Product Description

For over 200 years in African-American churches throughout the country, gospel and spiritual music have offered solace and been a source of celebration, leaving a mark not only on the Christian world, but on popular music as well. Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit contains the lyrics and music of 101 of the most widely known and cherished of these pieces, ranging from heartring spirituals sung during slave times (Steal Away; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot) to songs of unity from the civil rights movement and contemporary times (We Shall Overcome, I'll Fly Away). The book also presents a biography of each composer and the history of the evolution of each song, examining the role it played in enabling African-Americans to develop the strength to carry on in the face of adversity. An important historical document as well as an inspirational gift, the book captures the rich connections between song and experience as no other volume does.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #213177 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
"An intriguing analysis and a joyous celebration of four genres of religious music: Negro spirituals, gospel songs, Euro-American hymns, and contemporary gospel." -- Al Bromley, Dallas Morning News

"Ev'ry time I feel the Spirit move in my heart, I will pray." -- Traditional spiritual

"Provides the fascinating, and often emotional, history behind songs from Sunday church services and the Civil Rights Movement." --Victoria Valentine, Emerge

"Ev'ry time I feel the Spirit move in my heart, I will away." --Traditional spiritual

"An intriguing analysis and a joyous celebration of four genres of religious music: Negro spirituals, gospel songs, Euro-American hymns, and contemporary gospel." --Al Bromley, Dallas Morning News
-- Review

Review

About the Author
Gwendolin Sims Warren has performed with the Metropolitan Opera and throughout Europe. She is minister of music at the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Queens, New York, where she lives.

Customer Reviews

Marvelous details of the songs that keep us grounded!!
The book is absolutely marvelous. It is a reminder of the songs that I learned as a child that still are a tradition in the African-American Church. It is wonderful to know that I have an additional resource for preaching and teaching. I have chosen to share this with many members of our congregation. There are so many more songs that could have been used, but Ms. Warren seems to have picked the absolute best. God's richest blessings to you!!!

Makes My Heart Want To Sing!
How interesting it is to read some history on spirituals I've known all my life, but never understood the "spirits" they came from. Ms. Warren has opened a door to me and showed me the true beauty of this music. I am especially grateful to have the scores to each of the songs discussed in this book. I was also pleased to find the contemporary gospel section. This is not a sit down and read cover to cover kind of book, but a page flip to "Oh, yeah, I know this song!" kind of book.

More Devotional than Academic...
This is a good book for the worshipper who wants devotions or to know the back story behind their favorite hymns. And the author's piano/vocal arrangements are for the most part playable and error-free.

That being said, this is a selective not a comprehensive collection of Gospel Music. I found myself wondering "is this song in here?" looking and being disappointed that it was not included. Especially the older Spirituals (out-of-copyright). There should have been more of these, instead of the traditional Hymn section, which is duplicated in many Hymnals. If the Hymns had to be kept, it would have been instructive to see the original and the "gospelfied" versions in print, side-by-side. That and the lack of footnotes and skimpy historical info (definitely more on the appropiation of Spirituals in the Civil-Rights era and the controversy concerning Dorsey's Blues-Gospel style in the 1930's-40's) make this book more for the casual reader than a resource for the serious student of the genre.

The newer Gospel and Contemporary songs are a nice touch, although I wondered at putting the copyright and publisher information in the back of the book.


Also a spiral binding would be good for those who wish to play the music...