The study of the origin and development of music is naturally accompanied by the study of historic conditions and sociological ground for the development of music. Since there is great variety of musical genres that serve certain aims and are performed by certain people or groups of people on some particular occasions and in some concrete geographic region, even nowadays there are some musical fields that remain not thoroughly studied and investigated. Since the focus of the study is usually determined by the popularity of this or that musical genre, the greater part of attention of the researchers is claimed by either classical music or mainstream music leaving other music genres less explored. However, there are certain groups of scholars who are interested in unexplored musical genres, their origin, and their development. The perfect example is Professor George Pullen Jackson, who offered his study of a certain phase in American culture and a musical genre that had not claimed much attention in the world of scholars before his thorough investigation of white spirituals in the South. The author of the book under consideration, White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands: The Story of the Fasola Folk, Their Songs, Singings, and ‘Buckwheat Notes’, was a Professor of German at Vanderbilt University whose hobby of collecting old shape-note hymnals has resulted in the creation of the book under analysis. As it is stated in the epigraph to the book that is the quotation from Zion’s Songster, Jackson “swelled his notes into a book” and “softest notes” of the people who gave birth to the music were mingled with the author’s ideas, thus producing a study that deserves special interest of scholars and students dealing with music, folk and religious music in particular (Jackson, 1965, unpaged). The book is very beneficial for “careful students of the history of music” studying church music as it gives deep insight into the origin and development of rural spirituals, and provokes an intense reaction of the audience to the contemporary state of white spirituals in the Southern American regions in terms of the existing pressure on the analyzed type of religious music (Jackson, 1965, 4).
In the first place, it is necessary to justify the structure of the present book report and to show the way the thesis of the paper will be proven by each structural part of the report. The brief synopsis of the most significant chapters will present the reader the core ideas of the book, the merits of the source will be discussed and the weak points of the study will be given attention as well. A subsection of the report will be devoted to the personal impression and the significance of the book. Besides, the secondary source will be included in the analysis of White Spirituals and it will be the book by the same author that is devoted to the analysis of white spirituals and their influence on Negro spirituals.
Chapter I gives an account of the sources of American group singing in the New England. The author informs the reader from the very beginning of the “antiquated solmization … associated with … a likewise surviving primitive vocal musical theory and practice, and with a great body of song constructed in manners that have been forgotten” (Jackson, 1965, 5). As for the singing movement in Early New England, Jackson emphasizes democratic character of music rather than religion while spoken gospel was favored and singing tunes were merely tolerated but not encouraged (Jackson, 1965, 6). However, the time of changes has come with the publication of the first songbooks meant to satisfy the thirst of the population for music. Tuft used the notes that were not typical of that time: they were just the initial letters of the syllables, “fa sol la mi” while Walter composed the first songbook with regular notes in America and both of them contributed to the promotion of singing in churches (Jackson, 1965, 7). Also, the author gives an account of the beginning of singing schools and “Gould’s ‘dark age’” – “one of steadily increasing development singing schools and songbooks” (Jackson, 1965, 9). He defines this age as the time when “shape” notation spread among musically virgin American population.
The beginning of Chapter II explains the benefit of shape notation for beginning singers whose learning process was significantly simplified by the introduction of a note-head of characteristic shapes. Jackson mentions Law, Little, and Smith among the possible creators of shape notation system (Jackson, 1965, 12). The same chapter also presents the formulation of the author’s task: to prove that four-shape notation is still used by numerous singers and its extension to seven shapes has become symbolic for many singers and is still topical in the United States (Jackson, 1965, 15). Also, the author traces the reasons for which the northern regions were alienated from this type of notation while such factors as economic prosperity, musical influence from Europe, continental immigration, and the growing cities were not typical of the rural South (Jackson, 1965, 22).
Chapter XVIII is devoted to camp meetings and spiritual songs that appear during such meetings and it starts with the justification of the choice of this particular type of fasola songs as the brightest example of religious folk-songs of the southern rural area (Jackson, 1965, 214). He then resorts to Benson’s idea of the origin of religious songs of camp meetings as spontaneous “ejaculatory hymns” and as hymns composed out of meetings and taught to the public (Jackson, 1965, 216). This chapter also presents the samples of the texts of Camp-Meeting Hymns so that the reader could get acquainted with the patterns and the content of this type of religious music that originally was unwritten before the introduction of the fasola singing-schools that helped to keep them using their inclusion into their tune books. However, the most eloquent idea advanced by the author in this chapter is that “the camp-meeting folk drew largely on secular music”, mainly popular ones and traditional ones (Jackson, 1965, 241). Also, this chapter tackles the aspect that is the main focus of White and Negro Spirituals: that the Negro spiritual tunes embody the revival melodies of the South (Jackson, 1965, 241), (Jackson, 1943, 120).
Further, in Chapter XXI, the researcher presents the proof of the inhospitality pertaining to fasola songs in the urban South in contrast to the rural areas. He studies Methodist hymn books, Baptist hymn books, and Presbyterian hymn books. As for the first type of urban tune books, Jackson states that these books, for instance, the Everett edition, do not contain any domestic camp-meeting song and later editions of the tune books are also merciless towards indigenous camp-meeting tunes (Jackson, 1965, 305). As for Baptist hymn books, the author presents the analysis of the earliest hymn book, the Baptist Hymn and Tune Book containing thirty-two songs “of that vintage” that is contrasted to the Service of Song that contains only nine indigenous songs (Jackson, 1965, 309). Finally, the analysis of the Presbyterian hymn books brightly shows the elimination of all indigenous Southern songs. In fact, Presbyterians never used “the indigenous songs in denominational bloodstream” (Jackson, 1943, 135). Thus, fasola music disappeared from the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian standardized church song milieu (Jackson, 1965, 313). However, the light is thrown on the exception to the rule of city churches and their relation to indigenous songs. The Hymn Books of the Primitive Baptists are analyzed by Jackson in terms of the presence of “good old songs” in their service (Jackson, 1965, 313). “They stick best to the old folk songs”, says Jackson (1943, 133).
In addition to the historical analysis of the indigenous Southern songs, Jackson presents his investigation of the modern state of things, such as the sales of seven-shape songbooks (Jackson, 1965, 366). He also describes modern process of tune creation (Jackson, 1965, 372). Also, the book gives an account of the contemporary use of shape-notes in rural areas and the way this seven-shape notation was adopted (Jackson, 1965, 401).
The summary of the book under analysis suggests that the advantages of the book under analysis lie on the surface. The book is a thorough and deep study of rural fasola singing in Southern regions. The list of advantages can be started right with the Foreword to the book that justifies its topicality stating that even scholars know little or nothing at all about religious folk-songs (Jackson, 1965, vii). What is more, even the possible reasons for that are given by the author, who states that it may be, on the one hand, the result of the spirituals’ perception as of alien to folk-lore and, on the other hand, absence of suitable material for the study contributes to general shallow awareness of the issue.
One of the advantages of the book is the historical perspective used by the author. He presents the material starting with the introduction of the necessary terms and their origin, such as “fasola singing” – the key term and notion of the whole work. The account of the singing movement in Early New England seems to uncover the origins of spirituals. The account of the background, the appearance, and spread of religious songs can be of great interest and necessity for students studying the history of church music since the awareness of the origin of music helps to understand its value and the present state. Step by step, Jackson makes the reader acquainted with the origin of singing schools, the first tune books and other historical features of religious folk-lore singing thus creating the ground for further study.
It can be assumed that Jackson may be rightfully called a historian of rural white spirituals and White Spirituals is a kind of encyclopedia of religious shape-note songs. Jackson (1965, 14) gives graphical presentation of the notation and the account of its creation by Law, Smith, and Little and describes the movement of the singing schools in the country. All the parts of this account are logically arranged and their successive presentation makes the information clear.
One of the advantages of the book that deserves mentioning is that the author avoids making unsubstantiated statements and never presents vague ideas. A perfect choice of his is the presentation of significant stanzas from the songs taken from Original Sacred Harp so that the reader does not feel that the narration is built around some overgeneralized notion (Jackson, 1965, 217). As for the analysis of the process of abandoning indigenous signing traditions in the urban area of the South, it is also detailed and clear due to the analysis of the content of the tune books used by the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. The researcher even presents precise quantitative information on the number of indigenous tunes included in the books so that to make the state of indigenous religious songs clear.
In addition to the historical account of the development of white spirituals, the author even enumerates present-day publishers who use seven-shape notation in their books and presents information on their sales, thus, throwing light on the present state of things in the sphere of religious singing in the South (Jackson, 1965, 366). What is more, the account is given on the way certain religious groups have adopted seven-shape notation that is still used nowadays and it is also useful for historical analysis of the music.
Trying to anticipate all possible questions that may arise while reading the book, Jackson explains the attitude of different people towards folk spirituals (Jackson, 1965, 422-423). He also enlarges on the issue tackled in the Foreword to the book that mentioned ignorance of the field of rural religious folk songs provoking the reader’s attention as he/she is already aware of many aspects connected with white spirituals. Finally, the analysis of urbanization as “deadly enemy of this country-singing institution” can hardly leave a reader indifferent to the contemporary problems of rural Southern religious songs (Jackson, 1965, 425). Thus, it can be concluded that the structure of the book is its significant advantage as the author succeeds in informing the reader and provoking his/her intense reaction to its main theme.
As for our impression of the book, we feel that it is necessary to give the author credit for thorough investigation of the primary sources and accurate references and significant excerpts presented in the book. His research of the documents is supported by an active and authentic study of the publishers of seven-shape songbooks and their sales that can be analyzed in terms of the popularity and demand for the books.
Besides, we have enjoyed the author’s manner of presentation of his narration as he has successfully managed to introduce the terminology and major historical details and has retained a clear and logically arranged flow of ideas. Also, the use of graphical support (photos, notes) makes the narration even more accessible.
As for the significance of the book under study, it may be useful for a diverse audience. As we have already mentioned, it is indispensable for students studying the history of music. It also bears significance for the researchers as it may prompt further spheres of study. Besides, even an unprofessional audience may find it accessible and interesting and it may become the source of motivation to save traditions for the inhabitants of the rural South.
Concluding, it is possible to state that White Spirituals is a perfect account of the study performed by its author who has managed to make it almost flawless and who supported it with his subsequent work, White and Negro Spirituals. The book describes various aspects of the Southern religious folk songs in their historical and modern perspective. The book can be rightfully called “the exhaustive history of rural religious folk songs”.
Reference
Jackson, George Pullen. 1965. White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands: The Story of the Fasola Folk, Their Songs, Singings, and ‘Buckwheat Notes’. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Jackson, George Pullen. 1943. White and Negro Spirituals: Their Life Span and Kinship. New York: G.G. Augustin Publisher.