Sacred Symphony: The Chanted Sermon of the Black Preacher

by Jon M. Spencer

Overview

The first and only collection of its kind, Sacred Symphony contains 100 transcriptions of muscial excerpts from the chanted sermons of contemporary black preachers. In his introduction to the pieces that follow, author John Michael Spencer argues that there is an observable correlation between the chanted sermons of today's black preachers and the antebellum spiritual. He shows that the pieces collected here, each of which spontaneously evolved during the course of a sermon or prayer service, are themselves spirituals containing similar musical components—melody, rhythm, call and response, counterpoint, harmony, form, and improvisation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313259999
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/04/1987
Series:	Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies: Contemporary Black Poets , #11
Pages:	158
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

JON MICHAEL SPENCER is Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Music and Divinity School at Duke University.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Introduciton
Give Me Jesus
You Must Have That True Religion
Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?
A Little Talk With Jesus Makes It Right
Every Time I Feel The Spirit
Ride On, King Jesus
In that Great Gettin' Up Morning
Everybody Talkin' 'Bout Heaven Ain't Goin' There
Don't Be Weary Traveler
Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?
Walking Together Children
Selected Bibliography
Index of First Lines
Index