Gospel Truths
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- Bellowbelle
- roslinds
- ibass
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» roslinds - Gospel Truths
Iris ... I truly enjoy your writing.... I am currently working on a Spiritual Concert which includes alot of Gershwin and the material you discussed here.... So of course I found this to be a wonderful representation. Spirituals are usually sung to oneself. In them, the composer talks to him/herself of troubles, hopes and fears, holding personal communion with God- without an audience. Singing this music renders a simple and intimate expression of feelings. It is very personal. Thank You for the wonderful article...... Roslind-- posted by roslinds
» ibass - Re: Gospel Truths
In response to message posted by roslinds:Thank you both for writing in! And, roslinds, thanks for clarifying the very intimate nature of spirituals.
I think that the rather painful dialectal spellings found in Porgy & Bess cloud some people from realizing what a monumentally well-researched opera it is. Gershwin really took the trouble to seek out and understand the situational settings of different kinds of music sung by black people, instead of just picking up on styles he found attractive and applying them indiscriminately. (Would that God knows how many other composers truly listened to whatever culture they were seeking to represent in a work!)
Stay tuned for my next posting (to appear on Friday the 24th), which will compare Porgy & Bess and Scott Joplin's opera, Treemonisha!
-- posted by ibass
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