Slave Songs of the United States (1867) title page

Slave Songs of the United States (1867) - Nobody Knows

''Slave Songs of the United States'' was a collection of

African American music African-American music is an umbrella term covering a diverse range of music and musical genres largely developed by African Americans and their culture. Their origins are in musical forms that first came to be due to the condition of slaver ...

consisting of 136 songs. Published in 1867, it was the first, and most influential, collection of spirituals to be published. The collectors of the songs were Northern

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

William Francis Allen William Francis Allen (September 5, 1830December 9, 1889) was an American classical scholar and an editor of the first book of American slave songs, '' Slave Songs of the United States.'' Allen was born in Northborough, Massachusetts in 1830, the ...

Lucy McKim Garrison Lucy McKim Garrison (October 30, 1842 – May 11, 1877) was an American song collector and co-editor of ''Slave Songs of the United States'', together with William Francis Allen and Charles Pickard Ware. Early life Lucy was born in Philadelphia, ...

, and

Charles Pickard Ware Charles Pickard Ware (1840–1921), was an American educator and music transcriber. An abolitionist, he served as a civilian administrator in the Union Army, where he was a labor superintendent of freedmen on plantations at Port Royal, South Carolin ...

. It is a "milestone not just in African American music but in modern folk history". It is also the first published collection of African-American music of any kind. The making of the book is described by Samuel Charters, with an emphasis on the role of Lucy McKim Garrison. A segment of ''

History Detectives ''History Detectives'' is a documentary television series on Public Broadcasting Service, PBS. It features investigations made by members of a small team of researchers to identify and/or authenticate items which may have historical significance or ...

'' explored the book's history and significance.

Notable songs

Several notable and popular songs in the book include: *"

Michael Row the Boat Ashore "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (also called "Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore", "Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore", or "Michael, Row That Gospel Boat") is a traditional African-American spiritual first noted during the American Civil War at St. Helen ...

" (#31) *"

Bosom of Abraham "Bosom of Abraham" refers to the place of comfort in the biblical Sheol (or Hades in the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew scriptures from around 200 BC, and therefore so described in the New Testament) where the righteous dead abided prior ...

" (#94 as "Rock My Soul") *"

Down in the River to Pray "Down in the River to Pray" (also known as "Down to the River to Pray," "Down in the Valley to Pray," "The Good Old Way," and "Come, Let Us All Go Down") is a traditional American song variously described as a Christian folk hymn, an African-Amer ...

" (#104 as "The Good Old Way")

References

* * * * * *

Notes

External links

Full text on Internet Archive (1867 edition)Full text on Internet Archive (1951 edition)''History Detectives'' segment (S6E11)
using

LilyPond LilyPond is a computer program and file format for music engraving. One of LilyPond's major goals is to produce scores that are engraved with traditional layout rules, reflecting the era when scores were engraved by hand. LilyPond is cross-pl ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slave Songs Of The United States 1867 non-fiction books 1867 in music * Song books Non-fiction books about American slavery

Notable songs

See also

References

Notes

External links