Musical Elements of the Ring Shout in America (Continued)
Continuing with analysis, there is also an anacrusisAn upbeat or a pickup note(s); a term used for unstressed notes at the beginning of a phrase of music. at the start of the piece. The fermataA notation marking directing the performer or ensemble to sustain the note of a composition affecting all parts and lasting as long as the artistic interpretation of the conductor allows. The fermata is marked above the note or rest to be held. instructs the singer to hold the pitch as long as desired for expressive purposes. The concept of antecedentThe subject of a fugue or canon; the first phrase of a musical period. and consequentThe answer in a fugue, or point of imitation. A musical phrase which follows another, similar phrase. in a musical phrase is no more evident than in the form of call-and-response. Pitch bends from one chord progression or inversionThe position of a chord when the fundamental (or base pitch of a chord) is not the lowest note. to the next are indicative of this singing style. This characteristic is noticeable between the words "Red" and "Sea." It feels very much like a scoop of sorts into the next chord. The portamento marking doesn’t do justice to the musical concept. The performer delivers a slide between the words ‘red’ and ‘sea’ that notation cannot capture. It would help to envision a yo-yo : the string would go down on "Red," and then the yo-yo is caught back again in the hand on the word "Sea." It is the gravity within the gestures that matter most.
Regarding the phrase structure, the first phrase ends with an authentic cadenceA chord progression where the dominant chord (chord based on the fifth step of the scale, V) is followed by the tonic chord (chord based on the first step of the scale, I).. Typically, this cadence would imply a dominant-tonicThe fifth tone of a scale. relationship. However, the phrase ends with a "question" that implies an ending in anticipation of closure in the second phrase. The perfect authentic cadence is where one would find the leading toneThe major seventh of a scale, so called because it lies a semitone below the tonic and "leads" towards it. resolution to the tonic chord. Within the resolutionIn part writing, the resolving of a dissonant sound to a consonant sound in the following chord. Also, the conclusive ending to a musical statement., the rootThe tonic or fundamental note of a chord. of the tonic is in the outer voices. If this example were written for four-part voices, the lower voice would resolve in a downward motion to the root. Speaking of the root, the final chord of the response is in what we call "root position." In a root position chord, the notes are placed evenly in spaces or on lines. In music, tertian harmony is essentially notes that are harmonized in thirds. Therefore, a triad would consist of three notes:
Triads
If the three notes appear in any other configuration, it is still the same chord but simply an inversion of it, as seen in the response's first chord.
Notice the marking above the word "smite," which represents a technique that European notation will never be able to encompass. "Scrawl" indicates a singing style in which the singer pushes air into the hard palate with the tongue slightly raised.
So far, we have looked at the refrain of Moses, Don't Get Lost. The verse doesn't come in until 00:23. It is pretty noticeable here that the tempo is building both in intensity and speed. Within a few words from the caller, there are vocal exclamations of "Lawd, Lawd" and "Good Lawd," which occupy the upbeats, thereby adding even more syncopation to what already exists. The pattern goes on in groups of four measures until the second phrase of the response returns to get back to the refrain. As with many songs of this type, binary form is a two-part structure consisting of a refrain or chorus and a verse.
Moses Don't Get Lost [ 00:23-00:00 ]
In geographical comparison with the ring shout as practiced in the Georgia Sea Islands, the following video in which Austin Coleman and a small group perform in Jennings, Louisiana, in July 1934 best conveys the intensity and the train-like rhythms of the ring shout.
Austin Coleman - Good Lord Run (Old Jeremiah) (1934)
In this particular recording, the religious aspect of the ring shout is evident. It is strophicSong structure in which every verse (strophe) of the text is sung to the same musical tune. in form; that is, it only has one section. The caller makes somewhat of an inaudible call, as the response is "Good Lawd." This inaudibility often leads to a frantic realm of spirituality where the singer is in direct communication with God through the Holy Spirit, just as Africans used the ring shout to evoke their ancestors' spirits. Therefore, understanding the words is not as important as the spirit in which the singers utter the sounds. The following rhythm serves as the primary pulse of the piece:
Good Lord Run Pulse Rhythm
Along with this rhythmic pulse are intermittent handclaps on the upbeats, as well as various vocal interjections.
At 01:32 in the Coleman clip, there has been a trade-off of the caller to another voice. This practice is typical of the ring shout, as it represents a communal element where those in attendance are expected to perform sporadic improvisations. Also, notice at this point, the responses have evolved into shouts of exclamation.
Austin Coleman - Good Lord Run (Old Jeremiah) (1934)
The tempo may build up gradually, singing interspersed with exclamations characteristic of some other Black church services, until it reaches a tense peak close to an ecstatic breaking point. At the high point of the excitement, such exclamations as "Oh Lord!" and "Yes Lord!" turn into inaudible words and cries. They are seemingly wild emotional responses; nevertheless, they are related to the music as a whole, and no notation that omits them can give a fair picture of what is heard.
Rev. Johnson
It was something in the religion of the oppressors the slaves saw which was deeper than that of the oppressors' presentation.
Albert Raboteau
...even as the gods of Africa gave way to the God of Christianity, the African heritage of singing, dancing, spirit possession, and magic continued to influence African American spirituals, ring shouts, and folk beliefs.