Object Details
Creator
Smithsonian Institution
Smith, Edward D.
Boyer, Horace Clarence, 1935-
Anacostia Museum
The Media Exchange, Inc.
Names
African Harmonic Society (New York, N.Y.)
Anacostia Community Museum
Anacostia Neighborhood Museum
Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church (Washington, D.C.)
First African Presbyterian Church (New York, N.Y.)
First African Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Jubilee Singers
Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (New York, N.Y.)
Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Shiloh Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.)
Society of Negroes
St. George's United Methodist Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
St. Philip's Church (Harlem, New York, N.Y.)
St. Thomas' Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Allen, Richard, 1760-1831
Allen, William Francis, 1830-1889
Bliss, P. P. (Philip Paul), 1838-1876
Bradbury, William B. (William Batchelder), 1816-1868
Garnet, Henry Highland, 1815-1882
Garrison, Lucy McKim, 1842-1877
Hosier, Harry, approximately 1750-1806
Jones, Absalom, 1746-1818
Liele, George, approximately 1750-approximately 1825
Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728
Rush, Christopher, 1777-1873
Sankey, Ira David, 1840-1908
Spencer, Peter, 1782-1843
Turner, Henry McNeal, 1834-1915
Ware, Charles Pickard, 1840-1921
Watts, Isaac, 1674-1748
Wesley, John, 1703-1791
Collection Creator
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum
Citation
Church Songs of Black Americans 1740 - 1877, Exhibition Records AV03-036, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Scope and Contents
This short documentary provides an overview of the development of church music alongside the growth of African American churches in the eastern United States from the arrival of black Africans in Jamestown in 1619 through 1877 and the Reconstruction era. The evolution of church music within African American churches included the formation of music programs and performances, hymnals, choirs, negro spirituals, and music education as well as the addition of organs to accompany the singing of psalms, hymns, and anthems. During the Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s, the Christianization of slaves and Africanization of Protestant hymns swept through the American colonies. European Christianity and the emotionalism of the African homeland were combined during the Second Awakening, which began in the late eighteenth century and lasted until the middle of the nineteenth century. The history of church music created by urban and rural congregations within New England and Southern states is explored.
Short documentary. Part of Climbing Jacob's Ladder Audiovisual Records. Complete production: AV000962, AV003327. Production elements: AV002679 [narration], AV003345 [outtakes - sound], AV003421 [music], AV003336 [music]. AV003421: 6 songs including We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder [also known as Jacob's Ladder] and Battle Hymn of the Republic [also known as Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!]. AV003336: 2 recordings of We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder. Dated 19940923 [AV000962]. Undated [all other recordings].
sova.acma.03-036_ref885
Local Numbers
ACMA AV003327
ACMA AV002679
ACMA AV003345
ACMA AV003421
ACMA AV003336
ACMA AV002642
General
Title transcribed from opening credits of video recording.
Place
United States
Topic
African Americans
African American churches
Churches
Church history
Religion
Church music
Music
African American choirs
Choirs (Music)
Spirituals (Songs)
Shape-note singing
Music -- Instruction and study
Slavery
Enslaved persons
Jacob's ladder (Biblical dream)
Creator
Smithsonian Institution
Smith, Edward D.
Boyer, Horace Clarence, 1935-
Anacostia Museum
The Media Exchange, Inc.
See more items in
Climbing Jacob's Ladder: the Rise of Black Churches in Eastern American cities, 1740 - 1877 Exhibition Records
Climbing Jacob's Ladder: the Rise of Black Churches in Eastern American cities, 1740 - 1877 Exhibition Records / Series 3: Audiovisual records
Biographical / Historical
Church Songs of Black Americans 1740 - 1877 was created alongside the Climbing Jacob's Ladder: The Rise of Black Churches in Eastern American Cities, 1740 - 1877 exhibition which explored the growth and central role of African American churches during the 18th- and 19th-centuries in the eastern United States: Boston, Savannah, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond. The exhibition was organized by the Anacostia Museum and held there from October 1987 to October 1988.
Extent
2 Video recordings (AV000962, AV003327, open reel, 1 inch)
1 Video recording (AV002642, VHS)
3 Sound recordings (AV002679, AV003345, AV003421, open reel, 1/4 inch)
1 Sound recording (AV003336, cartridge, 1/4 inch)
Date
1994, c1987
Custodial History
Produced by The Media Exchange, Inc. Copyright 1987 - Smithsonian Institution. Coordinator - Edward D. Smith, Historian, Anacostia Museum. Script Writer - Dr. Horace Boyer, Associate Professor, Department of Music, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Archival Repository
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
Identifier
ACMA.03-036, Item ACMA AV000962
Type
Archival materials
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Documentary films
Genre/Form
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Documentary films
Note
001822 002138 001601 002619 001410 000859 002000
Series Restrictions
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at ACMarchives@si.edu.
ACMA.03-036_ref885
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa758197b71-2e48-44df-a550-1ddb005d8c1c
ACMA.03-036
ACMA
Record ID
ebl-1554838816046-1554838816051-1