August disappeared in the blink of an eye and September obviously had somewhere to be with how fast it left us. I always forget that summer is indeed not eternal and that the call of yet another school year or choir season is never too far away. With programs back in full swing, you might be looking at the season ahead and wondering how best to tackle the programs you've curated. And if those programs happen to include any Black choral works, you might be interested in diving deeper not only for your own understanding, but for your singers’ as well.
When I first started teaching in the classroom, I worked for a nonprofit that brought music to communities who could not afford music programs in their districts. I found myself freshly out of my undergraduate voice program teaching general music to primarily Black and Latine students in Compton, California and quickly discovered that the Western canon-focused-world that I had just emerged from was not one that my students knew well. I was able to acknowledge the importance of teaching about the old dead white guys of the Western canon, but I knew that this music was not something my students could relate to.
It’s not that I didn’t teach them about Beethoven, Mozart, or Hadyn, I did, but it was also important to me that my students saw themselves and their community reflected in the lesson plans I brought to their classes. This forced me to look beyond the Western repertoire and composers I had studied in university as well as hold a mirror up to my own heritage and Blackness. Through hours of research and falling into rabbit holes, I found a world of knowledge and music that I had never even known existed.
I studied traditional West African music and circle dances and discovered how their key characteristics have formed the foundation for American music as we know it today. I followed their roots all the way up to the branches which produced Blues, Rock n Roll, Jazz, Hip Hop, Disco, Soul, the list goes on and on. With each branch I studied, I discovered handfuls of Black artists on the leaves—ones I’d never heard of: incredible queer women like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Gladys Bentley, and Big Mama Thornton; fiercely talented and brave souls like Stormé Delarvie and the Harlem Hellfighters; devoted storytellers and heart-movers like Labi Siffre and Billy Strayhorn.
I devoured all the stories and music I could and regurgitated it back to my students in the form of lessons that allowed them to see and learn about people who looked like their moms, tios, cousins, and grannies. It was truly something special to behold and I found that along the way, some part of me was healed, because I too had never been given the opportunity to regularly learn about musicians who looked like me.
While working in Compton, I technically never taught a choir class, and of course this series is written for the target audience of choral educators, administrators, directors, and chorus members (it is called Chorus Connection after all), but it would not be complete without opening up a discussion involving Black musicians and composers who are not technically a part of the choral world. This is because American music at its core, is Black music. And it is essential that choral singers, students, and educators understand how Blackness is a part of not only their artistry, but their everyday lives.
So, whether you’re a seasoned choral director, a general music teacher, a higher education professor, or a nonprofit program director, the following Music Exploration Guide is sure to enhance your and your singers’ experience and understanding when programming Black works.
Let’s take it back to the beginning, to the place where it all started– Africa, specifically West Africa. This region of the continent borders the Atlantic Ocean and consists of 16 countries including: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. While each of these countries have their own distinct cultural identities and music practices, there are a multitude of commonalities that defy borders. The main commonality being that traditional West African music and dance (the two are intrinsically linked) have deep roots in social, spiritual, and cultural life. Meaning music and dance are not just for special, celebratory occasions, but a part of everyday life and experience.
This music is played on traditional instruments such as the Kora–a banjo-like stringed instrument; the Balafon–a xylophone type instrument which uses gourds as its resonators; and a variety of drums, such as the Djembe and Talking Drum, and other percussion instruments.
Gan Gan or Talking Drum of the Yoruba people
Musical excerpt featuring the Balafon and Djembes
The dances that accompany this music also vary by region, but are often performed in circle formations with repetitive steps and high energy. The Gahu, of the Ewe people, is a social dance with no direct connection to religion or spirituality. It is used year-round during social occasions and its dance moves follow what Western music practitioners would call Rondo Form (ABACA). Its A section consists of more relaxed movements while the B and C sections are more intense. Its music is comprised of 5 rhythms played across varying percussion instruments.
Gahu Example:
Now you may be thinking, “Why in the world is this woman telling me about African circle dances and percussion-based music? I’m programming choral music!” I promise you there’s a reason. In watching the examples provided, I wonder if you began to notice any recurring similarities in the music that I didn’t mention. And if you didn’t, that’s okay. Maybe take a second look with a more critical eye… each example contains what I like to call the African Core 5.
As I descended deep into researching traditional West African music during lockdown in 2020, I started to notice a common thread—or rather five common threads—in the music and dance I was consuming. With each article I read and video I watched, I discovered that each variant of traditional music in the region contained the following characteristics:
1. Polyrhythms & syncopation
2. Percussion Instruments
3. Social/Communal Aspect
4. Call & Response and/or Group Singing
5. Dancing & Movement
These five characteristics are the mantel for all things West African music, and I would argue, American music as well. As the Transatlantic Slave Trade ravaged Western Africa, the traditional music, dance, and cultural practice containing the African Core 5 made their way over to the United States.
When enslaved Africans met the shores of Virginia in 1619, their traditions didn’t just vanish into thin air–much to white enslavers' chagrin–they lived on within them. But enslavers wanted to destroy these native practices and colonize African minds, spirits, and bodies. Enslavers enforced Christianity and encouraged the abandonment of native practices through physical beatings, psychological warfare, and legislation. This heinous treatment lasted 246 years in the United States, but it was these horrors that forced traditional West African music to evolve as a means of survival, leading us to the American music we know and love today.
One key turning point in this evolution was the Stono Rebellion of 1739. By this time, enslaved Africans made up approximately two-thirds of the population in South Carolina, which had the white slave owners and others pretty nervous. They passed a law that required them to carry guns to church so they could be ready for anything that might happen with the enslaved Africans as Sundays were usually the only day in which enslaved people could work without supervision or even for themselves.
It’s important to know that during this time, the Spanish and English were at war and Florida was controlled by Spain. In hopes of angering England, the Spanish at St. Augustine, Florida announced that any enslaved peoples from the English territories would be given freedom and land. This news made it all the way back to an enslaved Angolan man in South Carolina named Jemmy, who was educated and both read and spoke Spanish, Portuguese, and English. In the early morning of September 9, 1739, Jemmy led twenty enslaved Africans just south of Charleston and killed two storekeepers while calling for liberty.
As they traveled toward Florida, the group used drums and chants to garner support and rouse other enslaved people to join them. The group grew between 60 to 100 enslaved people who burned houses and fought white opponents as they marched South. After significant and bloody losses on both sides the rebellion was subdued and in response, the white enslavers enacted the Negro Act of 1740. This act outlawed drums/loud musical instruments and prohibited enslaved Africans from anything that the white enslavers thought could lead to another rebellion, including growing their own food, making their own money, learning to read, assembling in groups, and wearing nice clothes.
With drums and loud instruments—a vital part of the African Core 5—outlawed, enslaved Africans found other means to include percussive elements in their secret social and spiritual gatherings. They began implementing body percussion and movement that made sound or kept a steady beat in their work which evolved into field hollers and work songs. When the Christian music from the church is incorporated with these practices, the Negro Spiritual begins to take shape, and by the 20th century develops into The Blues which in turn leads to the development of Gospel, Soul, Jazz, Rock n Roll, RnB, Disco, EDM, Pop/Punk, Hip Hop, Rap, and even Contemporary Musical Theater.
I share all of this with you so that you can begin to form connections between the Black choral works you might be programming and the larger anthropological and cultural framework in which they belong. Black music (choral included) does not live in a vacuum and a fact that we often overlook is that something can’t come from nothing.
This Black Music Exploration Guide can help build a better and deeper understanding of Black choral works and can be used as an asset to both program directors and choristers alike.
Wrapping It Up
Over this three part series, we have discussed how to responsibly program Spirituals, looking outside of the traditional Western canon and programming other Black Choral works, and now taking a deeper dive into the history of Black music in America. My hope is that with this additional information you will be able to look at Black choral works and Spirituals through a new lens and more deeply understand the why and how of these works. I also hope that you walk away from this series knowing that honoring Black music in your classroom and/or your programming doesn’t have to be hard or intimidating and that you leave this digital space more invested and curious about Black music.
What are some of the most memorable concert programs you’ve created or education experiences you’ve had with students? Let us know in the comments below!