“Music and the Spoken Word” Reflection

Three choirs came together from a multitude of different backgrounds in order to create a beautiful performance. The Spelman Glee Club, Morehouse Glee Club and the Tabernacle Choir brought forth different forms of music that connects them to their spirituality. The two college choirs sang African American spirituals while the Tabernacle choir sang hymns, both different styles of music that serve the same purpose. Their separate forms of worship music stem from the initial separation between cultures during slavery. While the white people would go to their church and sing their stiff and rather dull hymns the enslaved would gather together to form the own worship service which included ring shouts (traditional African American religious dances that involve singing, clapping, and shuffling in a circle) and African America spirituals. But despite these initial differences, the three choirs were able to come together behind jazz, specifically when singing “What a Wonderful World”. Jazz is a genre that is the product of multiple cultures coming together to create art. A sentiment that perfectly describes what occurred during this event.