Tennessee Arts Commission Fisk Jubilee Singers: Teacher's Guide

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Teacher's Lesson Guide

Fisk Jubilee Singers速: Singing Our Song The Fisk Jubilee Singers: Singing Our Song is a project by the Tennessee Arts Commission under the American Masterpieces initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. The African American spirituals are masterpieces in every sense, artistically profound and enormously influential, and the Jubilee Singers' historical and continuing relationship to this revered musical corpus gives Tennessee a special claim to nurturing its legacy. In that spirit, the Commission is proud to acknowledge both the spirituals and the Fisk Jubilee Singers as landmarks of Tennessee's artistic heritage. We hope this American Masterpieces project will both introduce our students to these landmarks and remind other citizens of their importance. In addition to sponsoring Tennessee concerts by the Jubilee Singers outside of Nashville, where they have been an institution for over 130 years, the project also presents these curriculum materials as a lasting resource for Tennessee schools, where we hope they will continue to build appreciation for the Jubilee Singers and the songs they brought to the world.

The Negro spirituals and the Fisk Jubilee Singers have far-reaching lessons for all Tennesseans. As topics for the classroom, they relate not only to music, but also to language arts, history and other social sciences.

Originating as folksongs of slave communities, the spirituals found second life in sophisticated choral arrangements before international audiences, then continued to inspire later styles of African American sacred music. As folk literature, the imagery, symbolism, and biblical parallels of the spirituals' lyrics document the ethos of an historical culture poorly represented in other period accounts. The joint story of the spirituals and the Fisk Jubilee Singers offers a broad window into African American and civil rights history. Throughout the abolition movement and the period follow-

ing emancipation, spirituals served up evidence of African American dignity, hope, and potential. As fundraisers for the new Fisk University, the Jubilee Singers welded this uplifting musical association to the cause of African American education. Throughout the country, jubilee singing accompanied the growth of what we now call "Historically Black Colleges and Universities," and Fisk's role as a mother institution was reinforced as its musical graduates staffed programs at other schools. In Nashville, the international renown of the Jubilee Singers spawned the identity of "Music City" long before the birth of the country music industry. As the continued career of the Fisk Jubilee Singers attests, there is much to be rediscovered and celebrated in these American masterpieces and in the heritage of their premier ensemble.

The Tennessee Arts Commission, now celebrating its 40th Anniversary, wishes to thank its partners in the development of this curriculum packet, which includes an accompanying enhanced audio CD and video DVD. Funding from the National Endowment for the Arts made the project possible, along with the generous support of Curb Records and WKRN television. Justine Gregory, Director of Education at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, did an excellent job in preparing these teaching materials. We also thank Bob Kucher and the staff of the Renaissance Center for production assistance, especially Cathy Mumford for graphic design and Ken Tucker for video services. And, of course, the project could not have been possible without the enthusiastic co-operation of Fisk University, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and their Musical Director, Paul T. Kwami.

Rich Boyd, Executive Director Lisa Hester, Arts Access Program Director Robert Cogswell, Folklife Program Director

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Introduction This Guide is designed to assist classroom teachers and youth leaders in introducing their students to the story and significance of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. It includes nine lessons with an accompanying CD, DVD, and sheet music that are incorporated into the lessons. A bibliography, discography, videography, and Webography provide helpful resources for further research.

All lessons in this guide are easily adapted for older or younger students.

They can be used in music, social studies, and language arts classes and support the Tennessee State Curriculum Standards in these areas. There are many opportunities for language arts, music, and social studies teachers to cross curricula. Teacher Tips provide suggestions for adapting lessons to older or younger students throughout the Guide. The lessons also address different learning styles by involving students in listening, writing, drawing, discussing, researching, and evaluating.

Portrait of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, 1873 by Edmund Harvell, commissioned by Queen Victoria, England. (Unless otherwise noted, images are from the special collection of the Fisk University Franklin Library) 4

Table of Contents

Fisk Jubilee Singers 2006-2007

Photograph Bill Steber

Lesson One:

Lesson Six:

Who Are the Fisk Jubilee Singers? pg. 6 - 10

Taking a Stand: Singing to Save Fisk University pg. 22 - 24

Lesson Two:

Lesson Seven:

Nashville as Music City pg. 11 - 12

The Legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers pg. 25 - 28

Lesson Three:

Lesson Eight:

What is Choral Music? pg. 13 - 14

Lesson Four:

Preparing for a Live Performance pg. 29 - 30

The Origins of Black Spirituals: Sing Till the Spirit Moves pg. 15 - 18

Lesson Nine:

Lesson Five:

Helpful Resources:

Listening to the Music pg. 19 - 21

What did you learn that you didn't know before? pg. 31 - 32

Bibliography, Discography, Videography, Webography, and Sheet Music pg. 34 - 42

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Lesson One:

Who are the Fisk Jubilee Singers?

TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

human cultures. Learning expectations: 1.01 (6-8, 7), 1.02 (K-5), 1.03 (K-5), 1.04 (6,7)

Language Arts • 1.0 The student will develop the reading and listening skills necessary for word recognition, comprehension, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and appreciation for print and non-print media.

• 3.0 The student will use Standard English conventions and proper spelling as appropriate to speaking and writing. Learning expectations: 3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03 (3-8), 3.04 (3-8) • High School Speaking & Listening The student will express ideas clearly and effectively in a variety of oral contexts and apply active

Geography • 3.0 Geography enables the students to see, understand, and appreciate the web of relationships between people, places, and environments. Students will use the knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts within the six essential elements of geography: world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, and the uses of geography.

Learning expectations: 3.01 (K-5, 6, 7, 8) 3.2 Understands the role of geography on the growth and development of slavery. 9-12

listening skills in the analysis and evaluation of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

Social Studies • Culture 1.0 - Culture encompasses similarities and differences among people, including their beliefs, knowledge, changes, values, and traditions. Student will explore these elements of society to develop an appreciation and respect for the variety of

The original Jubilee Singers 1871

Music • 8.0 Students will understand relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

• 9.0 Students will understand music in relation to history and culture. Learning expectations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

History • 5.0 History involves people, events, and issues. Students will evaluate evidence to develop comparative and causal analyses, and to interpret primary sources. They will construct sound historical arguments and perspectives on which informed decisions in contemporary life can be used. Learning Expectations: 5.03, 5.12 (4), 5.01, 5.02 (5), 8.5.19 (9-12)

United States History • Learning Expectation: 5.1 (9-12)

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Lesson One continued Individuals, Groups, & Interactions

Share the following with students:

• 6.0 Appreciate the diversity of various cultures and their influences on the United States. Learning Expectation: 9.3 (9-12) Objective: Students will watch a DVD presentation or read a book about the Fisk Jubilee Singers to discuss who they are and their importance to Nashville, Tennessee and to American history.

Preparation Time: None Materials: DVD A Spiritual Journey (included with lesson guide) or picture book A Band of Angels (based on original Fisk Jubilee Singer Ella Sheppard's

We are about to watch a film and/or listen to a story about a special singing group called the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The Singers are made up of Fisk University students and have been in existence since 1871.

They sing spiritual songs that originated with African slaves in America and were part of their daily lives after conversion to Christianity. The original Fisk Jubilee Singers were former slaves or were children of former slaves and were the first group to publicly perform the songs of slaves and share them with the world.

story) by Deborah

The first music director, Mr. George L. White George L. White named the singers the Fisk Vocabulary Words: slavery, Jubilee Singers after the biblical Underground Railroad, Christianity, reference (Leviticus 25) to the year of the Civil War, Abolition Movement, Emancipation. “jubile” in which Hebrew Law required that all slaves be set free. Jubilee became a Teacher Tip: For older students, it would term applied to the choral style of singing be helpful to discuss/review the American these traditional religious melodies, and it Civil War and slavery in order to have was adopted in the names of most groups some context for this lesson. who sang in this style.

Between the years of 1871 (six years after the Civil War ended) to 1878, the Jubilee Singers traveled to Memphis, Chattanooga, Ohio, Illinois, New York, Washington DC, Massachusetts, Hopkinson, paper, pencil.

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Lesson One continued

Fisk Jubilee Singers 2001-2002

Photograph by John Cross

Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland as well as to Great Britain and Germany, where they sang to raise money for Fisk University. During their performances, they touched hearts and souls everywhere and then moved to other parts of the country and world. As we watch this film or listen to this story, write down what you learn about the Fisk Jubilee Singers as well as questions that you have about them.

• Ask students to fill out a KWL chart

•

Watch the film DVD A Spiritual

Journey (22 minutes) or read aloud the book A Band of Angels.

• Once you have finished the film or book, discuss the following questions.

Where is Fisk University? (Nashville, TN) What was going on in America at the time of the founding of Fisk University and the Fisk Jubilee Singers? (the end of the Civil War, the success of the abolition movement

with information about what they already know,

through the end of slavery and the emancipa-

what they would like to know and then lastly,

tion of slaves, and the beginning of the freedmen movement to provide opportunities and education to freed slaves)

K

W

L

What are slave songs-also called Negro spirituals, sorrow songs, and Jubilee songs? What do you think they might have sung about? (the trials of being a slave in America, missing their homeland or family members, faith, relationship with their God)

what they learned. The "learned" part of the chart will be completed at the end of the unit.

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Who was Ella Sheppard? (former slave and

Lesson One continued original member, singer and piano accompanist for the Fisk Jubilee Singers) Why did the Jubilee Singers first go on tour around the United States and to Europe? (to raise money for the University which was having funding problems and needed new buildings)

Why do you think there are competitive auditions and high quality standards for the Jubilee Singers? Have you ever auditioned for something? Explain. How did you feel?

Why do you think auditions are important?

Why do you think it is important to record the music of the Fisk Jubilee Singers digitally?

For what leaders of countries did the Fisk Jubilee Singers perform in the 1870's? (U.S. President Grant, and Great Britain's Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Gladstone) How do you think white people might have responded to the singers when first hearing their music? (consider the time period, after the Civil War, emancipation)

Extension Activities: Learn about individual members of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers: Benjamin Holmes, Jennie Jackson, Greene Evans, Eliza Walker, Thomas Rutling, Minnie Tate, Izaac Dickerson, Ella Sheppard (soprano, piano

Ella Sheppard

accompanist, and assistant director), and Maggie Porter (soprano)

Take a field trip to see Jubilee Hall and the Chapel at Fisk University in Nashville

Why do you think the Fisk Jubilee Singers are considered to be so special?

Tennessee.

Visit the historic Nashville City Cemetery to

Who is the current leader of the Fisk Jubilee Singers? (Paul Kwami, originally from Ghana) How old are the singers? Are there changes to the group each year? Explain. (they are university students, every year there are changes to the group as students graduate and new students audition)

see the graves of original Fisk Jubilee Singers Mabel Lewis Imes and Ella Sheppard Moore.

For more information visit: www.thenashvillecitycemetery.org/history.htm.

During Jubilee Day activities in September each year, ceremonies are held at the Nashville City Cemetery as well as at the Chapel at Fisk University.

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Lesson One continued Map Activity: Post a map of the world in your

Encourage older students to research the

classroom and identify with markers all the

story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers by visiting the

cities and countries where the Fisk Jubilee

following Web sites:

Singers performed, during the late 1800's.

www.fisk.edu

Identify the locations of the following cities, states, and countries: Cincinnati, Oberlin,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/singers/tguide/index.html

Chicago, New York, Massachusetts,

Includes timelines, people and events, discus-

Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey,

sion questions, etc.

Pennsylvania, DC, England, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, India,

www.fiskjubileesingers.org

and more.

“Southern Cornfield, Nashville.� By Thomas W. Wood. Courtesy of the T.W. Wood Gallery and Arts Center.

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Lesson Two:

Nashville as Music City TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

Language Arts • 3.0 The student will use Standard English conventions and proper spelling as appropriate to speaking and writing. Learning expectations: 3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03 (3-8), 3.04 (3-8) • High School Speaking and Listening - The student will express ideas clearly and effectively in a variety of oral contexts and

1900 Lithograph of Fisk University’s Jubilee Hall

apply active listening skills in the analysis and evaluation of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

develop comparative and causal analyses, and to interpret primary sources. They will

Social Studies • Culture 1.0 Culture encompasses simi-

construct sound historical arguments and perspectives on which informed decisions in con-

larities and differences among people, including

temporary life can be used. Learning

their beliefs, knowledge, changes, values, and

Expectations: 5.03, 5.12 (4), 1.3 (9-12),

traditions. Student will explore these elements

8.1.03 (9-12).

of society to develop an appreciation and respect for the variety of human cultures.

Learning expectations: 1.01 (6-8, 7), 1.02 (K-5), 1.03 (K-5), 1.04 (6,7)

Individuals, Groups, & Interactions • 6.0 Appreciate the diversity of various cultures and their influences on the United States.

Music • 8.0 Students will understand relation-

Objectives: Students will discuss their per-

ships between music, the other arts, and disci-

ceptions of Nashville as Music City and how

plines outside the arts.

these perceptions might change during the

• 9.0 Students will understand music in

course of studying the work and history of the

relation to history and culture. Learning expec-

Fisk Jubilee Singers.

tations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

History

Materials: Paper, Pencil, Whiteboard,

• 5.0 History involves people, events, and issues. Students will evaluate evidence to

Markers, Bulletin Board, Magazines, Scissors, Stapler, Colored Paper.

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Lesson Two •

continued

Ask students to write or discuss what

•

Develop a bulletin board in your class-

they think about when they think of Nashville,

room with Nashville or Music City as the

TN. (might say Titans, Sounds, Predators,

theme. Incorporate visual representations

state capital, country music, Grand Ole Opry,

about what the term means to your students.

Opryland, etc.). Discuss Nashville's name

Add items to the bulletin board as students

"Music City." What does that mean to you?

learn more about the variety of styles of music

Save their writings and discuss how their

in Nashville.

ideas about Music City might have changed at the end of this unit.

The Heritage House- Home of the Fisk University President until about 1957

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Lesson Three:

What is Choral Music?

TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

• 9.0 Students will understand music in relation to history and culture. Learning

Language Arts

expectations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

• 3.0 The student will use Standard English conventions and proper spelling as appropriate to speaking and writing. Learning

Individuals, Groups & Interactions • 6.0 Appreciate the diversity of various

expectations: 3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03 (3-8),

cultures and their influences on the United

3.04 (3-8)

States. Learning Expectation: 9.3 (9-12)

• High School Speaking & Listening The student will express ideas clearly and effectively in a variety of oral contexts and apply active listening skills in the analysis and evaluation of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

Social Studies • Culture 1.0 - Culture encompasses similarities and differences among people, including their beliefs, knowledge, changes, values, and traditions. Student will explore these elements of society to develop an appreciation and respect for the variety of

Objectives: Students will discuss the characteristics of choral music to better understand the music of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes Materials: Paper, Pencil, CD player, CD (included with this guide).

Vocabulary Words: choir, choral music, ensemble, musical director, conductor, a cappella, soprano, alto, tenor, bass.

human cultures. Learning expectations: 1.01 (6-8, 7), 1.02 (K-5), 1.03 (K-5), 1.04 (6,7)

• Ask your students what styles of music they enjoy. Do you listen to choral

Music • 6.0 Students will listen to, analyze, and

music (choir)? Where? How would you describe choral music? (a group of singers

describe music. Learning expectations: 6.2 (3,

who perform songs written with two or more

6-8, 9-12), 6.3 (4, 5)

parts) What is a choir? Have you ever sung in

• 7.0 Students will evaluate music and

a choir or in a school play or concert or

music performances. Learning expectations:

church? Did you sing without recorded music

7.1 (4, 5, 6-8, 9-12)

or accompanying musical instruments? (a

• 8.0 Students will understand relation-

cappella) Do you enjoy this music? Why or

ships between music, the other arts, and disci-

why not? How is the music you listen to simi-

plines outside the arts.

lar to choir music?

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Lesson Three

continued

Share with students:

you listen to at home? How is it similar?

Do some of the voices remind you of a

The tradition of the Fisk Jubilee Singers is choral performance of the Negro spirituals.

They usually sing a cappella or without any musical instruments (like a piano, guitar, etc.). Choirs like the Fisk Jubilee Singers have a conductor, concertmaster or musical director. Since 1871, the Jubilee Singers have had 16 musical directors. Mr. George L. White was the first. Mr. Paul Kwami is the current, 2007 musical director.

• Play CD song #1, I'm Gonna Sing Till the Spirit Moves.

For younger students remind them to get their

voice? Explain.

Share with students: The different parts of the choir are soprano, alto, tenor, bass and sometimes baritone.

Soprano is the highest female voice. Alto is the lowest female voice. Tenor refers to higher male voices. Bass refers to lower male voices.

• Play song #1 again and listen for the different voices we have discussed.

• Ask students to use the chart to check

ears ready to listen and to open their minds

when they have heard the different parts of the

and hearts as they prepare to listen.

choir and to describe when they heard it.

• After listening to this song, discuss the following questions:

Did you like the song? Why or why not?

How would you describe the music? How did the music make you feel? Did you hear any musical instruments? (voices are musical instruments too!) How do the voices sound different from each other? (some are higher, some are deeper) How does this song sound different from music

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specific musical instrument other than a

Soprano (highest female voice) Alto (lowest female voice) Tenor (highest male voice) Bass (lowest male voice)

Lesson Four:

The Origins of Black Spirituals: Sing Till the Spirit Moves TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

see, understand, and appreciate the web of relationships between people, places, and envi-

Language Arts

ronments. Students will use the knowledge,

• 1.0 The student will develop the read-

skills, and understanding of concepts within the

ing and listening skills necessary for word

six essential elements of geography: world in

recognition, comprehension, interpretation,

spatial terms, places and regions, physical sys-

analysis, evaluation, and appreciation

tems, human systems, environment

for print and non-print media.

and society, and the uses of geog-

• 3.0 The student will use

raphy. Learning expectations:

Standard English conventions

3.01 (K-5, 6, 7, 8) 3.2 (9-12)

and proper spelling as appropriate to speaking and writ-

Music

ing. Learning expectations:

• Students will sing,

3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03

alone and with others, a

(3-8), 3.04 (3-8)

varied repertoire of music.

• High School

Learning expectations: 1.1

Speaking & Listening - The student will express ideas

Mr. Paul Kwami photographer Michael Krouskop

clearly and effectively in a variety

(4,5) 1.2 (9-12) • 6.0 Students will listen to, analyze, and describe music.

of oral contexts and apply active lis-

Learning expectations: 6.2 (3, 6-8, 9-

tening skills in the analysis and evalua-

12), 6.3 (4, 5)

tion of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

• 7.0 Students will evaluate music and music performances. Learning expectations:

Social Studies • Culture 1.0 - Culture encompasses

7.1 (4, 5, 6-8, 9-12) • 8.0 Students will understand relation-

similarities and differences among people,

ships between music, the other arts, and disci-

including their beliefs, knowledge, changes,

plines outside the arts.

values, and traditions. Student will explore

• 9.0 Students will understand music in

these elements of society to develop an

relation to history and culture. Learning expec-

appreciation and respect for the variety of

tations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

human cultures. Learning expectations: 1.01 (6-8, 7), 1.02 (K-5), 1.03 (K-5), 1.04 (6,7)

History • 5.0 History involves people, events,

Geography • 3.0 Geography enables the students to

and issues. Students will evaluate evidence to develop comparative and causal analyses,

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Lesson Four continued and to interpret primary sources. They will

Teacher Tip: For older students, it would be

construct sound historical arguments and per-

helpful to discuss/review the American Civil

spectives on which informed decisions in contemporary life can be used. Learning Expectations: 5.03, 5.12 (4), 5.01, 5.02 (5), 5.08, 5.18, 5.19 (8), 1.2, 1.3 (9-12).

War, slavery, and the Underground Railroad, in order to have context for this lesson. For younger students, it would be helpful to share the picture book, Follow the Drinking

United States History • Learning Expectation: 5.1 (9-12)

Individuals, Groups & Interactions • 6.0 Appreciate the diversity of various

Gourd. Other book ideas for younger students: All Night, All Day: A Children's First Book of African American Spirituals by Ashley Bryan, Slave Spirituals and the

cultures and their influences on the United

Jubilee Singers by Michael Cooper, or From

States. Learning Expectation: 9.3 (9-12)

Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester and Robert Brown.

Objectives: Students will discuss and listen to spirituals sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers to identify the origin, styles, and content of the music.

Preparation Time: 60 minutes. Make copies of the Observation Sheets included at the end of the guide and display image of sheet music on an overhead projector.

Materials: CD player, sheet music, In Bright Mansions CD (included with the guide), paper, pencil, books, Observation Sheet (from pages 33-34 of the guide), Sheet Music (from page 39-42 of the guide).

Vocabulary Words: spiritual, folk song, call-response style, slavery, oral tradition, Underground Railroad, rhythm, and tempo.

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Share with students: In 1619, a Dutch ship arrived in Jamestown, VA, with twenty Africans who were quickly sold into slavery. This was the beginning of the African slave trade.

Millions of men, women, and children were brought from different African countries for this purpose. With them, they brought many different customs, including musical traditions.

African slaves in America learned European choral traditions and were introduced to Christianity. They sang in worship but also in the fields as they worked. It is from these foundations that

Lesson Four continued Black spirituals developed. They were passed from generation to generation orally rather than in written form. A spiritual is a religious folk song. Spirituals can be happy or sad and often include references to the Bible or hidden messages about the Underground Railroad or a planned escape from slavery. Many spirituals referred to Old Testament stories, through which slaves identified with the "Hebrew Children" in their flight from bondage in Egypt.

The arrangement of lines and phrases in spirituals often includes a solo leader line that carries the theme and development, interrupted regularly by the chorus which repeats again and again the same refrain.

This style, referred to as "call-response," has African origins. The 4-part harmony also heard in spirituals is European.

African Americans picking cotton Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library & Archives

down in the form of sheet music. Spiritual music became very popular in America.

Discuss the following questions with students: What are times when we sing? (worship,

The words in Black spirituals often were code words related to a means of escape including "chariot" or "train." De Gospel Train and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot are such songs that relate directly to the Underground Railroad-an organization that helped many slaves flee to the North.

birthdays, weddings, Christmas, funerals, other special holidays, patriotism) Are all of these events happy occasions? Explain.

Are there songs you have been taught by someone in your family? Oral traditions are customs passed from generation to generation rather than being written down. Because the

Six years after slavery ended in America, The Fisk Jubilee Singers went about preserving the traditions of spirituals by performing all over the northern states and in Europe and Asia. After this time, several composers began collecting the songs and writing them

song or story is not written down, do you think it changes through time? Explain.

17

Lesson Four continued • Prepare students for listening to the music. Ask them to get their ears ready to listen and to open their minds and hearts.

Students should keep a journal of thoughts and questions that arise. If you have not grown up listening to this music, you may be surprised to learn how it has influenced the music you listen to everyday. It began in Africa and evolved in the United States as a reflection of the experiences of enslaved people, capturing their spirit and dreams.

Wade in the Water #15 sheet music included • For older students, discuss the following questions as a class or ask students to respond through journal writing.

Why do you think Black spiritual music is an important part of American history?

What story does it tell? How do you think it affects us today? What can you tell about

• Listen to the following songs paying close attention to the tone, rhythm, tempo, style, and words in the song. Ask students to complete an Observation Sheet, (p. 33) for each song. Some teachers may choose to have their students write about the songs in their journals.

De Gospel Train #5 (escape song) sheet music included *Hold On #12 (work song)

the slaves who sang these songs originally?

• For music classrooms, teachers may wish to sing the songs with their students.

Sheet music for some songs is provided for this purpose. Teachers may also wish to prepare students for singing the songs by listening to the CD included with the lesson guide.

Song Title: ________________________________________________________________________ Describe the song: _________________________________________________________________ What is the song about? ____________________________________________________________ Do you think this song would be sung during worship or during work? Explain. _____________ Is there a soloist? __________________________________________________________________ Are there high parts and low parts? ___________________________________________________ Do you think this is a sad or a happy song? Explain. _____________________________________ Do you like the song? Why or why not? __________________________________________________ De Gospel Train #5 (escape song) sheet music included *Hold On #12 (work song) Wade in the Water #15 sheet music included

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* see Sheet Music in Helpful Resources

Lesson Five:

Listening to the Music TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

Language Arts • 1.0 The student will develop the reading and listening skills necessary for word recognition, comprehension, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and appreciation for print and non-print media.

• 3.0 The student will use Standard English conventions and proper spelling as appropriate to speaking and writing. Learning expectations: 3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03 (3-8), 3.04 (3-8) • High School Speaking & Listening The student will express ideas clearly and effectively in a variety of oral contexts and apply active listening skills in the analysis and evaluation of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

Social Studies • Culture 1.0 - Culture encompasses similarities and differences among people,

within the six essential elements of geography: world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, and the uses of geography. Learning expectations: 3.01 (K-5, 6, 7, 8) 3.2 (9-12)

including their beliefs, knowledge, changes, values, and traditions. Student will explore these elements of society to develop an appreciation and respect for the variety of human cultures. Learning expectations: 1.01 (6-8, 7), 1.02 (K-5), 1.03 (K-5), 1.04 (6,7)

Geography • 3.0 Geography enables the students to see, understand, and appreciate the web of relationships between people, places, and environments. Students will use the knowl-

Music • 6.0 Students will listen to, analyze, and describe music. Learning expectations: 6.2 (3, 6-8, 9-12), 6.3 (4, 5) • 7.0 Students will evaluate music and music performances. Learning expectations: 7.1 (4, 5, 6-8, 9-12) • 8.0 Students will understand relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

• 9.0 Students will understand music in

edge, skills, and understanding of concepts

19

Lesson Five

continued ciate the music and to identify the different styles of spirituals and the meaning of the words. Students will listen critically to spiritual music to evaluate its distinctive qualities.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes Materials: CD player, In Bright Mansions CD (included with the lesson guide), paper, pencils, colored markers/crayons, sheet music for Nobody Knows De Trouble I See.

Early Class at Fisk University

Vocabulary Words: Call-response style, syncopated style, long sustained phrase style, refrain.

relation to history and culture. Learning expectations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

Share with students:

History

Spirituals have several different styles in terms of rhythm and structure. The callresponse style has African origins. Voices take turns answering each other and repeating this pattern. It is a melodic fragment sung repeatedly by the chorus as an answer to the challenging lines of the leader. The leader sings one verse and then the chorus answers with a refrain. *I'm Gonna Sing Till The Spirit Moves #1 is an example of a call-response song.

• 5.0 History involves people, events, and issues. Students will evaluate evidence to develop comparative and causal analyses, and to interpret primary sources. They will construct sound historical arguments and perspectives on which informed decisions in contemporary life can be used. Learning Expectations: 5.03, 5.12 (4), 5.01, 5.02 (5), 5.08, 5.18, 5.19 (8), 1.2, 1.3 (9-12).

United States History • Learning Expectation: 5.1 (9-12)

Individuals, Groups, & Interactions • 6.0 Appreciate the diversity of various cultures and their influences on the United

A slow and sustained phrase song is another song structure that is common in spirituals. These songs tend to have a slower tempo. He's Got the Whole World in His Hands #11 is an example of this type of spiritual.

States. Learning Expectation: 9.3 (9-12) Objectives: Students will listen to several spirituals sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers to appre-

20

For the syncopated, segmented melody, the tempo is usually fast and the rhythm features a "swing". Syncopation is heightened *see Web Links in Helpful Resources

Lesson Five continued in group singing by multiple voices. The rhythm of such a spiritual is based on the swinging of head and body. The swaying of the body marks the regular beat, but more or less strict in time. Wade in the Water #15 is an example of a syncopated song.

• Prepare students for listening to the

about it? What musical instruments do you hear? Are voices musical instruments?

Your students might say that they hear beautiful voices. Some people have the gift of beautiful voices. Do you think the singers have to practice? What would they need to practice?

Does the song tell a story? Write about or

music. Ask them to get their ears ready to lis-

draw pictures of what you hear in the words.

ten and to open their minds and hearts.

How does the music make you feel? How

Students should keep a journal of thoughts

does this sound like music you listen to at

and questions that arise.

home, at church, or elsewhere? Explain.

• Display sheet music for Nobody

Is the song call-response, sustained

Knows De Trouble I See on an overhead pro-

phrase, or syncopated style? Explain why

jector. Ask students to tell you what they

you think this.

notice about each song when looking at the sheet music.

• For music classrooms, teachers may wish to sing the songs with their students. It might

• Listen to the following songs from the In Bright Mansions CD.

also be helpful to play the songs from the In Bright Mansions CD included with this lesson guide.

Nobody Knows De Trouble I See #8 (sustained phrase style) *Rockin Jerusalem #7 (call-response and syncopated style) • Ask students to discuss the following questions as a class or to respond in their journals.

Does this sound like music you have heard before? If so, where?

Do you like this music? What do you like or dislike about it? What is distinctive *see Web Links in Helpful Resources

Music City Walk of Fame Photograph by Kevin Schlatt Photography

21

Lesson Six:

Taking a Stand: Singing to Save Fisk University TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

apply active listening skills in the analysis and evaluation of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

Language Arts • 1.0 The student will develop the reading and listening skills necessary for word

Social Studies • Culture 1.0 - Culture encompasses

recognition, comprehension, interpretation,

similarities and differences among people,

analysis, evaluation, and appreciation for print

including their beliefs, knowledge, changes,

and non-print media.

values, and traditions. Student will explore

• 3.0 The student will use Standard

these elements of society to develop an

English conventions and proper spelling as

appreciation and respect for the variety of

appropriate to speaking and writing. Learning

human cultures. Learning expectations: 1.01

expectations: 3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03 (3-8),

(6-8, 7), 1.02 (K-5), 1.03 (K-5), 1.04 (6,7)

3.04 (3-8) • High School Speaking & Listening The student will express ideas clearly and effectively in a variety of oral contexts and

Geography • 3.0 Geography enables the students to see, understand, and appreciate the web of

This school building was part of the Union Hospital Barracks where Fisk first started. It was brought to the present campus in 1877 and is known as “The Little Theater”.

22

Lesson Six

continued

relationships between people, places, and environments. Students will use the knowledge,

United States History • Learning Expectation: 5.1 (9-12)

skills, and understanding of concepts within the six essential elements of geography: world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and socie-

Individuals, Groups & Interactions • 6.0 Appreciate the diversity of various cultures and their influences on the United States.

ty, and the uses of geography. Learning expectations: 3.01 (K-5, 6, 7, 8) 3.2 (9-12)

Objectives: Students will learn more about the original Fisk Jubilee

Music

Singers to discuss what it

• 7.0 Students will

means to take a stand for

evaluate music and music

something you believe in.

performances. Learning

Students identify an issue

expectations: 7.1 (4, 5, 6-

in about which they feel

8, 9-12)

strongly and develop a

• 8.0 Students will

plan for taking action and

understand relationships

making a difference.

between music, the other arts, and disciplines out-

Preparation Time: None

side the arts.

• 9.0 Students will

General Clinton B. Fisk

understand music in relation to

Materials: Paper, pencil, chalkboard or white board, markers, chalk

history and culture. Learning expectations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

Vocabulary Words: bigotry, freedmen, slavery, Civil Rights Act

History • 5.0 History involves people, events,

Share this information with students:

and issues. Students will evaluate evidence to develop comparative and causal analyses, and to interpret primary sources. They will construct sound historical arguments and perspectives on which informed decisions in contemporary life can be used. Learning Expectations: 5.03, 5.12 (4), 5.01, 5.02 (5), 5.08, 5.18, 5.19 (8), 1.2, 1.3 (9-12).

Fisk University opened in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee for freedmen by northern educational interests (American Missionary Association), as were so many of the schools for Negroes which were established in the South after the civil war. The school was named after U.S. General Clinton B. Fisk, 23

Lesson Six continued who made the founding contribution and secured the school's first facilities. Classes at Fisk were held in former Union Army hospital barracks. In 1871, under the leadership of Mr. George L. White, treasurer of Fisk, a group of singers were trained and organized to perform and to raise money for Fisk. Fisk was struggling financially and was in great need of new buildings for the students.

do you think about what the Fisk Jubilee Singers did in 1871?

segregated audiences and denounced racism whenever they encountered it. In 1875, the Singers returned to Fisk with more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars. They had also generated an interest in Negro education and in spirituals in America and around the world.

Teacher Tip: For younger stu-

• Ask students to discuss as a class an issue about which they feel strongly-something they feel needs to change or improve (litter, animal cruelty, bullying, the poverty, wasting of resources, hunger, etc). Make a class list of these issues and determine one that the majority of students have an interest. As a class, what do In the face of hunger you want to do about this and bigotry, the stuissue? What is realistic? dents performed How will you make this haparound the midpen? Develop a plan. The western and northclass project might be to eastern states as develop a recycling plan for well as in Europe. the school, if there isn't one They sang spiritualready. Students could write als as representaletters to senators or congressTen n es se e H tives of American is to ri ca l C om m is si on men about the issue. freedmen. They Tennessee His to ri cal Commissi refused to sing for on dents, teachers may want to discuss times that students have helped others and put themselves second. Rather than developing a class project, younger students could decide what action they could take to help someone they know. They should report to Discuss the following questions with students.

Have you ever stood up for something?

Why? What does it take in order to act?

What methods are necessary to take action? Is it more effective to take action in a group or on your own? Explain. What

24

the class what they did and how they felt doing it.

Lesson Seven:

The Legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

apply active listening skills in the analysis and evaluation of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

Language Arts • 1.0 The student will develop the reading and listening skills necessary for word

Social Studies • Culture 1.0 - Culture encompasses

recognition, comprehension, interpretation,

similarities and differences among people,

analysis, evaluation, and appreciation for print

including their beliefs, knowledge, changes,

and non-print media.

values, and traditions. Student will explore

• 3.0 The student will use Standard

these elements of society to develop an

English conventions and proper spelling as

appreciation and respect for the variety of

appropriate to speaking and writing. Learning

human cultures. Learning expectations: 1.01

expectations: 3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03 (3-8),

(6-8, 7), 1.02 (K-5), 1.03 (K-5), 1.04 (6,7)

3.04 (3-8) • High School Speaking & Listening The student will express ideas clearly and effectively in a variety of oral contexts and

Fisk University, Jubilee Hall, 2006

Geography • 3.0 Geography enables the students to see, understand, and appreciate the web of

Photograph by Robert Cogswell

25

Lesson Seven

continued

relationships between people, places, and envi-

"legacy" to understand better the legacy of the

ronments. Students will use the knowledge,

Fisk Jubilee Singers.

skills, and understanding of concepts within the six essential elements of geography: world in

Preparation Time: None

spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and socie-

Materials: Paper, Pencil

ty, and the uses of geography. Learning expectations: 3.01 (K-5, 6, 7, 8) 3.2 (9-12)

Vocabulary Words: Legacy (According to Miriam-Webster, "something transmitted by or

Music • 8.0 Students will understand relation-

received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past")

ships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

Share this information with students.

• 9.0 Students will understand music in relation to history and culture. Learning expectations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

History • 5.0 History involves people, events, and issues. Students will evaluate evidence to develop comparative and causal analyses, and to interpret primary sources. They will construct sound historical arguments and perspectives on which informed decisions in contemporary life can be used. Learning Expectations:

The songs of the Fisk Jubilee Singers encouraged White people to look at Black Americans and their intellect in a different way, not as those who came from slavery and who suffered but those who shared a rich culture. The singers were and are talented and innovative and add enhancements to the art of harmony singing. This tradition has been passed down from the original singers to the current group.

5.03, 5.12 (4), 5.01, 5.02 (5), 5.08, 5.18, 5.19 (8), 1.2, 1.3 (9-12).

United States History • Learning Expectation: 5.1 (9-12)

Individuals, Groups, and Interactions • 6.0 Appreciate the diversity of various cultures and their influences on the United States.

Objectives: Students will define the term

26

Education and training have played an important role in the survival and proliferation of spiritual singing. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, teachers in rural primary and secondary school classrooms routinely included the singing of spirituals in their curriculum. They stressed music and voice training as well as sight-reading.

Mr. White, leader of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, maintained the spirit and

Lesson Seven

continued

emotion of the music but added a more polished and grammatically correct style to it.

This really transformed the music from folk music to concert music.

What does it mean for something to have a

Today, musical director Paul Kwami expects high quality and self-discipline from the singers at all times. He encourages students to enunciate words in the songs so that the audience can understand clearly. There are frequent rehearsals in which students are expected to be on time and to be focused. Students are also required to audition each year.

What other people or groups do you think

Although they were often criticized_for overly refining the spirituals, for catering too much to White tastes, for looking to the North for support, and for being too assertive about equal rights_the Fisk Jubilee Singers paved the way for future professional and semi-professional Black religious singing groups. Many Negro colleges were inspired by Fisk to start their own jubilee groups and drew upon directors trained at Fisk to staff their programs.

By the 1920's, concert performances by African American jubilee ensembles were so popular that record companies identified a market for this music and begun recording them.

and the music you listen to at home,

legacy?

Do you think the Fisk Jubilee Singers have a legacy? What is that legacy?

have left a legacy? Explain.

What does it take for something to last as long as the Fisk Jubilee Singers have?

How has this music influenced music you hear everyday? Do you hear any similarities between the spiritual singing that you have heard from the Fisk Jubilee Singers church, or elsewhere? Explain.

• Discuss these questions as a class or encourage students to respond to these questions in their journals.

Fisk Jubilee Singers 2006 - 2007 Photograph by Bill Steber

27

Lesson Seven

continued

Dr. & Mrs. Bill Cosby present the largest private gift in the history of Fisk, 1.3 Million.

President George Bush & President Ponder while visiting the Department of Interior in Washington D.C.

Colin Powel was the keynote speaker during a commencement exercise at Fisk.

Georgia O’Keefe & Carl Van Vechten chat.

Ms. O’Keefe presented to Fisk The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Modern Art in 1949.

Fisk University President Dr. Ponder watches as President Ronald Reagan signs legislation.

Fisk students protest segregation in front of Woolworth’s, Nashville, 1960

28

The Reverend Jessie Jackson spoke at Fisk before a special assembly.

The photographs on this page can be found in “Thy Loyal Children Make Their Way”, A Pictorial History by Reavis Mitchell, Jr.

Lesson Eight:

Preparing For the Live Performance

TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

Music • 6.0 Students will listen to, analyze, and

Language Arts • 1.0 The student will develop the reading and listening skills necessary for word

describe music. Learning expectations: 6.2 (3, 6-8, 9-12), 6.3 (4, 5) • 7.0 Students will evaluate music and

recognition, comprehension, interpretation,

music performances. Learning expectations:

analysis, evaluation, and appreciation for print

7.1 (4, 5, 6-8, 9-12)

and non-print media.

• 3.0 The student will use Standard English conventions and proper spelling as appropriate to speaking and writing. Learning expectations: 3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03 (3-8), 3.04 (3-8) • High School Speaking & Listening -

• 8.0 Students will understand relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

• 9.0 Students will understand music in relation to history and culture. Learning expectations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

The student will express ideas clearly and effectively in a variety of oral contexts and

Objective: Students will discuss the character-

apply active listening skills in the analysis and

istics of listening to a live performance verses

evaluation of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

listening to a previously recorded version.

Dr. Matthew Kennedy, retired, with 2006 Fisk Jubilee Singers. Dr. Kennedy is a former Fisk Jubilee Singer who served as the groups musical director for three terms.

Photograph by Kevin Schlatt Photography

29

Lesson Eight

continued

This lesson is designed for classes that will

interact with one another, their techniques of

attend a live performance of the Fisk Jubilee

making music, how they move their mouths,

Singers or another concert spiritual performance.

hold their bodies (posture), how they introduce their songs and respond to their songs (body

• Discuss with your students the differ-

movements, emotions, etc.). The Fisk Jubilee

ences between listening to a CD or the radio

Singers have always traveled to other cities,

and seeing/hearing music live.

states, and countries to perform for people in concert halls and churches.

What are some of the differences? Have you ever been to see/hear music live?

• Encourage students to write in their

What type of music was it? Where did you

journals about what they are looking forward

go to hear the music? Do you prefer to

to in the live performance.

hear music live or at home on your CD player or on the radio? Explain.

What do you expect it to be like? What do you expect to hear or see in the performance?

• Share with students that one of the advantages of being at a performance live is

What questions might you have for the performer(s) if you have an opportunity to ask?

that you can see the performers-how they

Music City Walk of Fame, 2006 Fisk Jubilee Singers.

30

Photograph by Kevin Schlatt Photography

Lesson Nine:

What Did You Learn That You Didn't Know Before?

TENNESSEE STATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS

environments. Students will use the knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts

Language Arts • 1.0 The student will develop the read-

within the six essential elements of geography: world in spatial terms, places and regions,

ing and listening skills necessary for word

physical systems, human systems, environ-

recognition, comprehension, interpretation,

ment and society, and the uses of geography.

analysis, evaluation, and appreciation for print

Learning expectations: 3.01 (K-5, 6, 7, 8) 3.2

and non-print media.

Understands the role of geography on the

• 3.0 The student will use Standard

growth and development of slavery. 9-12

English conventions and proper spelling as appropriate to speaking and writing. Learning expectations: 3.01 (3-8), 3.02 (3-8), 3.03 (3-8), 3.04 (3-8) • High School Speaking and Listening The student will express ideas clearly and effec-

Music • 8.0 Students will understand relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

• 9.0 Students will understand music in

tively in a variety of oral contexts and apply

relation to history and culture. Learning expec-

active listening skills in the analysis and evalua-

tations: 9.1 (4), 9.2 (3,5)

tion of spoken ideas. (I, II, III, IV)

History Social Studies • Culture 1.0 - Culture encompasses

• 5.0 History involves people, events, and issues. Students will evaluate evidence to

similarities and differences among people,

develop comparative and causal analyses,

including their beliefs, knowledge, changes,

and to interpret primary sources. They will

values, and traditions. Student will explore

construct sound historical arguments and per-

these elements of society to develop an

spectives on which informed decisions in con-

appreciation and respect for the variety of

temporary life can be used. Learning

human cultures. Learning expectations: 1.01

Expectations: 5.03, 5.12 (4), 5.01, 5.02 (5),

(6-8, 7), 1.02 (K-5), 1.03 (K-5), 1.04 (6,7)

8.5.19 (9-12)

Geography

United States History

• 3.0 Geography enables the students

• Learning Expectation: 5.1 (9-12)

to see, understand, and appreciate the web of relationships between people, places, and

31

Lesson Nine: continued Individuals, Groups & Interactions • 6.0 Appreciate the diversity of various

music. Ask them questions about what it is like to be a Jubilee Singer.

cultures and their influences on the United States. Learning Expectation: 9.3 (9-12)

• If you could talk to the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, what would you say to them?

Objective: Students will evaluate what they

What questions would you ask?

have learned about the Fisk Jubilee Singers by comparing their perceptions at the beginning of the unit to what they know now.

Preparation Time: None Materials: Paper, Pencils, and Journals.

• Ask students to compare their ideas of Nashville as Music City at the beginning of this unit with what they know now. Encourage them to share ideas with the class or to write in their journals. KWL chart to be completed from Lesson One.

K

W

L

• Ask students to refer to their notes from Lesson One and locate questions that they might have had about the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Have all of your questions been answered? If not, how can you find the answers? (refer to the list of references at the end of this guide) • Write a letter to the current Jubilee Singers. Tell them what you think of their

32

Photograph of Paul T. Kwami at Music City Walk of Fame by Kevin Schlatt.

Listening to the Music Observation Sheet Student's Name: Date:

Class:

Song Title: 1. What is the song about?

2. Do you think this song would have been sung during work or worship? Explain your answer.

3. Describe the style of the song? Circle all that apply.

Call-response

Syncopated

Sustained phrase

Explain your answer(s).

4. Is there a soloist? If so, describe the soloist's voice.

5. How many parts do you hear in the song?

6. Do you hear high parts and low parts? Do you hear male and female voices? Explain.

33

Listening to the Music Observation Sheet continued 7. Do you think this is a happy or a sad song? Explain your answer.

8. Do you like the song? Why or why not?

9. Does this remind you of another song you have heard in this unit or one you have heard at home (radio, CD player), church or at a live performance? Explain your answer.

10. Draw a picture of images you hear described in the song or draw lines showing the tempo of the song. Use colors that demonstrate the way the song makes you feel.

34

Helpful Resources Teacher Tip ISBN numbers are provided and when available, call numbers from the Nashville Public Library are included as well.

I. BIBLIOGRAPHY The Fisk Jubilee Singers and their influence Abbott, Lynn and Doug Seroff. Out of Sight: The Rise of African American Popular Music, 1889-1895. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003.ISBN: 1578064996.

781.6408996/A1320.

Graham, Sandra J. The Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Concert Spiritual: the Beginnings of an American Tradition. Ph. D. dissertation, New York University, 2001. 782.5253/G7421f.

Marsh, J.B.T. The Story of the Jubilee Singers, Including Their Songs. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1898. ISBN: 0486431320.

783.8/M36s.

Seroff, Doug. "Nashville-Historic Capital of Spiritual Singing," Gospel Arts Day Nashville 1988 (program booklet, Nashville Gospel Ministries, June 19, 1988), pp. 2-9. ______ . "'How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song in a Foreign Land?'," Gospel Arts Day Nashville 1989 (program booklet, Nashville Gospel Ministries, June 18, 1989), pp. 2-9. ______ . "Mrs. James A. Myers, 1989 Gospel Arts Day Honoree," Gospel Arts Day Nashville 1989 (program booklet, Nashville Gospel Ministries, June 18, 1989), pp. 13-19. ______ . "'A Voice in the Wilderness': The Fisk Jubilee Singers' Civil Rights Tours of 18791882, " Popular Music and Society 25, 1/2 (Spring/Summer, 2001): 131-77.

Ward, Andrew. Dark Midnight When I Rise: the Story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. New York: Amistad, 2001. ISBN: 0060934824.

782.4216296/W2563d 2001.

African-American Spirituals Allen, William Francis, Ware, Charles Pickering, and Garrison, Lucy McKim. Slave Songs of the United States. NY: A. Simpson, 1867. Applewood Books 1996 reprint. ISBN: 1557094349. 782.51629/S6318.

Epstein, Dena J. Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997. ISBN: 0252008758. 782.42162/E646s.

Fisher, Miles Mark. Negro Slave Songs in the United States. NY: Citadel Press, 1990. Reprint of the 1953 edition. ISBN: 0806500905.

781.6296073/F5353n.

Genovese, Eugene D. Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made. NY: Vintage Books, 1972. ISBN: 0394716523. 301.4493/G33r.

Goodson, Carol Ann, and Emily K. Sweezey.

African American Spirtituals: Choral Arrangements - Tradition vs. Change.

Chattanooga: The Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, l994 and 1999. Advanced level lesson plans emphasizing choral performance and specific composers.

Jackson, George Pullen. White and Negro Spirituals. New York: J.J. Augustin, 1944.

ISBN: 0306706679. 784.4/J12wh.

35

Helpful Resources continued Johnson, James Weldon, and J. Rosamond Johnson. The Books of American Negro Spirituals, including The Book of American Negro Spirituals and the Second Book of Negro Spirituals. New York : Da Capo Press, 2002. ISBN: 0306812029. 783.67/B724, 1977.

Levine, Lawrence W. Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. ISBN: 0195023749.

398.2/L66b.

Lovell, John, Jr. Black Song: The Forge and the Flame. The Story of How the Afro-American Spiritual was Hammered Out. NY: Paragon House, 1986. Reprint of the 1972 edition.

ISBN: 0913729531. 784.75/L89b.

Newman, Richard. Go Down Moses: A Celebration of the African American Spiritual.

NY: Clarkson Potter, Inc., 1998. ISBN: 0609600311. 782.25/N55g.

Spencer, Jon Michael. Black Hymnody: A Hymnological History of the African-American Church. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1992. ISBN: 087049760X. 781.71/Sp3b.

Work, John W. American Negro Songs and Spirituals. New York : Crown publishers, 1940. Dover reprint, 1998. ISBN: 0486402711.

780.896073/A51267w.

Hopkinson, Deborah. A Band of Angels: A Story Inspired by the Jubilee Singers. New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1998. ISBN: 0689810628. Picture book on Ella Shepherd's story.

Lester, Julius, and Robert Brown. From Slave Ship to Freedom Road. New York : Dial Books, c1998. ISBN: 0140566694. Picture book on the slave experience.

Winter, Jeanette. Follow the Drinking Gourd.

New York : Knopf, 1988. ISBN: 0679819975.

Picture book on the slave experience.

II. DISCOGRAPHY Recent Fisk Jubilee Singers, In Bright Mansions, Curb 78762 (2003).

Various groups including the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Wade in the Water, Vol. 1: AfricanAmerican Spirituals: The Concert Tradition, Smithsonian Folkways SFW40072 (1994).

Avaliable from:http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.html.

Historical Fisk Jubilee Singers, Vol. 1 (1909 - 1911),

Children's Books

Document DOCD-5533 (1997).

Avaliable from: http://www.document-records.com.

Bryan, Ashley. All Night, All Day: A Children's First Book of African American Spirituals. New York: Atheneum, 1991, 2003.

ISBN: 0689867867.

Fisk Jubilee Singers, Vol. 2 (1915 - 1920), Document DOCD-5534 (1997).

Avaliable from: http://www.document-records.com.

Cooper, Michael. Slave Spirituals and the Jubilee Singers. New York : Clarion Books, c2001. ISBN: 0395978297.

36

Helpful Resources

continued

Fisk Jubilee Singers, Vol. 3 (1924 - 1940),

adaptation of Jeanette Winter's children's book.

Document DOCD-5535 (1997).

Available from: http://www.document-records.com.

Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory. PBS Home Video, 2000. 1 hour. Originally pro-

The Earliest Negro Vocal Groups, Vol. 5 (1911 -

duced by Llewellyn Smith and WGHB,

1926), Document DOCD-5613 (1997).

Boston, for the American Experience

Available from: http://www.document-records.com.

series.Teacher's Guide for film included at www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/singers/tguide/index.html.

Fisk Jubilee Singers. Folkways FW02372.

Featuring 1955 group under direction of John

A Spiritual Journey with the Fisk Jubilee

Work III.

Singers. WKRN, Nashville, 2005. 22 minute

Available from:http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.html.

feature reissued with the Fisk Jubilee Singers: Singing Our Song teaching materials Teacher's

Tuskeegee Institute Singers and Fisk University

Guide for film included at

Jubilee Quartette, Old Time Spirituals #1 and

www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/singers/tguide/index.html.

Old Time Spirituals #2, spiritual selections recorded from original 78 records.

IV. WEB LINKS

Available from:http://www.besmark.com/spiritual.html.

Teachers Note: in addition to these Web • Fisk Jubilee Singers, Wade in the Water,

sources, the In Bright Mansions CD includ-

Vol. 1: African-American Spirituals: The

ed with this teachers' kit also contains

Concert Tradition, Smithsonian Folkways SFW40072 (1994).

Available from:http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.html.

excellent interactive files with educational content, accessed by inserting the disc in a computer CD-ROM drive.

• Fisk Jubilee Singers. Folkways FW02372.

Featuring 1955 group under direction of John Work III.

Official Web site of Fisk University, including information on the school's history and Jubilee Day: www.fisk.edu

Available from:http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.html.

III. VIDEOGRAPHY Connelly, Bernardine. Follow the Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad Rowayton, Conn.: Rabbit Ears Productions ; New York : Distributed by BMG Music, c1992. DVD

Official Web site of the Fisk Jubileee Singers: www.fiskjubileesingers.org Web site from the PBS Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory program, including teacher's guide to the film and pages with interactive audio files: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/singers/tguide/inde x.html

37

Helpful Resources

continued

Site summarizing issues and information relat-

V. SHEET MUSIC

ed to the spirituals, including lyrics: http://www.negrospirituals.com/

Sheet music for the following songs may be purchased by contacting these sources:

Anthology of digital audio files on the Web site of the American Choral Directors

“Hold On” (arr. Jester Hairston; Bourne Music

Association, featuring selections by the Fisk

Co., ASCAP).

Jubilee Singers from various periods:

Avaliable from http://www.sheetmusicplus.com or http://www.a-cappella.com

http://www.acdaonline.org/cj/interactive/aug2004/ Lesson plans on the role of the spirituals in

“I’m Gonna Sing Til the Spirit Moves” (arr.

African American history and religion, for

Moses Hogan; Hal Leonard Corp., ASCAP).

grades 9-12, on a Web site supported by the

Avaliable from http://www.halleonard.com/ or

National Endowment for the Humanities:

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=318

“Rockin Jerusalem” (arr. John Work III; Web site about Thomas Wentworth

Theodore Presser co., ASCAP).

Higginson's "Negro Spirituals," an 1867 maga-

Avaliable from http://www.a-cappella.com or

zine account of spirituals as sung by freed

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com

slaves fighting for the Union in the Civil War: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/TWH/TW H_front.html University of Denver multi-media educational Web site about the spirituals: http://ctl.du.edu/spirituals/ A short lesson plan about spirituals using a quote from Frederick Douglass, lyrics and audio files: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_hi story/spirituals/spirituals_menu.cfm Page on the University of New Mexico Teachers' Institute site entitled "Why Study African American Music? United States History Unit," which includes content about the spirituals: http://www.unm.edu/~abqteach/music/02-05-08.htm

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Special thanks to Kevin Schlatt Photography To view more of these wonderful images, please go to the Web http://kevinschlatt.smugmug.com, contact info: schlattmann@comcast.net images copyright 2007 Kevin Schlatt Photography

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No person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, or sex shall be excluded from participation in or otherwise be subjected to discrimination of services, programs and employment provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission and its contracting agencies.

For ADA inquiries, please contact Lisa Hester at 615-532-9797 or Tennessee Relay Center 1-800-848-0298 (TTY) or 1-800-8480299 (voice).

Publication Authorization Number: 316527 This publication was promulgated at a cost of 1.58 each. 3,000 copies printed.

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