Music and Some Highly Musical People Part 28

All arrangements were completed; and the Jubilee Singers, as they were called, left Nashville in the fall of 1871 for a concert-tour of the Northern States, to accomplish the worthy object just mentioned.

Professor White, who was an educated and skilful musician, accompanied them as musical director. Mr. Theodore F. Seward, also of fine musical ability, was, after a while, a.s.sociated in like capacity with the singers. The following are the names of those who at one time and another, since the date of organization, have been members of the Jubilee choir:--

MISS ELLA SHEPARD, PIANIST.

MR. THOMAS RUTLING, MR. H. ALEXANDER, MR. F.J. LOUDIN, MR. G.H. OUSLEY, MR. BENJAMIN M. HOLMES, MR. ISAAC P. d.i.c.kERSON, MR. GREENE EVANS, MR. EDMUND WATKINS, MISS MAGGIE PORTER, MISS JENNIE JACKSON, MISS GEORGIE GORDON, MISS MAGGIE CARNES, MISS JULIA JACKSON, MISS ELIZA WALKER, MISS MINNIE TATE, MISS JOSEPHINE MOORE, MISS MABEL LEWIS, AND MISS A.W. ROBINSON.

This list might well be called the _Roll of Honor_.

I have not s.p.a.ce to follow in detail this ambitious band of singers in their remarkable career throughout this country and in Great Britain.

The wonderful story of their journey of song is fully and graphically told in a book (which I advise all to read) written by Mr. G.D. Pike, and published in 1873. A brief survey of this journey must here suffice.

The songs they sang were generally of a religious character,--"slave _spirituals_,"--and such as have been sung by the American bondmen in the cruel days of the past. These had originated with the slave; had sprung spontaneously, so to speak, from souls naturally musical; and formed, as one eminent writer puts it, "_the only native American music_."

The strange, weird melody of these songs, which burst upon the Northern States, and parts of Europe, as a revelation in vocal music, as a music most thrillingly sweet and soul-touching, sprang then, strange to say, from a state of slavery; and the habitually minor character of its tones may well be ascribed to the depression of feeling, the anguish, that must ever fill the hearts of those who are forced to lead a life so fraught with woe. This is clearly exemplified, and the sad story of this musical race is comprehensively told, in Ps. cx.x.xvii.:--

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

"We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

"For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?"

And yet, ever patient, ever hopeful of final deliverance, they did sing on and on, until at last the joyful day of freedom dawned upon them.

To render these songs essentially as they had been rendered in slave-land came the Jubilee Singers. They visited most of the cities and large towns of the North, everywhere drawing large and often overwhelming audiences, creating an enthusiasm among the people rarely ever before equalled. The cultured and the uncultured were alike charmed and melted to tears as they listened with a new enthusiasm to what was a wonderfully new exhibition of the greatness of song-power.

Many persons, it is true, were at first attracted to the concert-hall by motives of mere curiosity, hardly believing, as they went, that there could be much to enjoy. These, however, once under the influence of the singers, soon found themselves yielding fully to the enchanting beauty of the music; and they would come away saying the half had not been told. The musical critics, like all others in the audiences, were so lost in admiration, that they forgot to criticise; and, after recovering from what seemed a trance of delight, they could only say that this "music of the heart" was beyond the touch of criticism.

I have spoken of the origin and the character of these songs. Those who so charmingly interpreted them deserve most particular notice. The rendering of the Jubilee Singers, it is true, was not always strictly in accordance with artistic forms. The songs did not require this; for they possessed in themselves a peculiar power, a plaintive, emotional beauty, and other characteristics which seemed entirely independent of artistic embellishment. These characteristics were, with a most refreshing originality, naturalness, and soulfulness of voice and method, fully developed by the singers, who sang with all their might, yet with most pleasing sweetness of tone.

But, as regards the judgment pa.s.sed upon this "Jubilee melody" from a high musical stand-point, I quote from a very good authority; viz., Theo. F. Seward of Orange, N.J.:--

"It is certain that the critic stands completely disarmed in their presence. He must not only recognize their immense power over audiences which include many people of the highest culture, but, if he be not entirely incased in prejudice, he must yield a tribute of admiration on his own part, and acknowledge that these songs touch a chord which the most consummate art fails to reach. Something of this result is doubtless due to the singers as well as to their melodies. The excellent rendering of the Jubilee Band is made more effective, and the interest is intensified, by the comparison of their former state of slavery and degradation with the present prospects and hopes of their race, which crowd upon every listener's mind during the singing of their songs; yet the power is chiefly in the songs themselves."

It would not do, of course, to a.s.sume that to the almost matchless beauty of the songs and their rendering was due alone the intense interest that centred in these singers. They were on a _n.o.ble mission_. They sang to build up education in the blighted land in which they themselves and millions more had so long drearily plodded in ignorance; and it was a most striking and yet pleasing exhibition of poetic justice, when many of those who really, in a certain sense, had been parties to their enslavement, were forced to pay tribute to the signs of genius found in this native music, and to contribute money for the cause represented by these delightful musicians.

But I must not give only my own opinion of these singers, as I am supposed to be a partial witness. Many, many others, among whom are the most talented and cultured of this country and England, have spoken of them in terms the most laudatory. Some of these shall now more than confirm my words of praise.

The Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler of Brooklyn, writing in January, 1872, to "The New-York Tribune," thus spoke of them:--

"When the Rev. Mr. Chalmers (the younger) visited this country as the delegate of the Scotch Presbyterian General a.s.sembly, he went home and reported to his countrymen that he had 'found the ideal church in America: it was made up of Methodist praying, Presbyterian preaching, and Southern negro-singing.' The Scotchman would have been confirmed in his opinion if he had been in Lafayette-avenue Church last night, and heard the Jubilee Singers,--a company of colored students, male and female, from Fisk University of Freedmen, Nashville, Tenn. In Mr. Beecher's church they delighted a vast throng of auditors, and another equally packed audience greeted them last evening.

"I never saw a cultivated Brooklyn a.s.semblage so moved and melted under the magnetism of music before. The wild melodies of these emanc.i.p.ated slaves touched the fount of tears, and gray-haired men wept like children....

"The harmony of these children of nature, and their musical execution, were beyond the reach of art. Their wonderful skill was put to the severest test when they attempted 'Home, Sweet Home,' before auditors who had heard these same household words from the lips of Jenny Lind and Parepa; yet these emanc.i.p.ated bondwomen, now that they knew what the word 'home' signifies, rendered that dear old song with a power and pathos never surpa.s.sed.

"Allow me to bespeak through your journal ... a universal welcome through the North for these living representatives of the only true native school of American music. We have long enough had its coa.r.s.e caricature in corked faces: our people can now listen to the genuine soul-music of the slave-cabins before the Lord led his 'children out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.'"

The welcome thus eloquently bespoken for the singers was enthusiastically extended to them all over the North. The journals of the day fairly teemed with praises of them; and often, in the larger cities, hundreds of persons were turned away from the concert-hall, unable to obtain admittance, so great was the rush.

After a while they visited England, where they sang before the Queen and others of the n.o.bility, everywhere repeating the triumphs that had been theirs in this country. In fact, it was proved that their power as singers held sway wherever they sang; wherever was found a soul in unison with melodious sound, a heart capable of human emotion. It was not so much the words of their songs--these, it is true, were not without merit in a religious sense--as the strangely pathetic and delightful melody of their music, and the freshness and heartiness of the rendering, that gave them their greatest charm. This has since been most pointedly demonstrated in Holland and Switzerland, where these singers have drawn crowded and delighted audiences that neither speak nor understand a word of English: such is the beautiful, far-reaching power of this, in the truest sense, "music of the heart."

I now present a few of the many tributes of admiration which their performances drew from cultured English people. Thus spoke Mr. Colin Brown, Ewing Lecturer on Music, Andersonian University, Glasgow:--

"As to the manner of their singing, it must be heard before it can be realized. Like the Swedish melodies of Jenny Lind, it gives a new musical idea. It has been well remarked, that in some respects it disarms criticism; in others it may be truly said that it almost defies it. It was beautifully described by a simple Highland girl: 'It filled my whole heart.'

"Such singing (in which the artistic is lost in the natural) can only be the result of the most careful training. The richness and purity of tone both in melody and harmony, the contrast of light and shade, the varieties and grandeur in expression, and the exquisite refinement of the _piano_ as contrasted with the power of the _forte_, fill us with delight, and at the same time make us feel how strange it is that these unpretending singers should come over here to teach us what is the true refinement of music; make us feel its moral and religious power."

Others spoke as follows:--

"I never so enjoyed music."--REV. C.H. SPURGEON.

"They have beautiful voices."--_London Graphic._

"Their voices are clear, rich, and highly cultivated."--_London Daily News._

"This troupe sing with a pathos, a harmony, and an expression, which are quite touching."--_London Journal._

"There is something inexpressibly touching in their wonderfully sweet, round, bell voices."--REV. GEORGE MACDONALD.

Mr. Gladstone, while prime-minister of England, honored them with a complimentary breakfast, and listened to their songs, as Newman Hall writes, "with rapt, enthusiastic attention, saying, 'Isn't it wonderful? I never heard any thing like it.'"

"We never saw an audience more riveted, nor a more thorough heart entertainment. Men of h.o.a.ry hairs, as well as those younger in the a.s.sembly, were moved even to tears as they listened with rapt attention to some of the identical slave-songs which these emanc.i.p.ated ones rendered with a power and pathos perfectly indescribable."--_London Rock._

I might now, if it were necessary, fill many pages with the comments made upon these charming singers by the American press both before and after their trip to England; but these would only be repet.i.tions of the laudatory notices just given. The following is quoted because it is descriptive of the improvement made by the singers. Said "The Boston Journal,"--

"THE JUBILEE SINGERS.--The students of Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn., whose sweet voices made such a popularity for the Jubilee Singers in this city two or three years ago, and won royal favor on the other side of the Atlantic, gave their first concert since their return at Tremont Temple last evening. The audience numbered some two thousand persons, and manifested an enthusiasm seldom witnessed at a concert in this city. From the initial to the finale of the programme the singers were applauded and encored, and now and then the enthusiasm broke forth in the interludes. So many thousands have listened with delight to the full, rich voices of the 'Jubilees,' and the sweet undertone which disarms criticism while it charms the popular ear, that it is needless to speak of them at length. The simple purity of the rendering of the Lord's Prayer, which initiated the programme, gave evidence that they had lost none of their natural grace and simplicity of expression by their tour across the water; and this was confirmed by the peculiar and plaintive melodies of the South-land in the days of slavery, which made up the major part of the programme. A few selections of more artistic composition were introduced, for the purpose of demonstrating, as they did most fully, that the students have been educated to an appreciation of the higher grades of vocalization. The great charm of these singers will, however, remain in the reproduction of the melodies of an era that has gone, happily never to return,--melodies which were the natural expression of the fancies and sympathies of an emotional race, and which no musical culture or refinement can ever render with the sweet simplicity and charming grace that flow from the lips of those to whom they are the native music."

"In the summer of 1874 they returned to Nashville, having given two seasons of concerts in this country, and one in Great Britain. The best evidence of the appreciative and enthusiastic welcome given them in both countries is the fact that the net result for Fisk University was over $90,000." The "problem" of the little band of faithful teachers had been n.o.bly, gloriously solved. The old government-building in which they began their labors was soon discarded. To-day, on a beautiful, commanding site of twenty-five acres, with all the appliances of the best modern colleges, stands a n.o.ble building, forever dedicated to learning and to Christianity.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FISK UNIVERSITY, NASHVILLE, TENN.]

Since the events whose record is just closed, it has been determined by the faculty of Fisk University to raise by other concert tours $100,000 as an endowment fund. At the present writing (June, 1877) the Jubilee Singers are making a tour of the Continent. They are now in Holland. Thus far their success continues unabated; and undoubtedly they will succeed in amply endowing the inst.i.tution which, in a manner so praiseworthy and remarkable, they have erected. The following extract from a letter affords a pleasant glimpse at the European life of the singers:--

... "I will tell you something of our summer's experience.

The company had pa.s.sed through a hard year's work, and were greatly in need of rest. A charming country-seat was rented in the suburbs of Geneva at a very reasonable rate, and the months of July and August were spent there with great benefit to all. The citizens were evidently astonished at this introduction of a new shade of humanity; and the singers seldom pa.s.sed along the streets without hearing some remark about '_les negres_,' or '_les noirs_.'

But they were invariably treated with the greatest respect, and, in fact, were never once annoyed by a rabble in the streets, as they frequently are elsewhere, gathering around with a rude and impertinent curiosity.

"Among other pleasant experiences, there was an afternoon spent with Pere Hyacinthe. We found him very genial and agreeable, and his American wife no less so. He speaks no English at all, but Madame acted as interpreter; and there was none of the stiffness or awkwardness that might have been expected under the circ.u.mstances.

"... The most notable event of our stay at Geneva was a concert given, just before leaving, in the Salle de la Reformation. It had been a question of much interest, as to whether the slave-songs would retain any thing of their power where the words were not understood. The result was a new triumph for those mysterious melodies, showing that the language of nature is universal, and that emotion is capable of expressing itself without the intervention of words. The hall was packed to its utmost capacity, and the enthusiasm at fever-heat. When asked how they could enjoy the songs so much when they knew nothing of the sentiment that was conveyed, the reply was, 'We cannot _understand_ them; but we can _feel_ them.' Pere Hyacinthe presided at the concert as chairman, and evidently enjoyed it as keenly as the rest of the vast audience."

And now to discriminate; for the writer, while disclaiming all censorious or pretentious aim, yet, for reasons which may be readily understood and fully appreciated by the reader, intends this volume to inculcate the lessons of advancement by always attempting to honestly distinguish between that which is progressive in music and that which is the reverse. Have, then, these famous Jubilee Singers, who everywhere thrilled the hearts of their hearers, and whose charming melody of voice, and style of rendition, "disarmed the critic,"--have they established by all this a model for the present and the future?

In some respects they have; in others they have not. And is there to be no aim beyond the singing of "Jubilee songs"? Professors White and Seward and all these talented singers will say, I am quite sure, that there is to be a higher aim. The songs they sang were for the present, forming a delightful novelty, and serving a n.o.ble purpose. Still it must be sadly remembered that these Jubilee songs sprang from a former life of enforced degradation; and that, notwithstanding their great beauty of melody, and occasional words of elevated religious character, there was often in both melody and words what forcibly reminded the hearer of the unfortunate state just mentioned; and to the cultured, sensitive members of the race represented, these reminders were always of the most painful nature. And yet such persons could not have the heart to utter words of discouragement to an enterprise having an object so n.o.ble. They, like all others, could not but enjoy the rich melody and harmony of the wonderful Jubilee voices.

They, too, often listened spell-bound; and when inclined, as at times they were, to murmur, the inspiriting voice of hope was heard bidding them to turn from a view of the dark and receding past to that of a rapidly-dawning day, whose coming should bring for these singers, and all others of their race, increase of opportunities, and therefore increase of culture.

On the foregoing pages but little has been said of the secular songs with which at times the troupe indulged their audiences. Even in music of this kind they were exceedingly pleasing; and it is very gratifying to reflect that the members of the company constantly aimed to obtain a scientific knowledge of general music. No fears need be entertained that the students of Fisk University will ever lack for instruction in music of the highest order, as ample provision is there made for the same. Of course the model of slave "spirituals" will in a short while give place to such music as befits the new order of things. The students themselves will wish to aim higher, as the spirit of true progress will demand it. Nevertheless, some of the characteristics displayed by the great Jubilee choir it will be well for them to ever retain, and for all other singers to imitate: I mean the heartiness, the soulfulness, of their style of rendition. Indeed, in their striking exhibitions of these latter qualities, I think they may justly claim the honor of standing quite peerless and alone, and of having presented a model for the present and the future,--a model founded on that power of the singer, which enables him to melt, to stir to its innermost recesses, the human heart; that power that enables him to sing as one inspired.

And here let me conclude by venturing a brief prediction. My mind goes a few years into the future. I attend a concert given by students or by graduates of Fisk University; I listen to music of the most cla.s.sical order rendered in a manner that would satisfy the most exacting critic of the art; and at the same time I am pleasantly reminded of the famous "Jubilee Singers" of days in the past by the peculiarly thrilling sweetness of voice, and the charming simplicity and soulfulness of manner, that distinguish and add to the beauty of the rendering.