Slave Spirituals and the Jubilee Singers [Hardcover]

Michael L. Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Many slave spirituals—songs such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore,” and “Go Down, Moses”—have become interwoven into the fabric of American culture. For centuries these deeply moving songs were sung by slaves as they worked in the fields. In 1871, six years after the end of slavery, a group from Fisk University known as the Jubilee Singers toured the United States and abroad, raising money for their bankrupt school and, more important, bringing slave spirituals to the attention of a wide audience. This engrossing account, illustrated with archival prints and photographs and appended with the words and music to seven songs, tells the inspiring story of the Jubilee Singers and reveals spirituals to be an invaluable and unique history of American slavery.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-In 1862, Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, commander of the first regiment of newly freed slaves to join the Union Army, became fascinated by the songs his men sang. He wrote down the words to these spirituals as well as the former slaves' explanations of the origins. Sprinkled with quotations from the material Higginson collected, which is written in a white man's interpretation of slave speech patterns and includes expressions considered offensive by modern standards, the first half of this book traces the development of spirituals from African musical traditions and discusses the place of religion in the lives of the slaves. The second half focuses on Fisk University's Jubilee Singers. Although they began by performing popular and classical pieces, they soon began to sing nothing but the well-received spirituals that brought them fame, assured Fisk University's financial future, and preserved such songs as "Steal Away," "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore," and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" for future generations. Illustrated with many archival prints and photographs, the book includes extensive annotated source notes and the words and music to seven of the spirituals popularized by the Jubilee Singers. Readers of Deborah Hopkinson's A Band of Angels (Atheneum, 1999), the picture-book story of Jubilee Singer Ella Sheppard, will be especially interested in this longer nonfiction account of the choir and its importance in African-American history.

Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. The first half of this intriguing book surveys the music of African American slaves, while the latter focuses on the Jubilee Singers. From its origins in African vocal and instrumental music to its development into songs of work, complaint, defiance, play, hope, and religion, slave music was so central to slave culture that, after emancipation, African Americans were eager to put the old songs behind them. According to Cooper, now-familiar spirituals might have been forgotten without the Fisk University Jubilee Singers, who toured the U.S and Europe during the 1870s, raising funds for their impoverished university and ensuring their music's immortality. Cooper tells an interesting story, illustrated with well-chosen black-and-white reproductions of period photos, engravings, posters, prints, and paintings. Source notes, a bibliography, and the words and music for seven spirituals are appended. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (September 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395978297
• ISBN-13: 978-0395978290
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #573,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael L. Cooper is a writer living in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information about him and his books visit michaellcooper.com. Thanks. MLC

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars About music that reflected the hopes and despairs of slavery, November 5, 2001

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slave Spirituals and the Jubilee Singers (Hardcover)

Michael Cooper's Slave Spirituals And The Jubilee Singers provides a revealing history of the music which reflected the hopes and despairs of slavery. The Jubilee Singers embarked on a tour to raise money for their struggling school and succeeded in not only achieving personal fame, but bringing slave spirituals to the world. Archival prints and photos are included in this inspirational account.