Developments in Black Gospel Performance and Scholarship

Abstract

Gospel is one of the most vital of all American musical traditions and stands as a pivotal musical style that has influenced such other musical genres as jazz, soul, blues, and popular music. As a musical tradition that celebrates the contemporary black religious experience, gospel music is deeply rooted in black life and culture. The history of gospel music is a history of the struggle to be accepted as the black liturgical music. During the 1920s when gospel had its formal beginning, it met with resistance in most black denominations. However, by the forties gospel had revolutionized music in most black churches. Significantly, within the last few years gospel music has entered into the liturgies of black congregations of Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians. In several publications by the National Office for Black Catholics, This Far by Faith (1977) and Soulfull Worship (1974) by Clarence Jos. Rivers, such questions are addressed as: Is authentic black Catholic worship either possible or desirable? What is black music and what particular music problems do black Catholics face? The possibilities for the incorporation of gospel music into the Roman Catholic liturgy are exemplified in the recording Hymns of a Soulfull People by Grayson Warren Brown with the Howard Gospel Choir, produced by North American Liturgy Resources. Brown, who conducts choirs and workshops throughout the United States, is committed to bringing the black musical tradition to Roman Catholic worship. Black congregations of Episcopalians are beginning to incorporate gospel music and spirituals into their liturgy. A major effort is underway to achieve this end, and a hymnal is forthcoming from the Episcopal church which will include gospels, spirituals, and hymns that have been popular among blacks (see Jackson 1980).1 During the last three decades, gospel has experienced a period of phenomenal growth and development and has moved from use in a solely