Slave Songs of the United States

"The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart, and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by tears."
-Frederick Douglass

"It is hard to explain why no systematic effort has hitherto been made to collect and preserve slave] melodies. The public had well-nigh forgotten these genuine slave songs, and with them the creative power from which they sprung. These are the songs that are still heard upon the Mississippi . . . wild and strangely fascinating."
-from the introduction

Many haunting melodies were created during the nineteenth century. For the slave population, song was a balm to the soul that was more acceptable than tears. Incredibly, their songs became exceedingly favored by the general population in 1861, due to an educational mission to the Port Royal islands. William Allen, Charles Ware, and Lucky Garrison recognized the genius and creativity behind these songs and decided to commit them to paper.

The Slave Songs of the United States provides directions for singing and musical scores to accurately preserve the original intonations and rhythms of these songs. Also discussed are the intricacies of the language and variations of pronunciation. In preserving these songs, the authors were preserving an integral part of the nation's history.

Binding Type: Paperback
Author: Allen, William
Published: 07/31/1999
Publisher: Firebird Press
ISBN: 9781565545939
Pages: 168
Weight: 0.57lbs
Size: 8.70h x 5.52w x 0.47d