"Spirituals" are the spontaneous outbursts of intense religious fervour, and had their origin chiefly in the camp meetings, the revivals and other religious exercises. They breathe a childlike faith in a personal Father, and glow with the hope that the children of bondage will ultimately pass out of the wilderness of slavery into the land of freedom. In singing of a deliverance which they believed would surely come, with bodies swaying, with enthusiasm born of a common experience and of a common hope, they lost sight for the moment of the auction block, of the separation of mother and child, of sister and brother. There is in the plantation songs a pathos and a beauty that appeals to a wide range of tastes, and their harmony makes abiding impressions upon persons of the highest culture. The music of these songs goes to the heart, because it comes from the heart. The way in which these songs arose is as unusual as it is interesting. A preacher at a camp meeting or revival service would take a theme and would repeat his text again and again— a method almost essential for an illiterate congregation. The worshippers followed him in a mental state bordering on song, and when he had finished, someone would begin to sing an improvised tune built up round the oft-repeated text. Generally some familiar chorus with its tune would be added or woven in, and a song would be born which might perhaps live, or perhaps would merely serve the purpose of the hour and then die. For example, a preacher, who was clearly en rapport with his congregation, might reach a climax with the words "Oh with the wings of the morning, I'd fly to that heavenly land." This repeated several times with cadences that a Negro preacher could hardly help giving to it, would be sure to evoke song from a Negro congregation. It is easy to understand how, at a camp meeting, when the preacher was pleading for a persistent attempt to follow Christ, and for continual progress in the Christian life, the following spiritual would arise : Keep er-inchin' along, keep er-inchin' along, Keep er-inchin' along, keep er-inchin' along, De road is rocky here below, But Jesus 'll come by and by; But Jesus leads me as I go, Jesus 'll come by and by. Sometimes I hang my head and cries An' He gwine wipe my weepin' eyes, Spirituals arising in this almost casual fashion, naturally varied greatly in value. Some were lyrics of power and beauty, others were crude and coarse; some were ballads of real worth, others disjointed trash, with broken rhythm and faulty technique. Some lived, others were never heard again. Not all Spirituals, however, arose in this spontaneous way. Much more frequently they were the work of one or two individuals, and the choruses or refrains were probably the natural and spontaneous reaction of the group. Almost certainly the songs have been modified from time to time, as is the case with all folk-songs. On the plantations there were "bards" who taught the others; in some instances the plantation owners definitely employed the bards for no other purpose; for they not only kept the slaves contented, but they kept them singing while at work, which had the effect of increasing production. The teaching and learning was all done by ear, and generally it was connected with Christian worship. Some of the "bards" went from place to place to help singing; such men were virtually singing evangelists. They were often "freedmen " and earned their living thus. These men frequently made the songs, words and music alike, while the groups or congregations helped to shape and mould them. In "Steal Away to Jesus" the congregation begins with the chorus, singing it in part harmony :— Steal away, steal away, Steal away, steal away home, I ain't got long to stay here. Then the leader (or possibly the congregation) in unison :— Then the leader :— Green trees a-bending, Po' sinner stand a-tremblin', The trumpet sounds within-a my soul, Oh, Lord, I ain't got long to stay here. A somewhat more developed form is seen in the well-known "Go down, Moses." Here the congregation opens with the powerful theme of the chorus, singing it in unison down to the last line, which is harmonized : Go down Moses, Way down in Egypt land, Tell ole Pharoah, Let my people go. Leader: Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses said Response: Let my people go. Leader: If not I'll smite your first born dead, Response: Let my people go. Chorus: Go down Moses, Go down Moses, Way down in Egypt land, Tell ole Pharoah, Let my people go. Generally the Spirituals were formed on the plan of the African folk-songs. For example, here is a Bantu song : It is crying, it is crying, Sihamba Ngenyanga. The child of the walker by moonlight, Sihamba Ngenyanga. It was done by unknown people, Sihamba Ngenyanga. They sent her for water during the day, Sihamba Ngenyanga. She tried to dip it with the milk basket, but it sank, Sihamba Ngenyanga. Tried to dip it with the ladle, but it sank, Sihamba Ngenyanga. Tried to dip it with the mantle, but it sank, Sihamba Ngenyanga. VOL. 247. NO 503. E Compare the structure of the Spiritual: "Oh, wasn't dat a Wide Ribber? Oh de ribber of Jordan is deep and wide, One mo' ribber to cross. I don't know how to get on de other side, Oh, you got Jesus, hold Him fast, 'Tis stronger dan an iron band, I pray, good Lord, I shall be one, To get in de chariot an' trabble on, The earliest Spirituals were almost certainly formed under the influence of African folk-songs. That is, the leader chanted a well-known tale of the tribe, or a tale of his own making, and those who sat with him round the camp fire responded with some refrain, which had a strangely moving effect, and sounded like the roar of the rolling sea. In the same way in the American plantations, the leader or bard or preacher chanted to some simple melody the lines of some Gospel" poem, while the hearers broke in with a deep, rolling refrain, e.g., Leader: 66 Swing low, sweet chariot, Congregation: Comin' for to carry me home. Leader: I look over Jordan, what do I see? Congregation: Comin' for to carry me home. Leader : Congregation: Comin' for to carry me home. The Negro is a born improviser, and he delights to add to a song. A Spiritual or even a "shout-song" sung at a camp meeting might be indefinitely prolonged. Any individual would add a verse-a perfectly easy thing to do with such a simple framework. The congregation might be singing : If I was a sinner man, I tell you what I'd do, I'd lay down all my sinful ways and work on de buildin' too. I'm workin' on de buildin' fer my Lord, Fer my Lord, fer my Lord, I'm workin' on de buildin' fer my Lord, When someone thinking that gambling was becoming too prevalent, would improvise a verse such as :- If I was a gamblin' man, I tell you what I'd do, I'd lay down all my gamblin' work, and work on de buildin' too. Then would follow the chorus, after which might be added verses in reproof of the drunkard, the dancer, and the foul-mouthed man. In a moment the congregation would pick it up, and possibly it would become a permanent part of the song, or maybe it would never be sung again. Something like this used to be done around the camp fires in their racial home in Africa, and the Spirituals. are merely the Christian form in which the Negroes of later days expressed themselves. This kind of music is both unique and uniquely within the gift of the Negro race. The whole history of the American continent would have been poorer if the Negro slave had not come to it. But this does not justify the way in which he was brought to that continent, or what happened to him after he arrived. These songs of the Negro underworld would probably have been lost but for the Civil War. Up till that time they were quite unknown outside the "Black Belt." Then the war, which made |