Peter Canzani
Engl. 123 Fall 13’ Monday PM Course
Professor Kingsley
Due: 9/11/13
“Music” Response
Spirituals, the religious folk, were the key factor in the uprooting of musical expressions. Alain
Locke expresses in the opening of The Negro Spirituals that they are the “products of the
American life.” This musical production became both “nationally and racially characteristic,”
giving way to the birthing of music. The stories of the Negro slaves provided folk music with a
connection of profound faith and religious expression through, as seen by many, a colloquial
persona.
Through the prime Christianity example Negros portrayed, folk was able to provide a
soul to music. The union of voice and melody, Negro Spirituals widely made a public
appearance through a group of singers from Fisk University in 1871. Recognition was made
through the Fisk University singers being invited by Henry ward Beecher’s to Brooklyn on
grounds of performance. This migration to Brooklyn allowed the Harlem Renaissance to emerge
during the Harlem Renaissance. As I perused through these essays, the portrait of musical and
vocal infusion is what the folk music provided for the Negro people, allowing their culture and
racial existence to become public with the world; As the Spirituals grew, interest in this newfound music “changed and deepened. “
As I continued through Locke’s writing, four classes of folk song-type caught my eye. The
first was the ritualistic prayer songs, and then came the unrestrained evangelical-like “shouts”
as Locke put it. Thirdly came the folk ballads full of tradition, and lastly were the work/labor
songs distinctively expressing the Negro strife. Today the folk music and its popularity have
diminished through time, shown through the confusion of which form of folk song is expressed.
Although this may be true, the Negro music has greatly influenced the development of
contemporary music.
I also have noticed the transition of language used within the Negro folk creations. The
original creations expressed emotions and struggles of the Negro, both with illiteracy and deep
meaning. Improper grammar usage such as “Father Abraham, sittin’ down side-a ob de holy
lamb” and “Way up on de mountain top” later transitioned into words of profound emotion,
such as “My song has the lush sweetness of moist, dark lips.” The Negro music did not stop with
the production of folk. It continued on to the development of Jazz.
Jazz provided, as J.A. Rogers puts it in Jazz at Home, “The revolt of the emotions against
repression.” Jazz provided the ability to release all concealed emotions at once, truly freeing
the Negro from suppression. From this revelation of musical creation, I can’t help but question
why has music taken such a dramatic turn in the present day? Jazz is a genre of soulful music,
usually group conducted in unison. Piano players initiated the creation of jazz through their
revolving drift up and down the Mississippi. Through this soulful expression of music came the
emergence of dance, revealing the Jasbo, the Strut, the Texas Tommy and the Charleston. The
ability to freely move the body to the soulful expression of music is what Jazz truly is at heart.
Jazz represents both the Negro characteristics and contemporary America. In response to my
question in music’s dramatic move to shy from emotion, I believe the Negro musical voice
(from folk to ragtime, from Jazz to the Memphis Blues) is still present in modern music. The use
of irregular rhythm patters, improvised instruments and the emotions are hidden in the
background of modern music. From the heart-moving sounds of George Benson, to the soulful
uprising of Ariana Grande, the Negro music has proven to be the transformation responsible in
revitalizing civilization through music.