Moment for Mission Archive

Those who attended the Adult Education session on “How Music Is Selected for Our Worship Services” will remember the process starting with the lectionary (a selected set of texts for each service of the church year). I then collaborate with the clergy and Worship Committee to incorporate any special celebration in the church life or that of church member(s) in my selections for the choral and instrumental music. The clergy selects the congregational song. All this happens approximately one month prior to the service date, and selections for the month may be viewed on the Rutgers Church web site by clicking the Music button.

This month, in addition to the lectionary texts and themes, we needed to consider Black History celebration and include music that reflected the African-American Experience. My main resource was the songs of Afro America.

These songs are in two categories, namely spirituals and gospel music. Although related, these two styles of music developed at different times in history. Spirituals rose from the experience of enslaved Africans in the colonial South, and gospel music came about in the early 20th century in cities. There are two types of spirituals, the folk and the arranged. Folk spirituals were sung by African slaves who were exposed to Christianity. Because their expression of faith was verbal and included shouts, singing and dancing, these practices were shunned and discouraged by many slave owners. As a result, the slaves would worship privately in ‘invisible churches’ in the fields or anywhere that was out of the range of hearing or sight of the European Americans. Some of the characteristics of their music included call and response, e.g. “It’s Me, O Lord, Standing in the Need of Prayer,” Steal Away to Jesus” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”; body movements; and feet stomping or clapping used in place of drums, which were banned because it was believed that slaves were transmitting messages through them. These spirituals were used for other reasons, to keep everyone in the work gangs working at the same pace. Even though the texts for most spirituals were religious, these texts were sometimes coded with messages about an impending escape attempt or directions to safe houses, as in “Go down Moses.”

Arranged spirituals began their development at Fisk University in Tennessee. Here the spirituals were developed for concerts all over the US and Europe. The treasurer of the University, George White, organized The Fisk Jubilee Singers to perform concerts in order to raise funds for the university. Since most of the singers were formerly slaves, they knew a wealth of spirituals, and it was easy to prepare a repertoire of spirituals. The performance practice changed, as, for example, the shouts, foot stomping, spontaneity, and improvisation gave way to control, uniformity in expression, precision and blend.

Notable arrangers of spirituals included but were not limited to Charles Albert Tindley, Harry T. Burleigh, John Rosamund Johnson, Robert Nathaniel Dett, Hall Johnson, William Dawson, and Thomas A. Dorsey. You may have recognized the work of some of these great arrangers in our services this month.

It was in February 11, 2003, while I was in attendance at an American Choral Directors Association Convention here in New York City, that I got word that a notable and well-recognized arranger of African American Spirituals had ended his journey here on earth. This native of New Orleans, Louisiana was born in March 1957 and was a noted pianist and conductor as well. He graduated from the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and attended the Juilliard School of Music. Moses George Hogan was commissioned to arrange several compositions for the 1995 PBS Documentary “The American Promise” and was an artist-in-residence at Dillard University, New Orleans. The Moses Hogan Singers made their debut in 1998 at Alice Tully Hall and recorded with the acclaimed soprano, Barbara Hendricks, on the EMI label. His discography also includes “An American Heritage of Spirituals” sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir under the direction of Albert Mc Neil and Mr. Hogan himself. Moses served as an editor of the New Oxford Book of Spirituals (an extensive collection of spirituals published by Oxford University Press). With over 70 published works, Hogan’s arrangements have become the staple for many high school, college, church, community and professional choirs. Our own Rutgers Church Choir and soloists will be singing two of his arrangements suitable for Lent today. It is my hope that you will be inspired and blessed by the selections chosen for worship today.