The Gospel Truth about the Negro Spiritual

Written by Randye Jones


Continued from page 1

Tindley and his contemporaries copyrighted and published their music in collections such as Gospel Pearls and New Songs of Paradise. They also promoted their works in concerts and events. Some churches allowed, forrepparttar first time,repparttar 109923 use of instruments such asrepparttar 109924 piano, drums and tambourine. Gospel performing forces during this period consisted either of male quartets or female gospel choirs.

Inrepparttar 109925 early 20th century, many southern African Americans migrated north, carrying their music with them. Chicago becamerepparttar 109926 center of gospel music inrepparttar 109927 1930’s withrepparttar 109928 arrival of Thomas A. Dorsey,repparttar 109929 “Father of Gospel Music.” Dorsey, who had a very successful career writing and performing with blues diva Ma Rainey, introduced blues elements torepparttar 109930 sacred music he wrote. He went from church door to church door, gradually convincing ministers that this “devil’s music” was suitable for their services. Withrepparttar 109931 help of vocalists such as Sallie Martin and Mahalia Jackson, he recorded his songs and generated an international audience for his music. He composed over 400 songs in his career, including his most famous song, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.”

Many of Dorsey’s contemporaries maintained secular and sacred professional lives. For example, Blues great Blind Lemon Jefferson was also known as Deacon L. J. Bates. Singing preachers recorded gospel “race records,” and they visited urban congregations around America.

Byrepparttar 109932 1950’s, gospel music had undergone more changes. Electric organ or guitars, brass and string instruments, and a variety of percussion instruments accompanied choirs that now included male singers. Male quartets performed with instrumental accompaniment and added one or two members to their groups to allow four-part harmony underrepparttar 109933 lead. Keyboardists were expected to improvisation and to use a much greater range of chordal options to enhance songs. Prominent performers included Clara Ward,repparttar 109934 Swan Silvertones,repparttar 109935 Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, and Wings over Jordan. The Soul Stirrers, led byrepparttar 109936 suave singing style of Sam Cooke, brought in an entirely new audience—teenaged girls--torepparttar 109937 world of gospel music.

Gospel performers recorded steadily to meetrepparttar 109938 growing demand for their music overrepparttar 109939 radio. Unfortunately, as wasrepparttar 109940 case for African Americans in popular music, they were rarely fairly compensated.

Gospel grew in prominence in other cities, especially Philadelphia, Detroit, St. Louis, Memphis, Birmingham, and New York. Performers took their music into locations outsiderepparttar 109941 usual church venues. Mahalia Jackson sang at Carnegie Hall (1950), onrepparttar 109942 Ed Sullivan Show, and atrepparttar 109943 Newport Jazz Festival in 1958—Clara Ward andrepparttar 109944 Ward Singers had performed thererepparttar 109945 year before;repparttar 109946 Caravans andrepparttar 109947 Dixie Hummingbirds appeared atrepparttar 109948 Apollo.

Byrepparttar 109949 1960’s, gospel was performed in nightclubs, and gospel plays had come to Broadway. Singers like James Cleveland, Shirley Caesar, Aretha Franklin,repparttar 109950 Mighty Clouds of Joy, andrepparttar 109951 Staples Singers reached prominence.

However, there was also a shift towardsrepparttar 109952 popular music ofrepparttar 109953 time that made gospel purists uncomfortable. Edwin Hawkins closed outrepparttar 109954 decade with his release of “Oh Happy Day,” which combinedrepparttar 109955 elements of gospel with those of Rhythm and Blues. Along with others in this new generation, such as Andrea Crouch and Richard Smallwood, he brought a new generation of listeners to gospel music.

Contemporary gospel has made further shifts overrepparttar 109956 years. The dominant gospel groups are made up of large choirs with soloists using amplified sound equipment designed for popular music venues. On college campuses acrossrepparttar 109957 country, students have created their own gospel groups. Churches that had resisted gospel music for decades finally have acquiesced and started gospel choirs. Choirs, such as Kirk Franklin’s, have integrated Hip Hop into their sound.

The popularity of gospel music is showing no signs of waning inrepparttar 109958 foreseeable future. The Music

Early gospel hymns usedrepparttar 109959 call-and-response ofrepparttar 109960 spiritual, as well as syncopation and improvisation. The songs tended to be in 2/4 or 4/4 meter and use diatonic harmony.

Byrepparttar 109961 1930’s, performers were far less restrained in their use of harmony, and vocalists and instrumentalists used more improvisation. The lead singer took a much more active role, singing whole verses whilerepparttar 109962 other members ofrepparttar 109963 ensemble repeated words or phrases behindrepparttar 109964 leader in harmony.

Bass singers, a staple inrepparttar 109965 1920’s, were replaced byrepparttar 109966 instrumental bass line byrepparttar 109967 1950’s. Mixed choirs consisted of soprano, alto and tenor or baritone.

Fromrepparttar 109968 1970’s onward, soloists beganrepparttar 109969 song inrepparttar 109970 middle range of their voices and progressed torepparttar 109971 farther ends of their ranges for dramatic effect. Withrepparttar 109972 advent of rap gospel,repparttar 109973 lead singer either speaksrepparttar 109974 text with choral and instrumental accompaniment or alternates between sung and spoken text.

So, What Isrepparttar 109975 Gospel Truth?

Spirituals often told stories about biblical characters and events. These folk songs were born inrepparttar 109976 rural regions ofrepparttar 109977 American South, and their anonymous creators were inspired byrepparttar 109978 hardships of slavery. These songs were usually created atrepparttar 109979 moment using call-and-response between a leader andrepparttar 109980 group. They were accompanied only byrepparttar 109981 slaves’ clapping hands or stamping feet. The steady, usually duple, rhythm wasrepparttar 109982 driving force inrepparttar 109983 song, so words were often modified to fitrepparttar 109984 beat. Additionally, spirituals had to be passed orally from person to person.

In contrast, gospel music rose primarily from cities ofrepparttar 109985 North. The songs were accompanied first by keyboard instruments, then by percussion and later electric and electronic instruments. The words tend to focus on spreadingrepparttar 109986 “Good News” of salvation. Gospel songs provided solace to those who faced low-paying jobs, poor housing, inadequate education, and ill-treatment. Both singer and instrumentalist were expected to improvise withinrepparttar 109987 song.

Gospel music composers, even inrepparttar 109988 infancy ofrepparttar 109989 genre, published and recorded their songs. However, like spirituals, most groups learned new gospel songs by rote. The progenitors ofrepparttar 109990 spiritual had no means of marketing or selling their music; inrepparttar 109991 case of gospel music, Tindley, Dorsey and their successors made a concerted—and highly successful—effort to spread their musical message through commercial means. Spirituals flourished inrepparttar 109992 vacuum ofrepparttar 109993 plantation, whererepparttar 109994 influence of other music styles was limited. Gospel music has regularly adapted elements ofrepparttar 109995 secular popular music: Blues, Jazz, R&B, and most recently, Rap.

Despite these considerable differences, however,repparttar 109996 most significant similarity persists. Both spirituals and gospel music addressrepparttar 109997 need of a people to express their faith in a dynamic, musical way. Simply put,repparttar 109998 “gospel truth” is that whether one wanted to “Steal Away to Jesus” or to ask, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” a tormented soul found relief in a risen Savior.

Randye Jones is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Bennett College in Greensboro, NC, and the Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Florida State University, Tallahassee. She currently serves as a library manager at the George Washington University, Washington, D.C. She created and maintains the much cited Web site, Afrocentric Voices in Classical Music.


Hyaluronic Acid – Newest Celebrity Beauty Secret?

Written by Jana Willinger


Continued from page 1

There are other Hyaluronic acid boosting “lip plumpers” onrepparttar cosmetic market including Lucky Lips which allegedly increases Hyaluronic acid levels by 148% just 48 hours after use. Other celeb Hyaluronic acid beauty favorites include Hydrating Gel Cream from Prada Beauty, a lightweight, sheer cream featuring Hyaluronic acid and Rest-A-Line Face Treatment by Joey New York, an anti-aging cream rich with Hyaluronic acid which helpsrepparttar 109922 skin hold 1000 times its weight in water, causing a natural plumping effect. All in all, between facial injections and non-evasive beauty creams, it seems like there is much hope onrepparttar 109923 frontier for finding that elusive fountain of youth; for celebrities and for common folk, alike!

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