Session Description
Spirituals come out of a particular time and place, a truly painful part of history. Yet that context of pain and suffering gave us "sorrow songs," and also gave us songs of hope and liberation. The music comes directly out of the slaves’ experiences and enabled them to "sing what they could not say." This is music that speaks to and for us today, music of tremendous emotional power, that connects us with the strength of the human spirit and the power of faith of those enslaved, just as it connects us with each other in our common humanity and most of all, with God.
Conference Title
2015 Calvin Symposium on Worship
Event Date
1-30-2015
Event Type
Workshop/Seminar
Type (recording/text)
Text
Subject Area
Music
Topic
Liturgical Music
Keywords:
Sorrow Songs, Hope, Liberation
Recommended Citation
Guenther, Eileen, "The Power of Spirituals" (2015). Symposium on Worship Archive. 30.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/uni-cicw-symposium/2015/sessions/30
Included in
The Power of Spirituals
Spirituals come out of a particular time and place, a truly painful part of history. Yet that context of pain and suffering gave us "sorrow songs," and also gave us songs of hope and liberation. The music comes directly out of the slaves’ experiences and enabled them to "sing what they could not say." This is music that speaks to and for us today, music of tremendous emotional power, that connects us with the strength of the human spirit and the power of faith of those enslaved, just as it connects us with each other in our common humanity and most of all, with God.