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This week we will be studying spirituals. Spirituals are an important part of the history of American music. They are generally Christian songs created by African slaves in the United States, and they also described the hardships of slavery. This historic group of songs is unique to America and is now recognized as a distinct genre of music.
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Moses Hogan was an American composer and arranger of choral music, best known for his settings of African-American spirituals. He was known internationally as a pianist, conductor and arranger.
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LULLABIES
Some spirituals are sung as lullabies. Two of the most well-known are “Hush, Little Baby, Don’t Say a Word”; and “Summertime”, written in a spiritual style by George and Ira Gershwin for their opera, Porgy and Bess. This song has been sung and played by many 20th century artists. |
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WORK SONGS
Spirituals have been sung as work songs. Their lyrics and steady rhythm have encouraged people to keep going when they’re tired. |
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STORIES FROM THE BIBLE
Many spirituals were based on stories from the Bible. For example, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” tells the Christmas story. |
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The spiritual “Go Down, Moses”, describes the Israelite slaves’ exodus from Egypt. To early African-Americans, this song, along with others, represented freedom from bondage. Spirituals remain popular in many churches in the southern United States. |
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SORROW SONGS Many spirituals are known as “sorrow songs”. They express the suffering and hardships experienced by African-American slaves. These songs are slow, intense, and melancholic in nature. Two well-known “sorrow songs” are “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” and “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”. |
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While Moses Hogan has written many arrangements of spirituals for choirs to sing, his most important work today is his Oxford Book of Spirituals, created in 2002. It is a collection of best loved spirituals.
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JOYFUL SONGS Our listening example today is a joyful spiritual. Joyful spirituals are known as “jubilees” or “camp meeting songs”. They are fast, lively and sometimes have syncopated rhythm. People often associate the song “Dry Bones” with Halloween, but it’s actually based on a Bible story. |
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Moses Hogan was born in New Orleans where he lived with his parents and five siblings. His parents gave their children a passion for music. His father sang bass in the church choir while his uncle was the church Minister of Music and organist.
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New Orleans Center for Creative Arts High School
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Hogan was an accomplished pianist by the age of nine. He was musically educated from a young age and attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts High School, the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the Julliard School of Music. These are colleges where the most talented musicians go to study.
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Oberlin Conservatory of Music
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Julliard School of Music
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Moses Hogan had many accomplishments in his music career. During his piano performance years, he won first place in the 28th Annual Chopin Competition in New York. He introduced the professional choral spiritual to choirs. Choral means music for a choir to sing. With his music, Hogan created new interest in the tradition of African-American spirituals. He founded and conducted the Moses Hogan Chorale Singers. He was well-known throughout the world as a conductor and led the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with others. Hogan composed and arranged over seventy spirituals.
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Moses Hogan Chorale Singers, reunited
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Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra
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Moses Hogan's arrangements are quite unique. They generally fall into three categories of style: traditional, choral layering, and call and response.
‘Traditional’ is where all singers follow the same rhythm pattern but sing different pitches to make chords. ‘Choral layering’ is where different sections of a choir sing rhythms and melodies a little different from the others, creating interesting effects in the music. 'Call and response’ is a style that came from West Africa. A leader improvises a line of text and a chorus of singers echoes a refrain. The leader can use a vocal style full of slides, turns and rhythm variations. |
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Spirituals have provided an important legacy for the development of American music. Their descendants include southern gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, jazz and even hip hop. Many spirituals are played as instrumental music rather than being sung. For example, “When the Saints Go Marching In” has been popular as a march for parades and school bands. |
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It has also been played in Dixieland jazz style by artists such as Louis Armstrong, and the Turk Murphy jazz band. |
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Traditional style spirituals were first brought to the attention of southern and northern Americans in 1871, shortly after the Civil War ended. An African-American singing group called the Fisk Jubilee Singers was formed at Fisk University in Nashville, TN. The group was organized to tour and raise funds for the African-American college. Some of the nine singers and their families were freed slaves. They toured along the Underground Railroad path in the United States, as well as performing in Europe. The Fisk Singers continue to tour today, often performing Moses Hogan’s arrangements.
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Fisk Jubilee Singers 1872 Nashville, TN
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Fisk Jubilee Singers today
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