Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Feb. 28, 1981, edition 1 / Page 4
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-THE CAROLINA TIMES SAT., FEBRUARY 28. 1981 Black Music & Entertainment Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was the king. Born in Tex arkana, Texas, he had a strong background in music, for each member of his family was an ac complished musician. He taught himself to play the piano , with enough exper tise that he began to study with a German instructor in the area. There, he gained an appreciation for and a knowledge of the traditional style of music. While a teenager, he followed the well developed route that drifters had forged along "The River." He settled in the St. Louis area in 1895 for a year; organiz ing and touring with a vocaj group, continuing to play rag and compose pieces with traditional notation that did not sell. In . 1896, he settled in Sedalia, Missouri and took advanced courses in music while seriously com posing. At the close of the. peti tory ragtime was being ac claimed so that Joplin was able to get his Original Rag published in 1899. While he was performing at the Maple Leaf Club, he came to the attention of John Stark, a white music publisher who bought Joplin's piece Maple Leaf Rag for fifty dollars plus royalties. Scott was under the illusion that he was on his way. However, the song did not immediately sell, but when it did, hun dreds of thousands of copies were purchased. Joplin then began com posing his first serious (i.e. traditional) music: A Guest of Honor, A Ragtime Opera, and The Ragtime Dance the lat ter a ballet with the Cakewalk and slow drag featured. These were com-' pleted in 1903. ; Scott continued to write 1 music and aid young : ragtime cqmposers whenever he could. He often allowed his name to be used along with the name of the budding com-; poser' sUn order to end some credence to the manuscript. Louis Chauvin (1883-1908) however, was a true protege of Joplin's and they collaborated on Helicopter Bouquet - a Slow Drag Two-Step which was well-received. Chauvin's deteriorating physical condition, caused by opium and syphilis, created the need for Scott to complete the composi tion that Chauvin began. Of all of Joplin's "students," he indicated the most promise, but liv ing the fast life - his early demise eliminated a possi ble real competitor to Joplin. Most of Joplin's life, after he settled in New York in 1910, was spent in decline after he published Treemonisha in 1911. His, obsession with the opera culminated in a one night performance in Harlem. It would not be until decades after his death in 1917 that the work would be given, proper treatment. Its sur vival would be due to the popularity that The Enter tainer received in a first run movie, The Sting. Ragtime never did gain the respectability that other forms of "black" music had; it would basically remain in the ur ban areas with its coterie of admirers forming a select fraternity well known to each other. POST BELLUM The end to slavery brought immediate jubila tion that quickly settled into bewilderment and fear, for thousands were refugees as have been ther many witnesses to any great war. The immediate issue was resettlement: to develop roots, security1 and a positive self-image. The federal government set the Freedmen's. Bureau, and various, church and religious; groups were instrumental; in forging bases for the hapless ex-slaves. Several academic and manual in stitutions were formed: Atlanta University, Fisk, Hampton, Johnson C. Smith (known then as Bid die), and Saint Augustine's. He Hears With A Heart (Coniinued fro:n From) ing, travel and expenses. His accomplishments speak for themselves. On ly now he asks if you can hear his call. All dona- ; tions for Stacey can be ' sent to: ; Stacey RogersSpecial Olympics Fund co Ms. Alma Steele, j Chairman i 18-C Moore Place ; Durham NC 27707 or Stacey Rogers co Larry Fletcher N.C. School for the Deaf Morganton, NC 28655 One might have thought that the heed for spirituals and . protest songs was over, but this uneasy era of Jim Crow laws, vigilante groups; such as the Ku Klux Klan, and sharecropping, created conditions where, in some cases, the ex-slaves were worse off than ever. Once more, blacks turn ed to that mitigable force, music. The black bards in creased the repertory of music, and a new form was born from men who were put into prison for any pretext: the prison song. Lumber camps, mines, factories, cattle ranges, steamboats, and the ubi quitous railroad, all con tributed to the melodies and chants that became familiar. Perhaps the most popular railroad song was written about the legen dary black track liner John Henry. The increased need for new railroad spurs developed a group of men ' called track liners or gan dy dancers. Track lining required a specific rhythm in order to accomplish the job. As the leader of a group of field workers was expected to do, so too was the caller or leader of the gandy dancers. He had to know hundreds of lines for the song couplets in order to keep his crew in terested and busy. Thus, they too were responsible for keeping the elements of songs from many sources work songs, spirituals, etc. alive. The purposes of the spiritual have been discussed earlier in this" discourse, but it was not until post-bellum times that it became an art form, and it was due to eleven young singers, seven who were born slaves. They were the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Fisk, founded in 1866, was first' intended to be a high school, but the need for an institution of higher learning was recongized, 'so the Fisk college classes began in 1871. When a young white in structor named George White was asked by the president of Fisk to give music instruction to his students, he was over whelmed by the emotion '" produced in him by their singing. ; . The President of Senegal, Leopold Senghor, has since - said, "Negro voices, because they have not been ! .1 1 1 I j 1 . rtca.arJ Y- 1u 'r?.i. r:. domesticated by training, follow every shade of feel ing or imagination; draw - ing freely from the infinite dictionary of nature, they borrow its tonal expres sions, from the light songs df the birds to the solemn ,roll of the thunder." Recognizing that these natural qualities would enhance the. singers' per formance, White's train ing enabled them to read music and develop stage presence without eliminating those qualities. Their first selections were popular ballards of the day, suchas Annie Laurie and Home, Sweet, Home. In unstructured moments. They would sing some of their spirituals and plantation melodies for their own entertainment. Hearing these songs, their simplici ty and beauty so evident, White wanted to include the songs in the first con cert that he planned for Nashville in 1867, but there was strong resistance ' by the singers for fear of ridicule. Finally, he encouraged them to king several of "their" songs at the pro gram. The success and ac colades with which the selections were met created a more ambitious local scheduling of concerts. In 1871, White decided to take the group on tour to raise funds. This was a difficult decision, for there were several obstacles; none had the proper clothing for a nor thern tour and no money .. to purchase any, their pro gram was not in the form of minstrelsy with which the American (i.e." white) public was familiar and, in fact, the genre (spirituals) was quite unfamiliar to the general public. Nevertheless, with bor rowed clothing and funds, White and his singers left, with hearts n their mouths, to begin a fun draising tour on October 6, 1871, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Receiving less than critical acclaim, they con tinued on their tour. At X)berlin a turning point of sorts was reached. White being kept waiting in the audience for their turn to perform, at a lull in pro ceedings, they softly began to sing, Steal A way m to Jesus. As a hush settled 'over the audience, their confidence grew. The purity and beauty of their singing and the sons mov ed the white gaaiehce in a way that nothing else had. White then decided to include more spirituals on succeeding programs, and a new name was needed. Remembering that slaves had talked about the "year of jubilee" that would be celebrated when bondage was ended, he elected to call the group the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Fame came to them in Boston at the World Peace Jubilee in 1872, where their strong voices carried the strain of The Battle Hymn of the Republic throughout the Coliseum. From then on, - they became internationally known through tours throughout the States and Europe. For the next seven years they travelled,- constantly increasing the coffers of the university's treasury by over $150,000. As a result of their tour, one contribution was the con struction of Jubilee Hall which is still on Fisk University's campus. The singers' success, both artistically and finan cially, created a tradition in Black colleges that ex ists today-for Hampton Institute was the second college to form a singing 'group; and others follow ed suit. The end of, the war created difficulties for in dividual performers, both white and black, with a ,few exceptions that have already been mentioned, and whose careers began during ante-bellum times. Now that peace had. returned, American au- 1 ? xhtrt 'r i-X'-V- diences turned to Euro pean performers for sole ' entertainment. Consequently vocal ensembles, opera com panies, music societies (chiefly classical), brass bands and reviews -abounded after the war. Minstrel troupes con tinued in their popularity and became the training ground for future stars. Unless a performer was a member of a large minstrel troupe, dif ficulties were experienced. Small, unknown groups had to "rough it". Often doubling as stage hands, janitors, ticket sellers; find their own accomoda tions in ofentimes un friendly towns, advertise their show with previews in the town square, pro vide their own costumes. and so on. Nevertheless, as is legion with aspiring performers, they were willing to endure in hopes of making it. Only the exceptional made the "Big Time." One year before Milburn's , song was first published, a son Was born to free tmicwa in riu&nmg, inw , York. He would write1 music that would be familiar, one hundred; years later, to millions ef ' people who wefe : unknowningly listening Co the composition of a black. man. WORMS CAN KILL YOUR DOG Don't ive them the chance... use ifvfietcareixvpie 1979 Millei Motlon Compwy subiidnry of A H Robins Co Hwhmood Vitginn Z323Q ..-.'.. .'.'i'MiiilVl. !:V'in(il;:i;l!;:i;iMiii;Viili O O II FREE!!! DUPLICATE COPIES OF PRIZED PHOTOS North Carolina Central University Is Seeking Photos Of Historical Value To The University o Buildings o Classes o o Organizations o Human Interest o o Sports o Personages o All photos will be protected and returned. Check old photo albums...old trunks.. .attics. Send photos with this coupon to: Office of Public Relation P.O. Box 19647 N.C. Central University Durham, N.C. 27707 Yes, 1 would like another copy of this photosraph. H you agree that It is of historical value to NCCU, please make me a copy and return it with my photo. Name Address If NCCU dottrft copy ttw picture, wa promiM to return your orlttaaL (Noon: Your photo should bt artfully protected whon you mB it to NCCU. Wo wW bo ctcful when wo return It!) - 41 a o o 1 o o o o
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Feb. 28, 1981, edition 1
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