musi
American Music
Gospel Music
European-American
African-American
Objectives
Define
Define psalter and singing schools.
Describe
Describe the process of lining out.
Compare and contrast
Compare and contrast the following genres:
shaped-note singing and spirituals
southern gospel quartets and African-American male quartets
contemporary Christian and urban gospel
Name
Name two important female gospel singers.
European-American Music
Psalmody (1620-1820)
Psalter = collection of psalms
Puritans sang only psalms
Bay Psalm Book = 1st book published in US (1640)
Lining Out
Leader reads/chants text line by line
Congregation sings back lines in alternation
Leaders began to embellish and slow down tunes
Singing became dreadful, so the clergy started…
Singing Schools (1720s)
Sessions to teach singing and note-reading
1 evening to 3 days = social events
Shape-Note Singing (19th-20th c.)
Shaped note head assigned to each syllable
Southern Gospel
Traveling quartets promote songbooks
James Vaughan (Lawrenceburg TN)
Stamps-Baxter Company (Dallas TX)
Close harmony
No instruments or just piano
“Give the World a Smile Each Day” by the Cathedrals
Contemporary Christian Music
Major recording industry phenomenon
Also called “inspirational” music
Merges evangelicalism with rock/pop
1980s Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith
Gospel Music Association in Nashville
Dove Awards = hip hop to Latino gospel
“Good, Good Father” = 2016 Song of the Year
African-American Gospel
Spirituals
Religious song of southern slaves
Texts based on images or stories from Bible
Some had hidden messages about freedom
Instrumentation: a cappella (voices only)
Fisk Jubilee Singers
1871
Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993)
“Georgia Tom” becomes “Father of Gospel”
1st publishing house for African-American gospel music
National Convention of Gospel Choirs
“Take My Hand, Precious Lord” (1932)
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972)
“Gospel Queen”
Inspired by blues recordings
Toured with Dorsey to promote his songs
Take My Hand, Precious Land (MLK’s funeral)
Vamp
Soloist improvises textual and musical variations
Background group reiterates a single phrase
How I Got Over (March on Washington)
14
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973)
Singer and guitarist
Influenced by 1930s blues
Rapid-fire staccato guitar style
Edwin Hawkins Singers
Oh Happy Day (1969)
International crossover hit
Dorothy Combs Morrison, featured voice
Male Quartets
Wide repertory of black sacred music
Close harmony with mellow lead singer
Golden Gate Quartet
Dixie Hummingbirds
Blind Boys of Alabama
Fairfield Baptist Church, Nashville (1921)
National Heritage Fellows (1989)
Grammy (1998)
Contemporary Urban Gospel
Review
Shape-note singing
Southern gospel quartet
Contemporary Christian
Spiritual
Male quartet
Contemporary urban
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Objectives
Define
Define psalter and singing schools.
Describe
Describe the process of lining out.
Compare and contrast
Compare and contrast the following genres:
shaped-note singing and spirituals
southern gospel quartets and African-American male quartets
contemporary Christian and urban gospel
Name
Name two important female gospel singers.
American Music
Gospel Music
European-American
African-American
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