Customer Reviews

Dark Midnight When I Rise: The Story of the Jubilee Singers, Who Introduced the World to the Music of Black America

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As other reviewers have said, the story of the Jubilee Singers is a very fascinating and important one that deserves to be told. Ward's book is well-researched, and includes a lot of detail on background information and concert-by-concert travelogue of the singers. As far as I can find out, this is the only place where you can get a history of the Jubilees in more than a few paragraphs.

However, Ward doesn't tell it very well. The reading gets tedious and slow almost from the very beginning. Ward has a tendency to get sidetracked by tangential information, and his habit of breaking up large quotes between a paragraph and an indented block is annoying. Although he tries to provide personal information, there is very little emotion in the telling of such an emotional story.

Another thing--if you are expecting, as I was, a study of the Jubilees' music, you will be disappointed. Ward states in the introduction that he is not a musicologist and his intent is not to chronicle the history or influence of slave music. He is true to his word. Very little is said about the actual music, except that it had the power to move audiences. Finally, after 400 pages, he talks about the Jubilees' influence on later music for a page or two. But this is the story of the singers, not the music, and their struggle to present their heritage in song and to preserve their school.

Once again the influence of African-American Culture takes center stage in the cultural development of America. It was these young and very naive band of singers, that forever altered the course of music in America. Bringing to the world, a genre of music that was(is) able to hold the audience in complete awe. This story chronicles each members humble beginnings, a story that brings to light the triumph of the human spirit and the unfailing resolve of African-Americans "to make a way out of no way"

This story of the Jubilee Singers and Fisk University is an important part of history, for both blacks and whites. Also recommended for children is A BAND OF ANGELS, a Story Inspired by the Jubilee Singers, by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Raul Colon.