7. The 2nd Great Awakening
• 1790-1840
• post-Revolutionary War
• Led by Methodists and Baptists
• Converted Southern Whites and enslaved Blacks
through huge camp meetings
• Led to the abolitionist movement and the
suffragist movement
• Tied to enslavers salvation to that of his enslaved
10. Independent Black Churches:
• Were autonomous spaces in which Black
people used Christianity to establish their own
religious customs and cosmology.
• Structures that created a relatable language,
cultural experience, and musical canon in
which large numbers of Black people could
participate.
• Gave rise to a new form of music called gospel
hymns and spirituals
11. Roles of the Black Church
• Spiritual
• Social
• Educational
• Political
12. The First Black Churches
• WE HAVE TENSION IN THE METHODIST CHURCH IN
PHILADELPHIA BECAUSE WHILE THE CHURCH WAS LIBERAL
ENOUGH TO BAPTIZE AFRICAN AMERICANS, IT WASN’T
REALLY INTERESTED IN DESEGREGATING THEIR
SANCTUARIES.
• IN 1787 A SLAVE WHO BOUGHT HIS FREEDOM NAMED
RICHARD ALLEN WALKED OUT OF ST. GEORGE METHODIST
EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND IN 1794 FOUNDED THE “A.M.E.”
DENOMINATION: AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
(WHICH IS STILL AROUND TODAY) AND ABSALOM JONES
FOUNDED THE AFRICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ST. THOMAS
13. Black Liberation Theology
• A term coined in 1966
• It is the opposite of White Christianity’s
religion of suppression as it places the “black
liberation” and freedom at the center of its
message of salvation.
• The music is is a tool of subversion that
supports its theological bent.
14. Antebellum Theological Differences
White Churches
• Used scripture to validate
enslavement, White racial
superiority
Black Churches
• Used gospels as a source of
hope and exodus as an
indictment of slavery
18. Important Hymnists
• Martin Luther (1483-1546)
– “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”
• Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
– “A Charge to Keep I Have”
• John and Charles Wesley (1703-1791) (1707-
1788)
– “Father I Stretch My Hands to Thee”
19. Psalms
• Psalms is a book in the Bible written by the
musician David
• It contains 150 poems – many of which have
musical instruction.
20. Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pasturues: he leadeth me
besides the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art is with me, thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies: thou annointest my head with oil; my cup runneth
over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
21. Hymns
• A religious poem that is not necessarily based
on scripture
• Structure: 3-4 verses and may or may not have
a refrain
• Found in a hymnal with or without musical
notation
• Example: “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” by
Martin Luther (1529)
23. Folk Spirituals
• Source material: psalms, hymns, works songs,
field songs, and protest songs
• Born out of a reinterpretation of Christianity
to suit their own realities
• Often included dancing and weren’t only
secular
24. Ring Shout
• A “shout” is a dance in which the participants
“shuffle” their feet while moving in a counter-
clockwise circle.
• The McIntosh County Shouters perform a ring
shout
25. Lined-Hymn
• Based on tradition hymn, but the preacher or
deacon feeds the lines to the congregation
• Born out of necessity when most congregants
could not read
• Unmetered and unaccompanied
26. “Am I a Soldier of the Cross”
• Traditional singing of “Am I a Soldier of the Cross”
• The lined-hymn singing of “Am I a Soldier of the Cross”
Am I a soldier of the cross,
a follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own his cause,
Or blush to speak his name?
Must I be carried to the skies
on flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
28. The Commodification of Black Music
• Negro spirituals were the first musical product
sold in the US (other than the enslaved
themselves).
• The money was used to raise funds for
abolitionist causes in the North.
29. Transcription Exercise
• Apply Olly Wilson’s Heterogenous Sound Ideal
to what you hear
• Attempt to transcribe the lyrics
• Attempt to transcribe/describe the music
