Monday, May 5, 2014

Spirituals and the Rise of the Fisk Jubilee Singers

When spirituals sprang spontaneously into being throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries they were primarily a solo or small-group tradition, folk music sung by individual slaves or small groups of the enslaved as they toiled in the fields or homes of their masters, worshipped in church, or for heart’s ease at any time.  They reflected African cultural traditions, particularly call-and-response and dance/movement.  It wasn’t until shortly after the Civil War that the imagination, and the heart, of the larger American public was captured by choral arrangements of spirituals, primarily introduced by the courageous and pioneering work of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.


Their story is compellingly unfolded in Dark Midnight When I Rise: The Story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, by Andrew Ward.  The word “jubilee” is a reference to the “year of jubilee” in the book of Leviticus, an every-50-year celebration in ancient Israel in which slaves were freed, a potent symbol for this black university and ensemble.  In a nutshell, Fisk University was formed in Nashville in 1866 to provide an education for all, regardless of color, an earthshaking idea in those days.  In dire financial straits they sent out a nine-member singing ensemble under the direction of George L. White, the school’s white treasurer and music professor, assisted by one of the students, Ella Sheppard.  In the face of curiosity, some hostility, much hardship and even danger they sang sophisticated choral repertoire, rigorously rehearsed by White, instead of the usual blackface minstrel fair.  Slowly and reluctantly they began adding arrangements of spirituals to their concerts; reluctantly because the songs were associated with slavery, and because they were a sacred thing, the worship music of their parents, not to be sung lightly.  Plus they were very different from white music.  The melodies were often described as “wild and weird” by whites who heard slaves singing them.  But listeners were always mysteriously moved by the songs of sorrow and liberation sung by these enslaved people. 

The Jubilee Singers didn’t dream at first of singing spirituals in public.  But, gradually, they did

Here is a sample of their very early singing, the earliest known recording in existence, from 1909.


They began a series of national and international tours in the 1870s that brought some financial relief to the school and spirituals to concert audiences.  Ward’s book contains story after story of white audiences, tears streaming down their faces as they listened, carried away by the depth of emotion of the singers and the power of the songs themselves.

Other black choruses followed in their wake, but it was Fisk that led the way, and still do, for they remain active today.  If you have the time to listen, here is an excellent video that tells their story with great intensity and obvious love for their art.


And if you don’t have the time, or if you want just one more chance to absorb the singers’ expressive faces and the spiritual impact of the music, here is a 2011 performance of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

Set free your imagination, and your heart, as you listen.  And come and enjoy a few more spirituals at our May 18 concert.



Dr. Linda Gingrich
Artistic director and conductor
Master Chorus Eastside

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