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Circle Singers : Program Notes for May 2006
Remembering the Underground Railroad...After the Civil War Whereas, on the twenty second day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred sixty two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit: That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred sixty three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. With these opening words President Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation to begin the process of giving freedom to the slaves. Since 1619, one hundred forty-four years, slaves had been held in bondage in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation itself actually freed very few people since it applied only to the slaves who lived in states that were in rebellion against the Union. Border states fighting on the Union side and Southern states already under Union control were not affected. The states at war did not act on Lincoln's order, and Texas even refused to free their slaves until two and a half years after the war ended. However, the release of the Emancipation Proclamation proclaimed to the inhabitants of the United States and the world that the Civil War was being fought to end slavery. The slaves in Texas knew that the freedom date was in June, but, uncertain of the day, chose to celebrate the 'Juneteenth' to honor their freedom. Slaves in other states would be freed at the end of the war and with the passing of the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution on December 18, 1865. The war had ended. The slaves were free at last. Now that there was no longer any need for secret songs to communicate information, the freed slaves thought that the only difference between themselves and the white people was education. Many schools emerged in the South to educate freed slaves. Unfortunately, due to the lingering anger of the ex-confederates over losing the war and their way of life, there was a great deal of harassment. Money was scarce for the schools. The American Missionary Association and the Freedman's Bureau did what they could to send support, but the schools struggled. Parents of students sent what money they could afford, but it was never enough. Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee was established in 1866 but soon fell on hard times. By 1871, many of the old hospital buildings that comprised the university were in desperate need of repair; food was scarce; teachers were underpaid; and local debts of $2,000 could not be paid. Administrators considered closing the university when George L. White, a white man who served as both treasurer of the school and its music instructor, suggested taking a group of singers to the North to raise funds. Some years earlier White had recognized the great musical gifts of his students. He trained them in the music of the European masters, including the great anthems, hymns, motets, and madrigals of the day. He arranged several concerts in Nashville and surrounding cities in Tennessee. After much success, White thought seriously about selecting the best singers and touring with them to raise money for the school. He chose three sopranos, two contraltos, two tenors, and two basses from the larger Fisk University Choir, and during the summer of 1871, they all worked diligently. As they tried to raise money for the tour, several people, including influential officers of the American Missionary Association, said that a tour of the North would be too expensive and of questionable success. They had no intention of supporting White's plan. White informed them that he was depending on God, not on them. On October 6, 1871, White and nine singers left Nashville with all but one dollar of the institution's funds plus all that White could borrow. The first stop of the tour was Cincinnati where two white Congregational ministers opened their churches to the singers for praise meetings. The next stop was Chillicothe, Ohio where the singers were able to collect $50. Although in desperate need of money, the singers donated the entire purse to the Chicago Relief Fund to help the city recover from the Great Chicago Fire. A return trip to Cincinnati drew large audiences but little money. The singers were becoming discouraged, but suddenly their fortunes changed. At a concert attended by the mostly white members of the National Council of Congregational Churches, the collection totaled $130. Also, several members of the American Missionary Association were present and, finally, endorsed the singers. During this trip to Ohio most of the repertoire was "white man's music" with only one or two "slave" songs sung as encores. At first the singers had no intention of singing their sacred secret songs in public. In earlier years on the campus White had stumbled upon the students singing the songs under shade trees after long days of classes. He was enchanted with the songs but had to cajole the singers to perform them in public. Having recognized the powerful effect the songs had upon audiences, the singers agreed to perform them in concert. Thus the Fisk Singers gave the artistry of spirituals to the world by including them in classical concerts and recitals, and by creating the first concert arrangements of these slave songs. As the singers programmed more of the spirituals in their concerts, the public began calling them minstrels and sometimes "nigger minstrels." White realized it was time for the singers to have a new name. He called the singers together in Columbus, Ohio and said "Children, God has given you a name. You shall be called the Jubilee Singers in memory of the Jewish year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8-17)." After many successes in the Midwest, the Jubilee Singers went to New York City at the invitation from the white preacher Henry Ward Beecher to sing at his Pilgrim Church in Brooklyn. Their great supporter, Rev. Beecher, requested that they begin their program from the rear balcony so that the beauty of their voices would not be overcome by their image on stage. Up to this time most whites had only seen blacks on stage as minstrels. Beecher encouraged his friend Patrick S. Gilmore to invite the Jubilees to Boston for one of his musical extravaganzas. The World Peace Jubilee, organized by Gilmore, was held in the Boston Coliseum from June 17 - July 4, 1872. Performing forces included a specially selected orchestra and band of 1,000 each, a chorus of 20,000, 100 anvils played by 100 firemen, organ, the church bells of Boston, and cannons. Invited groups were organized by J. Thomas Baldwin and included the French Garde Republicaine Band, the British Grenadier Band, the Gilmore's Band, the Johann Strauss Orchestra, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and bands from twenty-six American cities. Ironically, this event lifted the Jubilee Singers to fame, not for singing spirituals, but for the singing of "John Brown's Body" which later became known as the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." As the story goes, an incorrect pitch was given to the chorus of 20,000 who attempted, with little success, to sing their verses. The Jubilee Singers sang their part in this new, unrehearsed key to a spell-bound audience who rewarded them with a standing ovation. Johann Strauss waived his violin wildly in the air. Gilmore then brought the Jubilees to the stage for an encore in the correct key. The rest is history. The Jubilee Singers went on to sing for reigning royalty and the prestigious Protestant Churches of Europe and, literally, sang Fisk University into a place in American educational history. After the Civil War white preachers immediately saw the beneficial impact of using the spirituals within their liturgical settings. As you will remember, the texts came from the slave owners' churches because the texts were safe for the slaves to speak or sing and could communicate messages. The slaves were not permitted to speak most of the time, but singing was allowed if the owners could understand the texts. Black preachers were busy dealing with other issues. They had little or no formal training. Most were not admitted into white schools of theology. The black preachers struggled with the issue of their white brethren wanting an end to slavery but still being segregationist. Black Congregations needed leadership in dealing with the feeling of being disenfranchised. Preachers were the liaisons between the white man's world and the black community's realities. With little training, they tried to be all things to all people: legal advisor, comforter in times of death or other stresses, exhorter of the gospel, and calm mediator in the face of social conflicts. The preacher was part actor and, by necessity, part orator in order to hold the attention of his listeners. Black preachers had to convince their followers that - as the spirituals say - if they could not have a better life here on earth, there was a better life "a-comin' on the other side." Following the popularization of spirituals mostly among white audiences, black preachers began to include them with their prayers and sermons. If they hit on a theme that evoked a high level of emotional response, the oration became legendary. Sometimes these were simple, single focus messages like "Ezekiel in the Valley of the Dry Bones," or more elaborate orations such as "God's Creation of the Earth and Breathing Life into Man." Adding spirituals to these worship experiences brought the spirituals full circle with a change in their meaning. Now, there was no longer a need for the spirituals to communicate hidden messages. Now the words told the Bible stories.
Circle Singers : About the Arrangers May 2006
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