News from the Program in Music and the Black Church
February 24, 2023
A word of welcome from the Music and the Black Church program director, Dr. Braxton Shelley
Thank you for taking the time to read this second edition of the newsletter from ISM’s Interdisciplinary Program in Music and the Black Church (MBC). This edition appears during a very special time: Black History Month. Keep reading to learn more about the ways Black history and Black sacred traditions are celebrated at ISM in multiple ways, ranging from concerts and symposia to our current course offerings. Read more about the Program in Music and the Black Church here.
Praying and Plotting, Singing and Strategizing: Black Gospel Music as the Sound of Resistance
During the MBC's inaugural symposium in April 2022, Bishop W. Darin Moore delivered a sermon inspired by the minor prophet Habakkuk and the 1971 album What’s Going On? by R&B and soul singer Marvin Gaye. In his sermon, he insisted that the tradition of Black Gospel is one of quiet introspection and supplication, but also outward action. Highlighting this truth in relation to key figures in Black history, he ended his message by blurring the boundaries between scripture and song. Read more.
Celebrating Black History Month with “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”
In April 2022, Kurt Carr, joined by the Kurt Carr Singers and the Yale Gospel Choir, performed at Yale Divinity School. The performance included Carr’s powerful arrangement of the “Black national anthem”, Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, composed by John Rosamond Johnson with lyrics by James Weldon Johnson. Watch their performance here.
Artist Spotlight: Donald Lawrence
In November 2022, the ISM welcomed renowned gospel artist Donald Lawrence to campus for a concert and master class. Lawrence is a songwriter, producer, composer, music/choir director, and recording artist, and the guiding force behind such number one hits as Encourage Yourself, Back II Eden, and The Blessing of Abraham. Read more about Donald Lawrence, his career, and his visit to Yale here.
New class focuses on women in Gospel music
Students in Dr. Shelley’s class “Women of the Gospel: Jackson, Clark, Franklin” are exploring the lives and pioneering careers of twentieth-century gospel artists Mahalia Jackson, Mattie Moss Clark, and Aretha Franklin. The course also examines the transformations in Black sacred music inspired by these figures; it will culminate in a spring residency by the Clark Sisters and a mini conference entitled “Eternal Gain.” Read more.
Braxton Shelley honored with four book awards
Professor Braxton Shelley has received four awards for his book, Healing for the Soul: Richard Smallwood, the Vamp, and the Gospel Imagination (Oxford University Press, 2021). The awards were announced at a gathering in New Orleans of three of the largest North American organizations of music scholars—the American Musicological Society, the Society for Music Theory and the Society for Ethnomusicology. Read more.
