Carnegie Hall

PART 1: Discussing Inspiration, Belief, and Music

Ask students to answer the following questions on their own, then share their answers with the class.

• A song that inspires me is …
• A few words I would use to describe the music to this song are …
• A few words I would use to describe the voice and style of the singer are …

Reflect together on the following questions:

• What are some ways that religion inspires people?
• What functions can music have in a religious context? (Examples could include praise, adoration, worship, prayer, encouragement, testimony, teaching, and healing.)

Part 2: Listening for Inspiration in Gospel Song

Throughout the 20th century, Black musicians and composers took some of the expressive fervor, vocal stylings, and aspirational elements from folk spirituals, and fused them with contemporary instruments like the organ, drums, and electric bass. This new music became known as gospel. This approach contrasted with the more “classical” approach of concert spirituals, which avoided many of these personal vocal exhortations.

Listen to the following examples of gospel songs and ask students to write down their responses to the questions about these songs.

• Mahalia Jackson singing “Amazing Grace”
  • What do you notice about Mahalia Jackson’s singing?
  • What kind of mood or message do you think she is trying to inspire?
  • What musical decisions does Mahalia Jackson make to communicate her emotional and spiritual excitement?
  • What influence of folk spirituals do you hear?
• Calvin Bridges’s “I Can Go to God in Prayer”
  • What kind of mood or message do you think this song is trying to inspire?
  • What did you notice about the way that the choir sings together in this song?
  • How does the choir communicate their collective fervor for their God?
  • What influence of folk spirituals do you hear?
• “Wade in the Water” in a gospel style from Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Revelations is a landmark piece of choreography created by Alvin Ailey for his company as an exploration of Black American experience through movement and music.
  • What kind of mood or message do you think this song is trying to inspire?
  • Is that mood or message the same or different from the spiritual-style version of “Wade in the Water” performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers?
• Discuss and reflect on the responses; listen to the selections again as needed.

MUSICAL EXTENSION

• Listen to the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ rendition of “Wade in the Water” from Lesson 1, a concert spiritual, and compare it to the gospel rendition. Make a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two.
• Experiment with singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” in more of a gospel style.