Wade in the water : the wisdom of the spirituals / Arthur C. Jones.

Author/creator Jones, Arthur C.
Format Book
Publication InfoMaryknoll, N.Y. : Orbis Books, ©1993.
Descriptionxxi, 182 pages : illustrations, portraits, plates ; 25 cm
Subjects
Spirituals (Songs)--History and criticism.
African Americans--Music. --History and criticism.

Contents Foreword / by Vincent Harding -- "Over my head I hear music in the air": African beginnings -- "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child": suffering and transformation -- "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho": struggle and resistance -- "City called Heaven": a working, everyday spirituality -- "Scandalize' my name": accountability -- "There is a balm in Gilead": hope and healing.
Abstract Spirituals emerged from the crucible of slavery. They inspired enslaved African Americans to risk their lives for the chance to be free. This book celebrates these spirituals as an art form and as unique and powerful cultural expression. For those with little knowledge of the tradition, it provides a wealth of information. For those who know and love the spirituals, it offers a fresh perspective and an invitation to deeper understanding, spiritual transformation, and social renewal. The author juxtaposes songs like "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" with historical accounts by former slaves of watching anguished mothers beg slave traders not to separate them from their children. He also decodes the language of resistance in songs used to signal uprisings or share information about escape routes. And he describes a music that blends Christian themes from the West with themes, rhythms and the call-and-response pattern from Africa, linking the slaves who created it to a tradition and identity that predated slavery.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 169-175) and indexes.
LCCN 93007491
ISBN0883449234 (cloth) :

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Music Stacks ML3556 .J72 1993 ✔ Available Place Hold