. Among these few, “Deep River,” is one of the most famous and recognized spiritual songs. “It was soon normal for recitals to end with a group of spirituals. Musicians such as Roland Hayes, Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson made these songs a part of their repertoires.” Although we musicians know the voice type to be baritone, when Burleigh was publishing his music, most of the works were for “low voice.”

H.T. Burleigh’s contributions to music, most importantly African American spirituals, some instrumental, but mainly vocal music played a role in breaking down the racial barriers that existed and brought African American music to the forefront

1“H. T. Burleigh (1866-1949).” n.d. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035730

2“Harry Thacker Burleigh Biography.” 2016. Afrocentric Voices in “Classical” Music. February 10, 2016. http://www.afrovoices.com/wp/harry-thacker-burleigh-biography.

3Burleigh, H. T. (Harry Thacker), 1866-1949. Arranger. “Deep river : old Negro melody / arranged by H.T. Burleigh.” Digital Gallery. BGSU University Libraries, 23 May 2022, digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/collections/item/34006. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

Violent Notation: Harvey B. Gaul & Black Spirituals

Posted on October 12, 2023 by Mariana Rogan

Harvey B. Gaul was an organist and composer in the early 20th century. He worked in various church music positions across the country, but was based in Pittsburgh for 35 years of his career, and was a central fixture of the music community in the city. He is even memorialized by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble’s composition contest, which bears his name.¹

During his prolific career as a composer and church musician, Gaul arranged a few spirituals/folk songs of African-American origin. There are two such examples that I found. The first is a song titled “Ain’t It a Shame,” which is published alongside another song under the larger title “Negro [sic] Dialect Songs.” The other is called “South Carolina Croon Song.” This latter work cites a lyricist named Will Deems, but I was unable to find any information about him. Although definitely not a unique case in his time, Gaul’s arrangements demonstrate perfectly the idea that using notation to transcribe non-Western classical music can be a violent act.

Title and Subtitle from “Ain’t It a Shame” sheet music.

What struck me about the first tune was the title of the larger work, which attributes these songs to Black Americans. Yet the credited arranger being Gaul, and the origin being as vague as an entire race, Gaul is the only one who benefits materially from the publication of this tune. Any sense of giving credit through this title is overshadowed by every other aspect of arrangement. The use of the word “dialect” also seems to other this song by distinguishing the way that Black Americans speak and sing from the way that White Americans do. The subtitle for the tune also labels it as a “semi-spiritual.”² This appeared odd to me, as it has religious themes, and there’s nothing I have noticed about the tune that would disqualify it as a spiritual. There is an overall sense from these elements of the sheet music that the tunes are not taken entirely seriously as worthwhile music.

Note about the origins of the “South Carolina Croon Song”

The “South Carolina Croon Song,” despite the title not referring to dialect in the way the other tune does, features lyrics that are notated to indicate the vernacular speech of Black Americans in the south. “Don’ yo’ hear yo’ pappy play de banjo chune?”³ is just one example of this. The sheet music also features a note at the bottom of the first page that says, “Sung by an old Mammy on a South Carolina Plantation on the Back River.”⁴ This is just plain lazy citation. This woman is not named, and the descriptor “old Mammy” could very easily be interpreted as a diminutive. The written elements of this arrangement already demonstrate a lack of respect for the origins of the music that is being exploited by Gaul.

Finally, what was most striking evidence of the violence of Gaul’s notation of these tunes was the recording I found of White American contralto Kathryn Meisle performing “South Carolina Croon Song.” In the citation, it even indicates that perhaps Will Deems was a pseudonym for Gaul, and not a real lyricist. The recording creates this romanticized vision of the “old Mammy” singing this tune on the “Back River.” The mournful orchestral accompaniment, and the distinctly operatic style of singing are all evidence of a desperate attempt to take a folk tune and cram it into the Western classical tradition. Gaul’s transcriptions are gross misappropriations of these tunes, beyond any justification of preservation or appreciation.

⁵

1 Library of Congress. “Harvey Bartlett Gaul (1881-1945).” Accessed October 12, 2023. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200185354/.

2 “Aint It a Shame : Negro Dialect Song.” Chicago, Ill. : Clayton F. Summy, 1927. Blockson Sheet Music. Temple University Libraries. https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p15037coll1/id/5202.

3 “South Carolina Croon Song.” Boston: Oliver Ditson Company, 1922. Vocal Popular Sheet Music Collection. University of Maine. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5657&context=mmb-vp.

4 Ibid.

5 Library of Congress. “South Carolina Croon Song,” October 7, 1924. https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-71482/.

H.T. Burleigh – Life and Legacy

Posted on October 12, 2023 by Rachel Dumont

Harry Thacker Burleigh (Photo by Carl Van Vechten, Courtesy Van Vechten Trust)

Harry Thacker Burleigh, better known as H.T. Burleigh, was the first and most influential Black composer to rise to large success post- Civil War. He was widely known for his perservation and arrangemtn of traditional Black spirituals and plantation songs. Without his work, most likely most of the songs that come to mind when we think of “spirituals” would be lost in the past. A singer and composer as well as an arranger, Burleigh composed more than 300 works.¹His work was hugely influential and brought Black music to the Western classical music stage for the first time.

Born on December 2, 1866 in Erie, Pennsylvania, Burleigh showed an early passion and talent for music. He grew up learning these spirituals and folk songs from his maternal grandmother and singing in the church choir. However, he was unable to afford formal musical training until 1892, when he attended the National Conservatory of Music in New York City.²During his time there, he studied under and work closely with composer Antonín Dvořák, who was director of the conservatory.³ This relationship was very influential in fostering Burleigh’s love of spirituals and folk songs. Burleigh was dedicated to preserving the traditional flavor and sprit of these songs, and Dvořák was supportive of this. Dvořák was so inspired by this musical tradition that he wrote themes inspired by many of Burleigh’s melodies, for example in his “From the New World” Symphony no. 9 in E minor.⁴Burleigh was an incredibly accomplished musician despite being discriminate against every step of the way. A popular baritone singer, he sang as the soloist at St. George’s Church for 50 years and was the soloist at Temple Emanuel for 25 years.⁵ He even sang at a command performance for King Edward VI of England and received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Harvard and Masters of Music from Atlanta University. He was the first Black American to serve on the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers board of directors, and received the Spingarn Acheivement Medal in 1917 from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.⁶ I mention all these accomplishments because I believe it is important to spotlight Black Americans such as H.T. Burleigh who paved the way for so many others. His work brought Black music into the spotlight and made accessible to the average concert-goer for the first time. His arrangements of spirituals for solo voice were incredibly influential in American music – Burleigh, for the first time, brought Black music to the western classical music stage. He presented these spirituals as fine art songs, and Black music was more accessible to the concert world than ever before. While they strayed from their original performance style greatly, Burleigh was still dedicated to preserving the traditional roots and “flavor” of these songs in composed form.

Above is an example of Burleigh’s arrangement of one of the most famous spirituals arranged for solo voice, “Wade in de Water”. It’s important to note that Burleigh kept the original dialect in his arrangements, rather than completely Westernizing the songs for the classical stage. Burleigh was adamant about preserving the sacred nature of this musical tradition. As he states in the introduction of his 1917 “Negro Spriritauls Arranged for Solo Voice”,

“Their worth is weakened unless they are done impressively, for through all these songs there breathes a hope, a faith in the ultimate justice and brotherhood of man. The cadences of sorrow invariably turn ot joy, and the message is ever manifest that eventually deliverance from all that hinders and oppresses the soul will come, and man – every man – will be free.” – H.T. Burleigh

1 Erickson, Shannon. “Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) •.” •, 19 May 2021, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/burleigh-harry-thacker-1866-1949/.

2 Bauer, Pat. “Harry Thacker Burleigh.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 8 Sept. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Harry-Thacker-Burleigh.

3 Erickson, Shannon. “Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) •.” •, 19 May 2021, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/burleigh-harry-thacker-1866-1949/.

4 “H. T. Burleigh (1866-1949).” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035730#:~:text=Harry%20Thacker%20Burleigh%20played%20a,adaptations%20of%20African%2DAmerican%20spirituals. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

5 Bauer, Pat. “Harry Thacker Burleigh.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 8 Sept. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Harry-Thacker-Burleigh.

6 Erickson, Shannon. “Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) •.” •, 19 May 2021, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/burleigh-harry-thacker-1866-1949/.

Harry Burleigh’s Foreword to Spirituals

Posted on October 12, 2023 by Thomas McCarthy

One of the best known spirituals in the United States is Deep River. Though, like all spirituals and folk songs, its origins are unknown, it was popularized in the early 20th century by Black American composer Harry Burliegh. In Burleigh’s first published arrangement of Deep River, he provides an account of the origins of spirituals. This foreword allows us to glimpse into the mind of Black American musicians in the early 20th century and see some of their thoughts on the history of spirituals, and their intended uses within society.

Burleigh asserts that the spirituals “sprang into life…from the white heat of religious fervor…” and that they are the “ecstatic utterance of wholly untutored minds.”¹ Burleigh seems invested in distancing spirituals from any sort of academic or “art song” contexts. In fact, Burleigh argues that the spirituals are “the only music in America which fits the scientific definition of Folk Song.”¹ Burleigh wants to make it abundantly clear that the spirituals are a natural outgrowth of Black culture in America.

This foreword also highlights some of the struggles that Black Americans faced with regards to appropriation of spirituals. Burleigh specifically says that the spirituals are not to be used in minstrel performances.¹
He asserts that these songs must be “done impressively,” otherwise their message is cheapened.¹

In these ideas, we see two aspects of spirituals that Burleigh is hoping to solidify the importance of. The first is that spirituals are not art songs, or the results of academic inquiry, but rather the result of an entire culture creating music spontaneously. The second is that these songs should be treated with the respect and dignity that any art song or religious statement would be treated. Burleigh is arguing that the spirituals are derived far from the theaters and concert halls, but that they should now be performed in these venues with the same reverence that audiences apply to other beloved works of the western classical canon.

1 Burliegh, Henry Thacker. “Deep River : Old Negro Melody / Arranged by H.T. Burleigh.” Digital Gallery, May 23, 2022. https://digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/collections/item/34006.

Harry Thacker Burleigh’s Spirituals

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Carter Allen-Weyenberg

Harry T. Burleigh; Photo by Mishkin, New York, 1922. Creator: Unknown. (Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Harry Thacker Burleigh was a trail blazer in for African American composers during the 19^th and 20^th centuries. One of the main things he was known for was the arranging of many different Negro spirituals.[1] He studied at the New York National Conservatory was noticed by Antonin Dvorak, and he hired Burleigh to be a librarian for him. During this time, he composed his first art songs. These initial compositions included plantation and minstrel songs, one such song we’re going to look at more in depth is ‘Steal Away.’

H.T. Burleigh prefaces his arrangement with saying that these spirituals were never composed, rather they had sprung to life through white religious oppression. These songs are not to be confused with minstrel songs; they have a more serious connotation. Steal away was published in nineteen twenty-one and very quickly became popular. He was one of the first composers to bring Negro spirituals to concert halls.[2] Unfortunately having to adjust to the times, these spirituals had to be brought to western classical tradition. I think that throughout constant oppression and lack of representation, Burleigh should be celebrated as one of the first to pioneer black composition in the Western Classical Tradition. With the shortcomings of American culture, I believe that we should take the time to recognize the first of many Black composers starting to take the spotlight of the 20^th century.

Burleigh, Harry Thacker. 1921. “Steal Away.” Digital.library.temple.edu. 1921.

These spirituals were not just popular during the time of their composition, it is still being sung by vocalists today. Below you will hear a recording from Indra Thomas, the lyrics are very obviously bleeding spiritual feeling. The repetition really drives the spirituality home, repeating “Steal away to Jesus” multiple times before hearing other lyrics. That line is the main motive that the composition returns to on three separate occasions. Whenever we diverge from these initial lyrics, they sing about the sounds of a trumpet ringing in their soul. The trumpet is usually accredited to being a very spiritual instrument, trying to ‘wake up’ sinners and calling them to repent.

Citations

Burleigh, Harry Thacker. 1921. “Steal Away.” Digital.library.temple.edu. 1921. https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p15037coll1/id/5268.

Burleigh, Harry Thacker, and Indra Thomas. 2012. Steal Away. Great Day! Delos.

Erickson, Shannon. 2008. “Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) •.” Black Past. June 7, 2008. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/burleigh-harry-thacker-1866-1949/.

Library of Congress. n.d. “H. T. Burleigh (1866-1949).” Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035730/.

“What the Bible Says about Symbolism of Trumpets.” n.d. Www.bibletools.org. https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/11077/Symbolism-Trumpets.htm.

‌

[1] Snyder, Jean. “Burleigh, Henry [Harry] T(hacker).” Grove Music Online. 16 Oct. 2013; Accessed 10 Oct. 2023. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002248537.

[2] Erickson, Shannon. 2008. “Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) •.” Black Past. June 7, 2008. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/burleigh-harry-thacker-1866-1949/.

‌

H. T. Burleigh’s Compositional Moods

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Rachel Christensen

“Little Mother of Mine” spiritual arranged by H. T. Burleigh.¹

H. T. Burleigh (Harry Thacker Burleigh) played a significant role in the development of American music as he composed over 200 pieces in this genre. He was the first African American acclaimed for his concert pieces and a founding member of American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).² After passing in 1949, Burleigh is thought to be one of the most significant contributors to American music especially through his arrangements of African American spiritual that are said to have “transported a musical tradition that was born out of the plight of enslaved people, onto the concert stage, where they are revered as masterful examples of uniquely American music.”³

Burleigh was able to arrange the piece “Little Mother of Mine,” to convey the sentimental meaning of the text through compositional techniques. The half-step motif seen in the left hand countermelodies throughout highlights certain expressive words like “twilight,” “evening,” and “west” which are important in the meaning of this text. Burleigh’s compositional choices such as using “sevenths, non chord tones, and chromatic melodic notes” are “frequently expressive devices in his songs, often indicating a bittersweet or sad emotion.”⁴ This is a subtle strategy used by Burleigh but it effectively allows him to convey the mood of the text.

Burleigh demonstrates the emotion of this text through how he differentiates the first verse from the second. The second verse is accompanied “memorable countermelodies and richer chordal textures” in the piano accompaniment.⁵ This further emphasizes the mood of the text. It is subtle, but a very effective strategy of arrangement by H. T. Burleigh.

Bibliography

Burleigh, H. T. “Little Mother of Mine.” CONTENTDM, 1917. https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p15037coll1/id/6179.

Sears, Ann. “‘A Certain Strangeness’: Harry T. Burleigh’s Art Songs and Spiritual Arrangements.” Black Music Research Journal 24, no. 2 (2004): 227–49. https://doi.org/10.2307/4145492.

Footnotes

1“H. T. Burleigh (1866-1949),” The Library of Congress, accessed October 10, 2023, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035730.

2“H. T. Burleigh (1866-1949),” The Library of Congress, accessed October 10, 2023, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035730.

3“H. T. Burleigh (1866-1949),” The Library of Congress, accessed October 10, 2023, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035730.

4 Ann Sears, “‘A Certain Strangeness’: Harry T. Burleigh’s Art Songs and Spiritual Arrangements.” Black Music Research Journal 24, no. 2 (2004): 227–49. https://doi.org/10.2307/4145492.

5Ann Sears, “‘A Certain Strangeness’: Harry T. Burleigh’s Art Songs and Spiritual Arrangements.” Black Music Research Journal 24, no. 2 (2004): 227–49. https://doi.org/10.2307/4145492.

Spirituals as Advocacy

Posted on October 6, 2023 by Katya Jarmulowicz

H. T. Burleigh composed beloved arrangements of Black spirituals for voice and piano, and as a result became one of the most well known Black composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.¹As an influential proponent of the development of the spiritual as an art genre, much of his beliefs and practices legitimized Black folk music within the classical music tradition.²In addition to a prolific compositional career, he had an extensive career as a vocalist and performed internationally.³

“Deep River” arrangement for voice and piano; by H.T. Burleigh ⁷

During Burleigh’s life, Black-face minstrelsy was the most prominent form of entertainment in popular culture.⁴Minstrel shows are unquestionably racist and dehumanizing towards Black people, featuring a combination of expropriated folk music and dance performed by demeaning caricatures. In his edition of “Deep River,” Burleigh comments on the ability of spirituals, when performed well, to express hope, faith, and justice.⁵Additionally, he acknowledges the prevalence of Blackface minstrelsy and warns against the use of the spiritual in a way that is an inappropriate imitation of vocal inflection and body language for the sake of racially extortive humor.⁶

H.T. Burleigh, “Deep River” preface ⁹

Not only were spirituals a way to uplift the Black community and counter the damage being done through minstrelsy, but their ability to empower was recognized and used to advocate for other groups as well. An example of the use of the Black spiritual as a means for advocacy is the work of Paul Robeson, who spoke out on the behalf of the lower class and other marginalized groups. ⁸It seems as though the development of spirituals as art songs coincided with the practice of minstrelsy. However, minstrelsy expropriated black folk songs as a method of dehumanizing and profiting from the marginalization of Black people, while Burleigh’s work with Spirituals helped to legitimize Black folk music and empower other marginalized communities.

1 Dickinson, Peter, H. Wiley Hitchcock, and Keith E. Clifton. “Art song in the United States.” Grove Music Online. 25 Jul. 2013; Accessed 5 Oct. 2023. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002240068.

2 Bell, Danna. 2018. “Link to the Library of Congress: Harry T. Burleigh—The Man Who Brought African-American Spirituals to the Classical Stage.” Music Educators Journal 104 (4): 9–11. doi:10.1177/0027432118767819.

3 Ibid.

4 Lott, Eric, and Greil Marcus. Love and theft: Blackface minstrelsy and the American working class. Oxford University Press, 2013.

5 “Deep River : Old Negro Melody / Arranged by H.T. Burleigh.” Omeka RSS. Accessed October 6, 2023. https://digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/collections/item/34006.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Riis, Thomas. “Robeson, Paul.” Grove Music Online. 31 Jan. 2014; Accessed 6 Oct. 2023. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002257958.

9 Ibid.

Differentiating Types of Cultural Appropriation: White Choirs & African American Spirituals

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Aiden Kocian

It was on April 23rd, 1929 that for the first time in New York African American spirituals were performed by a white choir at Mother Zion A.M.E church- an all black congregation. This performance was a landmark for the American choral tradition where the practice of spirituals in mostly or all white choirs is still a hotly debated topic. The performance on this fated Friday in the early 1900s was documented as well received¹, despite the interpretation of H.T. Burleigh’s arrangements (of which the concert was entirely programmed) by a white conductor and choir.

Little Known Black History Facts: Harry T. Burleigh

H.T. Burleigh, b. 1866 was an African-American composer, baritone, and arranger of spirituals that are still performed to this day.²

Dr. Carl Reiland, the rector of St. George, spoke to how important Burleigh was as an American composer and a preserver of African American music in an appearance after the performance. In the current day, almost a century after the performance cited in this post, I was in my own choir rehearsal discussing proper performance practice for spirituals. My choir director, Anton Armstrong, is currently heralded as one of the leading voices on authentic performances of spirituals by mostly white choirs.

He says that choosing to program spirituals for the St. Olaf Choir is how he brought a part of himself to the predominately white lutheran choral tradition on campus. His colleague in this specific field, Andre J. Thomas, speaks to how choirs can perform spirituals authentically and respectfully regardless of the predominant race of the choir. Citing an article by famed black choral composer and spiritual arranger Rollo Dilworth, Thomas speaks to the difference between acceptable and objectionable cultural appropriation.³

Give Me Jesus (arr. Rollo Dilworth) Sheet Music | Traditional Spiritual | SATB Choir

The first page of Rollo Dilworth’s arrangement of traditional spiritual “Give Me Jesus”⁴
.

Here is an excerpt from Dilworth’s aforementioned article- I include this entire paragraph because I feel his idea here is explained perfectly and to interpret it in any way other than how he himself has worded it would be disrespectful.

When does cultural appropriation become objectionable? Dilworth points to three more definitions from Young. When an outsider takes, without permission, property that belongs to another culture, that’s “cultural appropriation as theft.” If, for example, he were to incorporate a digeridoo part into a piece of music without permission from the indigenous Australian community that developed the instrument, Dilworth says he would be committing theft, even if his intent were respectful. If he published the piece and made money from it, the offense level would rise to “cultural appropriation as assault,” because the act would cause harm to the insider culture or its members. Cultural appropriation becomes a “profound offense” when the act offends a person’s moral sensibilities, provoking a gut reaction.⁵

Looking upon the modern choral scene and the place that spirituals have in it- I can now look back upon my experiences with singing spirituals in the St. Olaf Choir. Anytime we sing spirituals, Dr. Armstrong will typically ask us to change our pronunciations of certain words and will often say “you don’t have to pronounce it like an all black choir, but I don’t want you pronouncing it like an all white choir- because the fact of the matter it that you aren’t an all white choir.”

I would personally encourage more performers, musicologists, composers, and conductors to incorporate Dilworth’s ideas of objectionable and acceptable cultural appropriation. Especially in the cultural climate of today, race and identity in art are topics that we need to address- and more importantly have tools to address that draw clear lines between what is right and what is wrong. I for one hope that a more unified idea of what is authentic and proper performance practice for certain kinds of choral music reveals itself to academia in the future so that music can continue to be preserved and performed in culturally and historically enriching ways.

Works Cited:

https://www.proquest.com/docview/226345003/B446A6DFB26F46E8PQ/1?accountid=3511

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/09/12/little-known-black-history-facts-harry-t-burleigh/2

http://youtube.co/watch?v=0yeiGNRnpMM3

https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/429107/Product.aspx4

https://chorusamerica.org/article/cultural-appropriation-culture-stealing-culture-sharing#:~:text=When%20an%20outsider%20takes%2C%20without,instrument%2C%20Dilworth%20says%20he%20would5

Defining ‘American Music’

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Chris Kopits

It feels fitting to write a blogpost on ‘American Music’ and who owns it after studying this question for an entire semester. According to The Chicago Defender, it is the song of the enslaved people that truly inspired (or birthed, in their own words) American music. The beginning of this article describes the argument that white people are the source of American music rather than that of bipoc and enslaved people. The Chicago Defender wastes no time in correcting this absurd sentiment. The author goes on to write about bipoc composers, writers and musicians. The author similarly takes a world view that all races are musical, and the truth of their being is expressed through their music. This I agree with, music expresses more than any other medium does. This expression, according to the author is one of divinity, and is an extension of God’s Way. While I don’t consider myself religious (a source of implicit bias I have) the sentiment of the author makes sense.

While we may never have a full encapsulation of what ‘American music’ truly is, it most certainly includes those of bipoc people.

Work Cited

“… AMERICAN MUSIC BORN OF THE NEGRO RACE: “SLAVE SPIRITUALS” OF THE BONDSMAN WERE GOD’S WAY OF CLAIMING KIN TO HIM–ORIGINATION OF PLANTATION MELODIES FINDS ITS BASIS IN EQUATION OF HIGHER LAWS NEGROES LEAD MUSIC WORLD AMERICAN NEGROES WERE FAMED FOR THEIR MUSICAL LEARNING BEFORE THE EMANCIPATION, AND WERE RECEIVED THEN AS NOW IN THE WORLD’S GREATEST MUSICAL CULTURE.” The Chicago Defender (Big Weekend Edition) (1905-1966), 1916, pp. 3. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/american-music-born-negro-race/docview/493310451/se-2.

Nobody Knows the Trouble They Lived Through

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Chris Kopits

H.T. Burleigh’s arrangements of these spirituals encapsulate the lives and struggles of enslaved people forced to work on a plantation. These two recordings are of the spirituals, Nobody Knows de Trouble I’ve Seen and Deep River, arranged by H.T. Burleigh, a prolific black composer, arranger and singer of the early 20th century. These tracks feature the voice of Oscar Seagle, a baritone and prominent musician at the time. They were both recorded in New York by the Columbia label. Burleigh arranges – and later records – these plantation songs as a way to re-popularize spirituals and to provide a rich sentiment to listeners of the culture of plantation songs. We have spent a while talking about spirituals and how they act as a lens into life on a plantation, talking in code to tell directions on how and when to escape enslavement. We also talked about the different kinds of plantation songs, those with stronger beats being work songs and others being different and more emotional. These pieces were likely not work songs, as they are melancholy and deeply emotional. Each of these pieces are also codes. Nobody knows concludes with a positive text, that soon the singer will be in heaven, and if anyone gets there before them, tell the singer’s friends that they’re coming. Deep River speaks of a campground and wanting to leave, which could have been code for if an enslaved person was going to leave. These are references to leaving enslavement and finding a better place, one without slavery, and with freedom. I wanted to look at these two pieces as they provide the listener with a deep context as to the struggles and lives of enslaved people and the looking forward that they would one day no longer be enslaved. This, at its core, is truly American music.

Bibliography
Burleigh, H. T, and Oscar Seagle. Nobody knows de trouble I’ve seen. 1917. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-879940/.

Burleigh, H. T, and Oscar Seagle. Deep River. 1916. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-655500/.

The evolution of African American spirituals into western classical music

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Calvin Reyes

Since the beginning of African American music, the genre has evolved many times due in part to outside influences from other cultures and societal changes in America. Sorrow Songs became spirituals, which would eventually merge with western classical music. James Bland and H.T. Burleigh were some of the most influential African American composers in America during the turn of the 20th century. Due to their western education, they were able to effectively popularize and represent African American spirituals by combining the words and themes of spirituals with western classical compositions and arrangements.

James Bland was an African American minstrel performer and composer, some of his most famous compositions were “Carry me back to old Virginny” and “In the evening by the moonlight”. “Carry me back to old Virginny” is written from the perspective of a freedperson wanting to go back to the days of slavery. In this recording, the song is sung by a quartet of male singers and when reading the lyrics, the perspective of the singers seems to be that being enslaved wasn’t as bad as one might think. Although the song represents an African American point of view, the arrangement of the song is more western, with clear voicings for each member and more harmonized than previous forms of African American music which wouldn’t normally have this organized form.

The integration of western classical music into African American spirituals was even more apparent in Bland’s “In the evening by the moonlight”, a song about the experience of slaves. This recording starts with a western orchestral intro and much like the previously mentioned song, there is a lot more structure and harmonization in this piece. Interestingly, the pronunciations in the recording are also more “proper” English, rather than the English that was originally written in the lyrics.

H.T. Burleigh was surrounded by music from a young age, performing at local churches and events and later became famous for his adaptations of African American spirituals. Some of his most famous works are “Deep river” and “Go down Moses”. “Deep river” is a song of hope that expresses a desire for peace and freedom. From the sheet music, we can see that the piece begins with piano chords that this is not a traditional spiritual that might have been passed orally, rather it is a well notated piece meant to express the experiences of African Americans in a western style.

The lyrics in “Go down Moses” don’t specifically relate to African Americans or even America, however, it was still meant to express many of the feelings of enslaved African Americans. When listening to this recording and looking at the sheet music, the accompanying parts are very intricate and western compared to what traditional spirituals might have done. Moreover, this song seems to have a structure where rather than having a call and response with other singers, the accompaniment has short interjections that just continue the melody.

I think that another important note that all of these recordings have in common is that the vocalists all seem to be classically trained compared to previous African American music where the performers weren’t necessarily trained. The main causes of this seem to be the notation of the music as well as more western influence. In my opinion, the notation of spirituals has prevented them from being lost to time or lack of representation, however, bias can also affect which spirituals get notated and which will be forgotten. The integration of western styles and instrumentation with spirituals seems to be a good idea in terms of increasing popularity and representation among other works in the US, but I wonder whether or not the songs still hold the same weight now that they have been combined with western music.

References:

Bland, James A, Columbia Stellar Quartette, and James A Bland. Carry me back to old Virginia. 1919. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-651610/>.

Bland, James A, et al. In the Evening by the Moonlight. 1908. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-121558/>.

Burleigh, H. T, and Oscar Seagle. Deep River. 1916. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-655500/>.

Burleigh, H. T. Deep river song: old Negro melody. G. Ricordi, New York, monographic, 1916. Notated Music. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2011562023/>.

“Go down, Moses; Let My People Go! / Historic American Sheet Music / Duke Digital Repository.” Duke Digital Collections, https://repository.duke.edu/dc/hasm/n0708.

“In Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana.” IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana – Item Details, https://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inharmony/detail.do?action=detail&fullItemID=%2Flilly%2Fdevincent%2FLL-SDV-232069.

“In the Evening by the Moonlight.” High Brown Songs, 28 Apr. 2022, https://sheetmusicsinger.com/highbrownsongs/in-the-evening-by-the-moonlight/.

Lapitino, Francis J, et al. Go down Moses. 1924. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-69931/>.

The Plantation Songs Known as Spirituals – Go Down, Moses, H. T. Burleigh

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Chris Kopits

While looking through the Sheet Music Consortium, it occurred to me to look into songs I had some base familiarity with. Go Down, Moses is a very popular spiritual which originated from enslaved African Americans on plantations. The song itself refers to Moses and the Hebrew people. In said story, the Hebrews are held captive by the Pharaoh. God tells Moses through the story of the burning bush to free his people from the Egyptian tyrant. Through sending plagues, flocks of locus, making the red sea red with blood and more catastrophes, the Pharaoh agrees to let the Hebrew people go. To the enslaved African Americans working their lives away, this spiritual was the promise of emancipation.

Included above are the notes in the front cover from H.T. Bureigh on the difference between spiritual and minstrel, how to perform this piece, and what this piece and these words mean. H.T. Burleigh writes about how to perform this piece, and what it means for African Americans. To begin with, a spiritual is so much more than just a song. It represents a message of freedom and hope to for the performer and their audience. The goal of a spiritual is to stir the people and help them think in a different way, or further affirm their beliefs. In order to sing correctly, you have to have soul, more than correctness of pitches. Burleigh invites the singer to feel the words, so that every man will be free. Minstrelsy was a crude misrepresentation of black people and their culture. Spirituals deserve respect and recognition as pillars of American music. Few were better at arranging these soulful spirituals as H.T. Burleigh.

On the topic of H.T. Burleigh, in Music 345, we have studied Burleigh, so that name likely rings a bell. H.T. Burleigh was one of the first prominent black composers. In his life, Burleigh had a small singing career and arranged art song but focused mostly on arranging and composing spirituals. His works are still performed to this day, about a hundred years later. The song itself has stood the test of time, being one of the most popular spirituals ever. But just as the song stands the test of time, so does this story. His words, in the front cover of Go Down, Moses invoke the message of the spiritual. This, of course, is something we continue to strive for today as a society. And yet, people still need to hear these words in order to believe them, and to understand that all people must be free.

Go Down, Moses; Let My People Go!, Burleigh, H. T. (Harry Thacker), 1917, Accessed 10/20/2022.

African American Sorrow Songs and Spirituals

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Calvin Reyes

The term “sorrow songs” was coined by W.E.B. DuBois and represented songs that expressed the suffering and unjust treatment of enslaved African Americans throughout the period of slavery in the US. Sorrow songs conveyed sadness and the lyrics and melodies were often very direct about the experiences that African Americans had while enslaved. DuBois commented that although the songs were unknown to him, he knew the songs as a part of himself.

Many of the Sorrow Songs and Negro folk songs had lots of spiritual references because the only book that was read to slaves was the bible. Although Sorrow Songs implies hardships and literal sadness, there were still many songs that represented hopes and aspirations for a better future. The lyrics of these more hopeful songs would start with the hardships of slavery and gravitate towards a lighter topic of being enlightened by Christianity and the hope and faith that God will look over the slaves.

Due to the deep and meaningful lyrics in Sorrow Songs, many leaders and teachers recognized the significance of these songs for African American culture. They would often teach the importance of the melodies and lyrics of the songs and stress the respect that younger African Americans should have for their music. In a news article from the Chicago Defender in 1922, “A History of Music That Moved World: Story of Songs of Hope That Came From the Hearts of Slaves”, the author argues that these songs were so important for African Americans was because they were created by African Americans to express the African American experience through slavery. Moreover, the author states that certain other Negro folk songs don’t hold as much weight because although they reflected the African American experience, they were written by white men.

Although the term Sorrow Songs has become less prevalent and spirituals are more commonly known, the experiences represented through Sorrow Songs have not been lost to time. Spirituals have since evolved from the slave songs and Sorrow songs to become more polished forms of music that still maintain their characteristic moods that were created under intense hardships and deep sorrows.

References:

“A History of Music that Moved World: Story of Songs of Hope that Came from the Hearts of Slaves.” The Chicago Defender (National edition) (1921-1967), Dec 30, 1922, pp. 13. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/history-music-that-moved-world/docview/491968896/se-2.

Nobody knows the trouble I see sheet music. Easy Sheet Music. (2021, April 11). Retrieved October 10, 2022, from http://easysheetmusic.altervista.org/nobody-knows-the-trouble-i-see-sheet-music-guitar-chords-lyrics/

Peyton, Dave. “THE MUSICAL BUNCH: THINGS IN GENERAL SLAVE SONGS.” The Chicago Defender (National edition) (1921-1967), Nov 17, 1928, pp. 6. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/musical-bunch/docview/492211749/se-2.

Spiritual lyrics: Oh freedom. Negro Spiritual/Slave Song Lyrics for Oh Freedom. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2022, from http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/negro-spirituals/oh_freedom.htm

W.E.B. Du Bois. “”The Sorrow Songs,” from The Souls of Black Folk”. Book excerpt, 1903. From Teaching American History. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-sorrow-songs/

Sylvan Worship

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Dayo Ogunmodede

First of all, I would like to say that this is an incredible database! I had no idea that there was a collection of these African American newspapers that spans more than a century.

It took me a few tries to find a nice buzz word to put into the database search. I found that the word “spiritual” got me results that most relate to this course. This text “Sylvan Worship” was a bit difficult for me to read at first. This newspaper doesn’t make clear who Curtis, the narrator of the text, was. This made it hard for me to fully comprehend what they were saying without the slightest bit of background. Because all of the texts from this database are from African American newspapers (or other types of text), I first assumed that the narrator was black. However, the more I read, the more I felt that this person was from the African American community. This is not based on his knowledge or opinions on the topic of African American spirituals, but the language he used to speak on the topic was from an outsider point of view. In this sentence, “No race is more devotional than the African and to no class of people does the camp meeting revival prove so effectual as with them.” it sounds like Curtis is making statements based on his own observations of Africans and African Americans as an outsider.

Whether or not Curtis is African American, his points are huge generalizations and he doesn’t really use specific examples to illustrate these points. This definitely would not slide in a modern-day discussion (especially in our class).

After reading the text over one more time, I have a strong feeling that Curtis is not black.

“‘Sylvan Worship.’.” Weekly Louisianian (New Orleans, Louisiana), September 18, 1875: 1. Readex: African American Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANAAA&docref=image/v2%3A12B767D21CB17968%40EANAAA-12BEC31400554038%402406150-12BC002A0EA02018%400-12D621523A4D1068%40%2522Sylvan%2BWorship.%2522.

H. T. Burleigh on the Performance of Black Spirituals

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Micah Dombrower

In searching through the Sheet Music Consortium, I came across several spirituals arranged by H. T. Burleigh. These publications, such as Oh Peter Go Ring Dem Bells, include a note written by Burleigh about spirituals, in which he describes them as “never ‘composed,’” but “spontaneous outbursts of intense religious fervor.” He touches on other topics we have discussed in class as well, writing that they are “practically the only music in America which meets the scientific definition of Folk Song,” and warning that they should not be treated as “‘minstrel’ songs.”¹

Following his statement on folk music, he writes:

“Success in singing these Folk Songs is primarily dependent upon deep spiritual feeling. The voice is not nearly so important as the spirit; and then the rhythm, for the Negro’s soul is linked with rhythm, and it is an essential characteristic of most all the Folk Songs.”¹

Here Burleigh seems to be arguing for an authenticity in both the feeling behind a performance and the presentation of the performance as rooted in the history of spirituals as black music.

On the other hand, he elaborates on his warning not to treat spirituals as minstrel songs with the following:

“It is a serous misconception to . . . try to make them funny by a too literal attempt to imitate the manner of the Negro in singing them, by swaying the body, clapping the hands, or striving to make the particular inflections of voice that are natural with the colored people. Their worth is weakened unless they are done impressively . . .”¹

Obviously trying to make a serious song comical undermines it, but I was struck by the extent to which Burleigh connects an unworthy and unimpressive presentation directly with how literally black performance practice is imitated. “Swaying the body,” “clapping the hands,” and singing in dialect are all things that St. Olaf’s choirs, for example, do in an effort to present the music with “deep spiritual feeling,” as Burleigh encourages earlier. He also writes, “the voice is not nearly so important as the spirit,” yet he implies that the very things here connected to the spirit take away from the spirituals’ worth. Though he is discussing making a song comical, he strongly suggests that imitation of black performance practice itself is antithetical to an impressive performance.

H. T. Burleigh’s note in Negro Spirituals: Oh Peter Go Ring Dem Bells¹

Maybe this is simply because black performance practice at the time could not be separated from minstrel comedy. This could allow for the St. Olaf choirs’ use of elements of black performance practice in a time when it is no longer so directly connected to minstrelsy in audiences’ ears. However, Burleigh was also a major part of the movement to “legitimize” black spirituals by arranging them in a Western classical style. Given this, he could have indeed viewed the “spirit” he talks of as needing to be presented through a white musical context in order to give it legitimacy. On the other hand, if he was writing for a white audience, his message may have been at least partly motivated by his not wanting imitation of black performance practice by non-black performers. Whatever the reasons for the specific performance considerations he discusses, though, this short statement on black spirituals shows some of the many complexities that accompany their performance.

1 Burleigh, H. T. Negro Spirituals: Oh Peter Go Ring Dem Bells. Sheet music. New York: G. Ricordi, 1918. Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection. https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p15037coll1/id/5379.

“Oh, Peter, Go Ring Dem Bells.” YouTube video, 1:20, posted by Marian Anderson – Topic, Nov 8, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztVoWTRoyMc.

What Makes a Spiritual?

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Addison Tryon

In combing through the archives to find documents that would be valid proof for my blog post, the problem of preservation and what counts as music that should be highlighted as an authentic expression of what it means to be a black American in the late 1800s kept bothering me and continues to do so.

Epstein notes the fact that the songs that were created by black Americans in the lat 1800s were not recorded for posterity, like corn songs.¹
We know that there are a number of songs that failed to be preserved and passed down that told the experience of slaves, perhaps in a way that we will never know as present day audiences, far removed from that experience ourselves. However, in thinking about all of this and in looking through the archive, a question arose: how would a song like the one below fit in?

Clime up de Ladder to de Clouds. Composed by Gussie Davis. 1891. ²

This so-called ‘Ethiopian Song’ was written as a minstrel song but it retains the same elements of a spiritual. Furthermore, it was written by a black composer Gussie Davis. It arguably is at the very least inspired by the spirituals that were an established form of music by this time. Does this mean that it can be seen as a part of that tradition?

The lyrics themselves are the puzzle. As one can probably deduce, the song is about someone climbing up to heaven. There are multiple references to biblical objects like New Jerusalem and Satan which were also common in spirituals. Would it then fit the criteria of a spiritual?

If the answer to the question of whether or not it is a spiritual is that no, because it is a constructed form of music that is not an authentic experience, then why do the songs performed by slaves for their white owners for entertainment, documented by Southern, not fall into the same category? It has the same aspects of being a learned form, of falling into the “black entertainer with a white audience” category and placed the entertainer in a hazy sphere of identity.³
Does this change the perspective we have about “Clime up de ladder to de clouds”?

What about when we learn that Gussie Davis (who composed the song) grew up in Ohio and never experienced slavery?⁴ No I could not find a source for this, but would things be viewed differently if we found out that his parents had been former slaves? Or that he could directly point to a spiritual that had inspired this song?

Even though we may not agree that despite all of this, this song still does not have a place in the the spiritual tradition, it is still important to think about the questions this example raises. How do we understand what makes a black spiritual? Who gets to make it up? Does direct influence of spirituals or experience have to be explicitly affirmed or can we find other ways to hint at it? What would it mean if we included minstrel songs into the spiritual repertoire?

I don’t know if there are answers to those questions but they are worth thinking about.

Works Cited

1.Epstein, Dena J. Sinful Tunes and Spirituals : Black Folk Music to the Civil War. Music in American Life. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1977.

2. Davis, Gussie L., 1863-1899. Clime up de ladder to de clouds : Ethiopean song. New York: Hitchcock and McCargo Publishing Co., L’td.1891. http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/ref/collection/fa-spnc/id/129736

3. Southern, E. (1971). “Entertainment for the Masters” inThe music of black Americans : A history. (1st ed.), 173-175. New York: W. W. Norton.

4. Saffle, Michael. “Davis, Gussie Lord.” International Dictionary of Black Composers, Vol. 1: Abrams-Jenkins. 374-78. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Creference_article%7C1000081424.

Let My People Go: Moses in African American Spirituals

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Kristina Randelzhofer

The traditional lyrics and melody. Burleigh, H.T. “Go Down, Moses (Let My People Go!),” in Negro Spirituals (New York: G. Ricordi, 1917),https://library.duke.edu/dig italcollections/hasm_n0708/.

After relentless, long and hard days working in the fields, enslaved black people had little in forms of comfort. Singing spirituals was one way for enslaved people to come together, to sing about their hardships, to praise God, and to lift their spirits. Although some scholars, such as George Pullen Jackson,¹ have argued that spirituals stem directly from white Protestant music, spiritual songs centered on Moses and the Israelites’ escape from Egyptian slavery, such as “Go Down, Moses”, highlight how the slave experience distinctly shaped African American spirituals.

In the numerous songs featuring the biblical character of Moses, “Go Down, Moses” is the most popular. This as well as other Moses songs directly reflects enslaved people’s longing for freedom. For many enslaved people, Moses was representative of the brave “conductors” of the Underground Railroad, such as Harriet Tubman, that guided enslaved people to freedom.² The lyrics of “Go Down Moses” indicating that Moses, someone who did not have as much power as the Pharaoh, could defy him and demand “to let [his] people go!” was incredibly powerful for enslaved people who dreamed of defying their master. In many ways it became a way of defying their master even if they did not run away.³

Although this version of “Go Down Moses” remains the most popular, other versions also highlight connections between the African-American slaves and the Israelites. In John Davis’s version of “Go Down, Moses”, he reveals that the chariot symbolizes the Underground Railroad and the “rivers rolling” as the rivers that runaway slaves would cross though to lose their scent.⁴ Although the lyrics are different, the message remains the same: a dream and a reflection on the fight for freedom.

Krehbiel’s assertion that “Nowhere save on the plantations of the south could the emotional life which is essential to the development of true folksong be developed”⁵ rings true in “Go Down, Moses”. Although whites may have shared Christianity with enslaved blacks, they could not emote the same connection with the enslaved Israelites. The emotion present in the slow, melancholy song in the video and sheet music above reveals the deep sadness of living in slavery and a longing for freedom that only enslaved people could understand.

1 Jackson, George Pullen. “Negro-Borrowed Tunes are Traced Back to Britain: Did the Black Man Compose Religious Songs?,” in White and Negro Spirituals, Their Life Span and Kinship: Tracing 200 Years of Untrammeled Song Making and Singing Among Our Country Folk, (New York: J.J. Augustin, 1943): 264-289.

2 “Georgia islands: Biblical Songs and Spirituals,” Southern Journey 12 (1998): 14.