african american religious music Essay -- essays research papers fc

African American unearthly music is the intromission of all contemporary forms of so hollered black music. African American ghostly music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as creed music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American ghostly music? How did this musical expression word into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual explore of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.The origins of African American religious music are directly linked to the black uncannys of enslaved Africans. One cannot query religious music of blacks in this country without first exploring these spirituals. The spirituals were part of a religious expression that enslaved people use to transcend the narrow limits and dehumanizing personal effects of slavery. It was through the performance of the spirituals that the individual and the community experienced their divinity fudge, a perfection who affirmed their humanity in dashs whites did not and a God who could set them free both spiritually and physically. These sacred songs were also used as secret communication. That is not to say that all spirituals functi bingled as coded kick songs or as some sort of secret language. The structure of the spirituals and the way in which they were dod and performed allowed for flexibility in their function and meaning. The primary function of the Negro spirituals was to serve as communal song in a religious gathering, performed in a call and response pattern reminiscent of westerly African traditional religious practices. During these ceremonies, one person would begin to create a song by singing about his or her witness sorrow or delectation. That individual experience was brought to the community and through the call and response structure of the singing, that individuals sorrow or joy became the sorrow or joy of the community. In this way, the spiritual became truly affirming, for it provided communal support for individual experiences. Slaves used the characters of the bible, particularly the Old Testament,... ...erself expanded church doctrines exposure when she appeared twice on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Meanwhile, tv producer Bobby Jones r distributivelyes four and a half million viewers each week with his BET program, Gospel Explosion. However, the test for Gospel music reflects one that all Christian musicians must wrestle with Can Gospel take place to increase its fortune in the mainstream marketplace while still maintaining its spiritual base? Despite what you believe the answer to be, African American ghostlike music will continually evolve. Since Thomas Dorsey first stretched the boun daries to create religious doctrine music, choirs, quartets, and power vocalists have been singing the same song, albeit in different styles and places. As African American religious music continues to grow beyond nonetheless Dorseys expectations, one can only hope that it will be embraced regardless of how it is labeled by everyone who needs to be reminded of the good watchword it represents.Bibliography1. Score Magazine, May 2002 edition2. Gospel Today Magazine. August 2003.3. http//afgen.com/gospel4. http//www.americangospelquartet.org5. http//www.jcchorus.com/