Understanding Spirituals Differently at Different Times
Given the spiritual's origins as religious-themed folksongs of the American slave population, the repertory has, in large measure, stayed constant since the Civil War. Yet the ways we have understood and performed this repertory have changed dramatically over time. Tracing this history sheds light on larger forces at play within American culture, especially issues of race.
In the large, spirituals have changed in function along the following lines: The folk songs of the 18th and earlier 19th centuries gave way, after the Civil War, to college-based choral performances of arranged spirituals, and to the earliest publishing of notated collections. In the 20th century spirituals were also commonly performed in solo vocal recitals of "art song," and in recent decades they have become important staples in the repertory of some of the world's biggest opera stars, such as Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman. Along with these changes......
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