Negro spiritual - Definition and Overview

A spiritual is a African-American song, usually with a religious text. Originally monophonic and a cappella, these songs are antecedents of the blues. Spirituals were primarily expressions of religious faith, sung by slaves on southern plantations. Secular songs that also fall within the genre sometimes contained hidden messages of a slaveowner’s unexpected return, or of rebellion or escape. "Follow the Drinking Gourd," for example, contained a coded map to the Underground Railroad, instructing escapees to follow the Big Dipper (the "drinking gourd.") "Wade in the Water" was another such song that combined religious imagery and codified instructions for potential runaways.

Singing spirituals sometimes provided comfort and eased the boredom of daily tasks. Above all, they were an expression of spiritual devotion and a yearning for freedom from bondage. One of the best known spirituals is Swing Low, Sweet Chariot:

(Refrain)

Swing low, sweet chariot,

Coming for to carry me home,

Swing low, sweet chariot,

Coming for to carry me home.

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see?

Coming for to carry me home,

A band of angels coming after me,

Coming for to carry me home.

(Refrain)

If you get there before I do,

Coming for to carry me home,

Tell all my friends I’m coming, too.

Coming for to carry me home.

(Refrain)

I’m sometimes up and sometimes down,

Coming for to carry me home,

But still my soul feels heavenly bound,

Coming for to carry me home.

(Refrain)

The brightest day that I can say,

Coming for to carry me home,

When Jesus washed my sins away,

Coming for to carry me home.

(Refrain)

- Traditional

The evolution of the spiritual

With the advent of Harry Burleigh (1866-1949), the spiritual began to develop into a sophisticated art form. Burleigh attended the conservatory in New York City that was founded by Jeannette Thurber. Seeking to attract a prestigious faculty, Thurber had asked Czech composer Antonín Dvořák to head her conservatory; Dvořák agreed to do so, on the condition that talented Native American or African American composers be allowed to attend without paying tuition. Burleigh was accepted as a student, and became Dvořák's protegé, during which time he sang the traditional spirituals for Dvořák. With Dvořák's encouragement, Burleigh began to compose classical song and choral arrangements of spirituals, which were later made famous by artists such as the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Marian Anderson, Robert McFerrin Sr., and William Warfield. Another great composer of classical settings of spirituals was Hall Johnson (1887-1970).

Some examples of spirituals which were set in this way are "Ride On King Jesus," "Ain't Got Time to Die," and "Hold On."

Samples

• Listen to "Pharoah's Army Got Drowned," artists unknown (765 KB)
• Download recording of "My Good Lord Done Been Here" spiritual song from the Library of Congress' John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip; performed by Aunt Florida Hampton on May 29, 1939, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. P.W. Tartt in Livingston, Alabama
• Download recording - "Roll the Old Chariot Along" spiritual and sea shanty from the Library of Congress' Gordon Collection (http://www.loc.gov/folklife/Gordon/sideAbandA1.html#rolltheoldchariotalong); performed by unknown persons in the Bay Area of California in the early 1920s
• Download recording - "Deep Down in My Heart" - Spiritual from the Library of Congress' Gordon Collection (http://www.loc.gov/folklife/Gordon/sideBbandB1.html); performed by W. M. Givens in Darien, Georgia, on about March 19, 1926

External Links

• "Coded Slave Songs," with an analysis of "Follow the Drinkin' Gourd" (http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/Soulreview/Understandingpages/coded.htm)

• Video and Audio Excerpts relating to Marian Anderson (http://www.library.upenn.edu/special/gallery/anderson/av/index.html)