Educational Resources
The Spirituals Project is committed to serving as a resource center for anyone interested in learning more about the spirituals. Below is a list of some of the resources we typically recommend. We also encourage readers to consult the comprehensive multimedia educational website that we have developed in collaboration with the University of Denver Center for Teaching and Learning.

Video Programs
Balm in Gilead: The Legacy of African American Spirituals. 1997. Length: 21 minutes. Winner of a “Best Single Program” award from the Colorado Broadcasters’ Association. Produced by Reynelda Muse and Kevin at KCNC-TV Denver (Channel 4) in collaboration with Spirituals Project Director Arthur Jones, 1997. A brief introduction to the spirituals tradition and its importance to us today. KCNC-TV will provide a complimentary videocassette copy of this program to any Colorado school, public or private, at any level. Call The Spirituals Project office at 303-871-7993 or e-mail the office: crule@spiritualsproject.org.

The Songs are Free. Bernice Johnson Reagon, with Bill Moyers. 1991. Length: 58 minutes. Mystic Fire Video, Inc., P.O. Box 1092, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276, 1-800-727-8433. Features a profile of historian-singer (and founder of the a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock) Bernice Johnson Reagon and her work in keeping the tradition of congregational singing of spirituals alive. Excellent commentary by Reagon concerning the history, power and continuing cultural significance of the spirituals.

Spirituals in Concert. Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman at Carnegie Hall, with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, directed by James Levine. 1991. Length: 1 hour. Originally part of the WNET-TV (New York) Great Performances series, this program is now available on videocassette from Deutsche Grammophon Records.

Singing Instruction
Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, a long-standing member of the noted a capella group "Sweet Honey in the Rock," has collaborated with Dr. George Brandon to put together a wonderful resource for people interested in learning to sing African American choral and congregational music, including especially several spirituals. It is a set of six audio cassette tapes which give very specific instruction in learning the various vocal parts for several songs, including such spirituals as "Wade in the Water," "Motherless Child," "Wanna Die Easy," "Soon I will Be Done," "Swing Down Chariot," and "Balm in Gilead." The tapes, along with an instructional guide that includes a rich set of educational resources, are available in the form of a convenient portable kit. SINGING IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN TRADITION, Homespun Tapes, Box 694, Woodstock, NY 12498. Telephone (914) 246-2550, or 1-800-33-TAPES. Published in 1989.

Selected Readings
Allen, William Francis; Ware, Charles Pickward and Garrison, Lucy McKim, Slave Songs of the United States. Reprinted New York: Peter Smith, 1951, originally published 1867.
Classic reference; one of the first to make the general public aware of the dynamic power of slave folk songs.

Cone, James H. The Spirituals and the Blues: An Interpretation. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991; originally published 1972.
A pre-eminent theologian’s interpretation of the religious significance of the spirituals tradition, and its relationship to the blues.

Creel, Margaret Washington, “A Peculiar People”: Slave Religion and Community Culture Among the Gullahs. New York: New York University Press, 1988.
The most comprehensive treatment available of the historical roots of the religious culture of the “Gullah” community -- African Americans living in the sea islands off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, where is it felt that many aspects of traditional African cultures are retained. Includes considerable attention to the role of traditional folk music. Prof. Washington is a Cornell University historian and an academic advisor to the Spirituals Project SWEET CHARIOT documentary film project.

DuBois, W.E.B. “Of the Sorrow Songs.” In The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Bantam Books, 1989; originally published 1903.
The classic essay on spirituals written at the turn of the twentieth century by the famous activist-sociologist DuBois. “Must” reading for anyone interested in the spirituals.

Epstein, Dena J. Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1977.
The most comprehensive reference available on the musicological and historical evolution of Black folk music in America (including an extensive treatment of the spirituals) up to the time of the Civil War. Carefully researched and well documented, the book begins with an examination West African music, including an illuminating discussion of ways in which music traditions were transmitted from West Africa through the Middle Passage. The complex issue of African retentions is given extensive treatment throughout the text.

Fisher, Miles Mark, Negro Slave Songs in the United States. New York: Russell & Russell, 1968; originally published 1953.
One of the first scholarly attempts at a thorough socio-cultural analysis of the cultural functions of the spirituals and other slave songs.

Johnson, James Weldon and Johnson, J. Rosamond, The Books of American Negro Spirituals. New York: DaCapo Press, 1973; originally published as two separate volumes in 1925 and 1926.
Collection of some of the most popular spirituals, with simple arrangements by J. Rosamond Johnson and Leonard Brown. A historic introduction by the famous poet James Weldon Johnson. Includes an excellent discussion of the appropriate uses of Black dialect in the singing of spirituals.

Jones, Arthur C. Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of the Spirituals. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993.
In this book, Spirituals Project founder Arthur Jones provides a review of the cultural and psychological history of the spirituals tradition, with an impassioned argument for the importance of these songs as an aid in tackling difficult contemporary social problems. Comes with a postcard that can be sent to the publisher to receive a complimentary cassette recording of 16 spirituals by Jones and his piano accompanist Ingrid Thompson.

Levine, Lawrence. Black Culture and Black Consciousness. New York: Oxford Press, 1977.
In this, one of the best sources on the “essence” of Black American cultural traditions, historian Lawrence Levine includes in this book an excellent analysis of the place of the spirituals tradition in Black culture and history.

Lovell, John Jr. Black Song, the Forge and the Flame: The Story of How the Afro-American Spiritual Was Hammered Out. New York: Paragon House Publishers, 1986; originally published 1972.
This is widely considered the most important single reference on the social and cultural significance and influence of the spirituals. It provides a thorough, scholarly and comprehensive literary analysis of spirituals lyrics, places them in historical context, and includes an extensive section on the worldwide cultural influences of the spirituals.

Raboteau, Albert J. Slave Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
A classic book on slave religion by an important Princeton University historian. Eminently readable, it also includes a section on the history, evolution and religious functions of the spirituals during slavery.

Spencer, Jon Michael. Protest & Praise: Sacred Music of Black Religion. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.
Spencer, who calls himself a “theomusicologist,” provides a cogent review of the entire landscape of Black sacred music – including the spirituals – and its role in the development of Black religion and Black-led social activism.

Stuckey, Sterling. Slave Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Like Raboteau’s book on slave religion, this is another classic. Of particular importance to those interested in the spirituals is Stuckey’s analysis of the central role of the ring shout in the evolution of spirituals and their connection to nationalistically conscious elements of traditional African American culture.

Walker, Wyatt Tee. “Somebody’s Calling My Name”: Black Sacred Music and Social Change. Valley Forge, VA: Judson Press, 1979.
An important book by one of the veterans of the 1960’s freedom movement in America. Focuses on the historical role of the spirituals and other Black sacred music genres in supporting progressive social action and social change.

Selected Discography of Recordings of Spirituals Available on Compact Disc
Anderson, Marian. Marian Anderson: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. New York: BMG Music Classics (originally RCA Victor), 1994.

Battle, Kathleen and Norman, Jessye. Spirituals in Concert. Hamburg, Germany: Deutsche Grammophon, 1991.

Black Christmas: Spirituals in the African-American Tradition. Dobbs Ferry, NY: ES.A.Y. Recordings, 1990.

Chestnut, Cyrus. Blessed Quietness: A Collection of Hymns, Spirituals and Carols. New York: Atlantic, 1996.

Haden, Charlie and Jones, Hank. Steal Away. New York: Verve Records, 1995.

Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. The Harlem Spiritual Ensemble in Concert. New York: Arcadia Records, 1991.

Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. Free at Last. New York: Arcadia Records, 1992.

Jackson, Mahalia. Best Loved Spirituals. New York: Sony, 1993.

Jackson, Mahalia. Gospels, Spirituals and Hymns. New York: Columbia Records, 1991.

Norman, Jessye, with the Ambrosian Singers and Willis Patterson, conductor. Spirituals. Phillips, 1978.

Odetta. Christmas Spirituals. Waterbury, Vermont: Alcazar Productions, 1988.

Quivar, Florence. Ride On, King Jesus. Hayes Middlesex, England: EMI Records, 1990.

Ragin, Derek Lee, with Moses Hogan and the New World Ensemble. Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit: Spirituals. Englewood, NJ: Channel Classics, 1991.

Reagon, Bernice Johnson, compiler. Wade in the Water, Vol I: African American Spirituals: The Concert Tradition. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution/Folkways Recordings, 1994.

Robeson, Paul. The Power and the Glory. New York: Columbia Records, 1991.

Smithsonian Institution. Been in the Storm So Long: Spirituals, Folk Tales and Children’s Games from John’s Island, South Carolina. Washington, DC: Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings, 1990.