Church Songs

The second influence was from European church music but heavily influenced by black participation. An important social context of the rural blacks was the Southern Baptist church with songs influenced by rhythmic black participation -

'the great awakening' around 1800 and 'black' songs of the camp meetings produced the Spirituals of the Old Testament and the 1st 'pop songs'

evangelical hymns from John Wesley and the Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey's hymn book  

the call and response of the work songs was close to the Minister 'lining out' and congregation involvement 

song sermons, line outs, ring shouts, jubilees - 'heben 'n hell, de Lawd 'n de debil'
the Sunday Morning Service was close to the 'Saturday Night Function'

In addition to Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey, Thomas Dorsey (Georgia Tom), wrote many religious songs and in 1913 George Bennard wrote, 'The Old Rugged Cross'.

Popular Spirituals - 'Bye and Bye', 'Down by the Riverside', 'the Saints', 'Joshua fit de Battle of Jericho', 'Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen', 'Roll Jordan Roll', 'Gimme that Old Time Religion', 'Lord Lord Lord', 'Over in Glory Land', 'Lonesome Road', 'Lord let Me In the Lifeboat', 'Walk through the Streets of the City', 'Over in the Glory Land' ...

Popular Hymns - 'Just a Closer Walk with Thee', 'Just a Little While to Stay Here', 'Nearer My God to Thee', 'Flee as a Bird to the Mountain', 'Take my Hand Precious Lord' ...

Instruments - vocal groups and the congregation, the Jubilee Singers from Fisk University, Nashville were a popular touring group with a repertoire that included arranged Spirituals offered as harmonised slave songs from the plantations - 'Keep Me from Sinking Down', 'O Brothers don't Stay Away', 'Battle Hymn of the Republic', 'Go Down Moses', 'Steal Away to Jesus' - although black performers like Blind Tom Bethune (1849 - 1908) had dazzled white audiences with their musical abilities they played white European music. The Fisk singers were possibly the first black group to present black music (1871) to white audiences.

NB Gospel songs were from the New Testament and appeared later than the Spirituals and they have a white and a black tradition. The white tradition developed into the hillbilly country music of the Appalachians and the black tradition aligned itself to the blues mainstream.

 

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