CONDUCTING THE CODED MESSAGE SONGS OF SLAVERY: CONTEXT, CONNOTATIONS, AND PERFORMANCE PREPARATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science By Rebecca Lynn Raber In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS Major Department: Music July 2018 Fargo, North Dakota North Dakota State University Graduate School Title CONDUCTING THE CODED MESSAGE SONGS OF SLAVERY: CONTEXT, CONNOTATIONS, AND PERFORMANCE PREPARATION By Rebecca Lynn Raber The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota State University’s regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Dr. Michael Weber Chair Dr. Jo Ann Miller Dr. Robert Groves Dr. William Martin Dr. Ashley Baggett Approved: November 16, 2018 Dr. John Miller Date Department Chair ii ABSTRACT The coded message songs of slavery are a mysterious and fascinating entity. Within the lyrics of these seemingly innocuous plantation songs are coded messages for escape, messages that provided secret information to enslaved workers on Antebellum plantations. Over the course of more than 250 years of slavery on American soil, countless enslaved Africans found freedom through the use of coded message songs and the Underground Railroad. What are these songs? Which lyrics provided this secret information? How can a study of this music provide a better musical experience for conductors, singers, and listeners? This disquisition offers answers to these important questions, as well as a presentation of this body of repertoire from the choral conductor’s perspective. First, I provide a brief historical context for the music of slavery. I analyze and interpret important historical collections of spirituals and examine them through the lens of their text. Period accounts (from newly freed slaves and by song collectors) as well as information from modern conductors and scholars provide insight into and support for my method. A discussion of textual interpretation and musical representation follows, including a valuable list of common themes used in coded message songs. In the main body of the document, I present nine spirituals that contain coded message. I focus on the lyrics of the coded songs, introducing the connotations of the messages within the music. I also offer insight to choral conductors considering this repertoire and some interpretive choices that may be made when performing this music. Finally, this study contributes appendices with concrete pedagogical resources to assist conductors in their teaching and presentation of coded message songs to their singers. Successful choral conductors are dynamic storytellers. As a conductor preparing, rehearsing, and performing this choral music, it is critical to both communicate the context and history of coded message songs during the learning process, and also make appropriate stylistic choices in the music. Revealing the historical context and rich textual interpretation of this body of repertoire allows conductors to tell this story more effectively through their informed pedagogy, ultimately enriching and inspiring both singers and listeners. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Working on this degree over several years while teaching full time has required both patience and perseverance. Much better than I, my husband, Michael, has consistently modeled these qualities as he’s supported me through the process. I have so much gratitude for his support and encouragement. I am deeply grateful to my parents, who instilled both a strong work ethic as well as a love for learning in our family. I would also like to recognize the great inspiration I have received at the feet of my teachers. Thank you all for your contributions. iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate my work in this subject to Dr. Richard Harrison Smith, my undergraduate choral conductor. His great love for and understanding of spirituals instilled a passion in his singers that was transformative. I hope to honor his legacy through my work in choral music education. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................................................iv DEDICATION..............................................................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2. SLAVERY IN AMERICA: HISTORICAL CONTEXT....................................................6 CHAPTER 3. COLLECTIONS, COMMUNICATION, AND CODED TEXT......................................12 CHAPTER 4. MUSICAL DEVICES, INTERPRETATION, AND AWARENESS..............................21 CHAPTER 5. STEAL AWAY....................................................................................................................26 CHAPTER 6. DIDN’T MY LORD DELIVER DANIEL?......................................................................33 CHAPTER 7. KEEP YOUR LAMPS........................................................................................................38 CHAPTER 8. EV’RY TIME I FEEL THE SPIRIT.................................................................................43 CHAPTER 9. DEEP RIVER.....................................................................................................................48 CHAPTER 10. HAVE YOU GOT GOOD RELIGION?.........................................................................52 CHAPTER 11. ELIJAH ROCK.................................................................................................................58 CHAPTER 12. LET ME FLY...................................................................................................................63 CHAPTER 13. THE OLD SHIP OF ZION.............................................................................................68 CHAPTER 14. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................75 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................76 APPENDIX A. CATALOG OF CODED MESSAGE SONGS.................................................................83 APPENDIX B. GLOSSARY....................................................................................................................104 vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION “I’m no ways weary, I’m no ways tired. Oh, glory, hallelujah! Just let me in the Kingdom when the world catch on fire! Oh, glory, hallelujah! Oh, get your ticket ready, the ship will soon be leaving! Oh, get your ticket ready to go!”1 These lyrics from the spiritual, The Old Ship of Zion (arranged by Richard Harrison Smith), are thrilling to sing. 2 They become even more compelling after discovering that they served as a coded message for enslaved Africans in the United States, designed to provide hope, comfort, and even secret information leading to escape and freedom. Successful choral conductors are dynamic storytellers. As a conductor preparing, rehearsing, and performing this choral music, it is critical to both communicate the context and history of coded message songs during the learning process, and also make appropriate stylistic performance choices in the music. Revealing the historical context and rich textual interpretation of this body of repertoire allows conductors to tell this story more effectively through their informed pedagogy, ultimately enriching and inspiring both singers and listeners through the music. The coded message songs of slavery are a mysterious and fascinating entity. Music provided a secret means of communication, whether the meaning was literal or figurative, as Arthur Jones states: “Singing songs, the singers successfully masked their rage with the manifest image of death, safely deceiving the slave holder into believing that his docile and passive slaves were again dreaming of heaven but thankfully loyal in the present to his unrelenting demands for service. Skillfully, the singers affirmed their inner loyalty to a legitimate, heavenly master, but also announced their determination to take up arms against the earthly master.” 3 1Richard Harrison Smith, The Old Ship of Zion (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1979). 2 The term, “spirituals” refers to a vast body of musical repertoire created by enslaved African Americans as they worked on plantations. This new folk music was largely “Christian,” (although not exclusively sacred) and featured intricate African rhythms as a musical style that was new to the American colonies. There are several “categories” of spirituals (serving different functions), such as: work songs, escape songs, shout and holler/ring shouts, walking songs, call and response, and religious songs. 3 Arthur Jones, Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of Spirituals (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993), 57. 1 Coded language may have announced a secret meeting or may have been a simple longing for home (Africa). Coded text was just as easily able to conceal a hope for reuniting with family members as it was to mask an insult to the slave owners. Also hidden within the lyrics of these seemingly innocuous plantation