HISTORY

The spirituals sung by slaves were usually in one of two categories — sorrow songs, more sad sounding, in minor keys, with lyrics reflecting the ugly parts of slavery; and jubilee songs, more upbeat, in major keys, with lyrics reflecting the freedom they desired.

Many movies, including Madea’s Witness Protection, Hurry Sundown, and 12 Years a Slave, used spirituals for their soundtracks. You can even hear melodies from spirituals in symphonies by Black American composers such as William Grant Still and Florence Beatrice Price.

WILLIAM GRANT STILL

In Still’s Afro-American Symphony, the second movement, titled “Sorrow,” uses parts of the sorrow song and spiritual “W'en I Gits Home.” View this video below:

FLORENCE BEATRICE PRICE

In Price’s Symphony No. 1, the third movement, titled “Juba,” is written to reflect how jubilee songs featured juba dances — patting, slapping rhythms with upbeat melodies. View this video below:

QUIZ

In our video lesson we applied the spiritual My Lord What a Morning to the emancipation story of Susan Dale Sanders. Let’s use the symphonies by Still and Price as soundtracks for the emancipation of Samuel Watson and Barney Stone. Read excerpts from their stories below while listening to one of the symphonies. Which symphony fits Samuel’s story? Which symphony fits Barney’s story?

Samuel Watson

“She complied and took her family to the plantation of Jourdain James, hoping to work and keep her family together. Wages received for her work failed to support the mother and children so she left the employ of Mr. James and worked from place to place until her children became half starved and without clothing.”

Barney Stone

“At the out-break of the Civil War and when the Northern [Union] army was marching into the Southland, hundreds of male slaves were shot down by the Rebels [Confederates], rather than see them join with the Yankees [Union soldiers]. One day when I learned that the Northern troops were very close to our plantation, I ran away and hid in a culvert [tunnel for water], but was found and I would have been shot – had the Yankee troops not scattered them – and that saved me. I joined the Union army and served one year, eight months and twenty-two days, and fought with them in the battle of Fort Wagnor, and also in the battle of Milikin’s Bend. When I went into the army, I could not read or write. The white soldiers took an interest in me and taught me to write and read, and when the war was over I could write a very good letter. I taught what little I knew to [redacted] children after the War…”