Dos Vatos Palabras

by Dr. Audley C. Chambers

PhD Chairperson, Music Department

Associate Professor of Music History and Literature

Oakwood College

    The Spirituals—documentary, featuring the truly musically passionate group, The American Spiritual Ensemble, takes one on a 26-minute musical journey in time through plantation scenes shot in various locations of the old south depicting life from the colonial and antebellum period. The connection of the spirituals to the activities of the civil rights and the ensemble’s presentation of spirituals in churches and opera houses of the present day reveals the continuation and reception of this musical heritage.  Through the Spiritual Ensemble’s dynamic musical presentation of various types of spirituals, through their informal interviews with various members of the ensemble who personally informs the viewer about his or her ancestry’s relationship to this American art form, and through historical narrative grounded in scholarship and lithographs taken from historical archives, they develop and trace the significance of what the spirituals are truly about—messages of hope, encouragement, conviction during hard times, and aspirations of a better life to come. An additional benefit to The Spirituals—documentary is the bonus material separated from the main menu, which is divided into three programs: 1) Additional Scenes 2) Photo Gallery and 3) Information about The American Spiritual Ensemble.

Program one (Additional Scenes) lasting 20 minutes features the distinguished composer, conductor, and pianist, Roland Carter who is most especially noted as an authority on the performance and preservation of African American music. Along with Carter’s insight into the role and function of the spirituals, additional behind-the-scene footage of the ensemble during their tour of the American South and various cities in Spain develop a rare view of the impact of the spirituals on people’s lives near and far away from the shores of the United States. Rare pictures of the inside of the 16th Street Baptist church shown along with the singing of the spiritual “Give Me Jesus” sung by one of the ensemble members gives one a sense of the spirituals’ poignancy and reception then and now.

Program two (Photo Gallery) lasting just over five minutes presents a photo gallery of many members of the ensemble in various musical locale in and outside of the United States of America against the singing of an old spiritual “Guide my feet while I run this race.”

Program three (About the American Spiritual Ensemble) presents information on the founder of the American Spiritual Ensemble—Dr. Everett McCorvey—its members including the diva Angela Brown, and how they can be reached.

Although this documentary on the spirituals presents a comprehensive overview about their significance and the impact that this American Art form has on a culture past and present, the various spiritual renditions presented by this diverse group of professional “opera singers” is worthy of being in one’s collection. In addition to the DVD, its companion CD of the same name features 15 classic renditions, including some which are not on the DVD. This musical presentation through oral history, documents and sound will certainly be a documentary that can be used for discussions in any classroom setting dealing with the subject of spirituals and their impact on generations past and present.

TO ORDER A DVD OF THE SPIRITUALS PLEASE VISIT:  www.dosvatos.com

Recently

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.