MSC SINGERS CLASS #3
It is Tuesday, 2:30 and this is class #3. We have had a crazy week with an April snow storm and of course we lost power. Now we are having high winds. But never fear, we have our trusty generator and we are warm and comfortable. And, besides heavy snow, and high winds I am able to work on the computer and put together this third in a series of on-line classes.
So, for today's lesson I thought it would be interesting to examine another famous old folk song, the spiritual Down By The Riverside. This song happens to be one that we studied and sang in the Spring of 2018. As you may remember, the choral arrangement we learned came from the pen of composer Mary McDonald. To me, this was one of the livelier and better pieces we studied. I'm only sorry we can't have a chance to practice and study it again this semester. BUT instead, here is today's on-line lesson to examine this iconic song and listen to a few different versions of it.
HISTORY: Down By The Riverside can be classified as an African American folk song because the first renditions of it came to us from the aural tradition. It was first sung out in the fields as a work song having a religious text. Therefor we call this folk song a spiritual. It was handed down from generation to generation and learned in many different styles by rote teaching. From this origin the spiritual became a gospel song sung in church and as such, it had several different titles- “ Ain’t Gonna Study War No More,” “Gonna Lay Down My Burden,” “Going to Pull My War-Clothes On,” just to name a few. Down By The Riverside is also one of the many gospel songs that lent itself to jazz interpretations. Gospel songs were traditionally played by jazz bands at street funerals or in church. And now it is common to hear these songs played in various secular venues. For instance, as early as the 1920s, this song was adapted to fit the jazz brass-band style. The Olympia Brass Band of New Orleans is a great example of an old time group that played and still does play at street parades.
The song’s lyrics are also interesting to study. The text of Down By The Riverside is saturated with intense Biblical imagery. The words give the singer or listener the opportunity to reflect on the scriptural lyrics through various images. For example: 1) Getting rid of negativity and violence. So here we have a biblical line from the refrain “ain’t gonna study war no more”. This refers to an Old Testament quotation appearing in the book of Isaiah “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 2) Wearing a spiritual outfit at the side of the river before crossing it refers to baptism by the wearing a white robe and being submerged in a body of water. This image could also refer to one’s ascension to heaven after death. 3) The symbolic use of the Jordan River underpins another interpretation. In the bible, particularly in the Old Testament, this refers to the Hebrews’ final passage before crossing over into the Promised Land and after spending many years wandering in the desert. As with many Negro spirituals, this text provides a hidden references to escaping slavery. During the Civil War, the Ohio River, like the Jordan River, presented the image of the water which served as a border between slavery and freedom.
LISTENING: We begin with a very old and original version of this famous spiritual recorded in 1915 by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. They were an all African- American a capella ensemble, consisting of students from Fisk University. The group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise money for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditional spirituals, but also included some songs by Stephen Foster. You can see here one of many early pictures of the group.
I should add before we listen, in March 1872, the Jubilee Singers were invited to perform at the White House for President Ulysses S. Grant. They gave separate performances in Washington, for Vice President Colfax and members of the U.S. Congress. Then they traveled next to New York City, where they performed before enthusiastic audiences at Steinway Hall in Manhattan. They were a busy and popular group. They garnered national attention and generous donations while performing in the New York area for six weeks. By the time they returned to Nashville, they had raised $20,000. In 1872 this was a lot of money. Here are the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University singing a digitized and re-edited 1915 recording of Down By the Riverside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLN1jjW2mcc
Now a minute ago, I mentioned the Olympia Brass Band of New Orleans. Here is a recording of this famous group and their jazz interpretation of Down By The Riverside. Notice the "vocal call and response" during the chorus...the words “down by” are echoed in back row of the band. This known as "call and response. This is a musical characteristic found in all work songs but also found in African American hymn singing where the minister sings out the first part of the verse answered by the congregation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6KLEWdd5Ho
This next recording is pretty crazy....It come from what was known as the “Million Dollar Quartet.” This was the name given to a group comprised of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis! What I like about this is that it also uses this same polyphonic call-response style in their singing between the singers. http://musichealth.net/songs1/down-by-the-riverside/
A choral version that you will be familiar with; This is the one that we did in the Spring of 2018. It is Mary McDonald's arrangement for SATB choir and piano. I do so look forward to our practicing this wonderful arrangement some day in the future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tarfieq9y80
And finally, a number of you commented in response to last weeks lesson, how much you enjoyed the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra. Well, here they are again, this time singing John Rutter's choir and orchestra arrangement of this famous piece. If you have ever sung any John Rutter arrangements you will notice that that all seem to begin in unison and then they build and build harmonically. Notice this Anglo - white arrangement for massive chorus and orchestration is a far cry from the original gospel version we heard the Jubilee Singers perform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUsGdSpys7M
Now that you have heard these various listening examples, Send me an email - Here is an assignment: Let me know what comparisons and contrasts you hear (and see) in this Mormon Tab version of Down By The Riverside to the Jubilee Singers spiritual version of this same iconic piece...
Well, it was good being good being with you on this Tuesday at 2:30. I look forward to getting together again next week, same time, same place.
And don't forget - - Hearts High and keep on singing,
Stuart