Though it might have seemed unlikely at the time, slave songs and spirituals would achieve a lasting mark in the development of not only Christian music, but the evolution of some of the most uniquely and quintessentially American musical art forms. Slaves from Africa brought with them a musical tradition and style which included: call and response, repetitive melodic and harmonic structures, significant improvisation and spontaneity within those same structures, intricately weaved and stacked rhythmic patterns along with syncopation, and a soulful singing style, mixed with shouts and other vocalizations.
Fused with Christianity, thus was born the spiritual. The slaves immediately gravitated toward the stories in the bible, particularly Old Testament stories from the Exodus, inspired by God’s freeing of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. Overtime, the spirituals came to work on different planes of experience:
1) an authentic expression of faith and hope any Christian might recognize;
2) the specific hope and longing for freedom from slavery;
3) embedded code language that often sent immediate messages for a planned escape.
We’ll explore a few representatives of the genre that are in the United Methodist hymnal such as Go Down Moses (UMH 448), Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (UMH 703), and Steal Away to Jesus (704).
In generations after the Civil War, Black preachers and other musicians further cultivated Gospel hymns and songs from the spiritual, such as Charles Albert Tindley’s Stand By Me (UMH 512) and Beams of Heaven as I Go (UMH 524). More generally, the influence of slave songs and spirituals would inspire entire new and uniquely American movements such as Ragtime, Blues, and Jazz, which in turn helped influence many of the popular music enjoyed today. Unlikely at the time, and unfortunate in the context of slavery, but this music undeniably altered the American musical landscape and profoundly continues to inspire people of faith even today.
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