Black Culture

GOSPEL MUSIC AND THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE BEHIND IT

Think about black music and you immediately come up with black gospel music , right ? There are a large number of famous soul singers nowadays who began as gospel music artists . This impressive list includes , among others , James Brown , Aretha Franklin , Ray Charles , Lou Rawls , Sam Cooke and Otis Redding , says Leonard Goines in the online article Gospel Music and the Black Consciousness

In terms of history , Goines noted that black gospel music grew out of the late 19th and early 20th century folk church

and is essentially created in a context of individual and collective spontaneity . As a African and Afro-American music , dance , poetry , oratory and drama

There are two basic sources from which the aesthetic ideals of gospel singing have been derived . These are the free-style collective improvisations utilized by congregations in the black church and the black gospel preacher 's rhetorical solo style . Since the beginning of their history in the plantation praise houses , black preachers have utilized folk poetry and the vivid phrase to excite the emotions and involve the participation of their congregations . Possessing special oratorical skills marked by a call-and-response format and punctuated with groans and gestures , these master preachers have been able to create an aura of excitement and hope rarely equaled (Goines , 2004

I would have to agree with Goines when he pointed out gospel has distilled the aesthetic essence of the black arts into a unified whole The uniqueness of black gospel music , in my opinion , is in the experience itself when you listen to it . As noted by Goines , few people can experience gospel in its true cultural setting and fail to hear black poetry in the black preacher 's sermon . Nor can they fail to see drama in the emotion-packed performance of a black gospel choir interacting with its congregation nor fail to see dance in the gospel shout . It is also in this aspect that I would say yes , there is such a thing as a Black Style . Anyone who listens to gospel music can easily identify if the singer is black or not . The soulfulness and the emotions revealed in black gospel music is definitely a manifestation of the proud cultural heritage of the African-American people

Source

Goines , Leonard 2004 : Gospel Music and the Black Consciousness [online]

Available at : HYPERLINK "http /www .afgen .com /gospel21 .html http /www .afgen .com /gospel21 .html

[cited on May 24 , 2006] ...