On a side note, UNC recently had some amateur 16mm film footage restored
of ex-slaves that was taken in the late 1920s/early 30s. Colorlab did
the transfers and it came out really well. Sadly it is silent footage. A
description of that collection:
http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/q/Quattlebaum,Alexander_M.
Steve Weiss
Director, Southern Folklife Collection
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jonathan Wise wrote:
>Although these interviews don't pre-date the 1930's they may be of
>related interest. They came out of the WPA's Federal Writers Project:
>
>http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/vfssp.html
>and
>http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html
>
>See also this compilation of material:
>http://www.paperlessarchives.com/slaveaudio.html
>
>Jonathan W.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bob Olhsson
>Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 2:48 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Sounds of Slavery
>
>Unfortunately Lomax chose to omit an immense body of music that didn't
>fit
>his personal and somewhat primitive image of the African American. "The
>rest
>of the story" has recently been uncovered at Fisk University in notes
>kept
>by the music professors who served as his guides. Many slaves had been
>given
>an excellent music education and their descendents and children became
>the
>music teachers to the working class of the southeastern United States.
>Their
>amazing fusion of West African, English, Irish, French and German folk
>and
>Gospel music along with European classical music became the basis of
>America's popular music.
>
>There's an amazing story sitting there for somebody to flesh out.
>
>Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
>Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
>Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
>615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
>Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 11:03 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Sounds of Slavery
>
>Start with the LOC:
>
>http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lohtml/lohome.html
>
>
>Scott
>Ann Arbor, MI
>
>
>
> -------------- Original message ----------------------
>From: Joel Bresler <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>>Dear friends:
>>
>>A recent book by Shane White and Graham White, "The Sounds of
>>Slavery: Discovering African American History through Songs, Sermons,
>>and Speech", attempts to analyze the sounds of American slave
>>culture. The accompanying CD includes 18 cuts, mostly dating from the
>>1930s. The authors note that these selections are "about as close as
>>we are ever going to get" to sounds from slaves themselves. (p. xxii)
>>
>>Given that recording technology had been around for decades by the
>>1930s, is this true? Are any lister's aware of earlier recordings
>>that might shed light on the "field calls, work songs, sermons, and
>>other sounds and utterances of slaves on American plantations"?
>>
>>Many thanks for your thoughts.
>>
>>Joel
>>
>> From Booklist:
>>
>>
>>
>>>With no recordings of slave songs and narratives, the authors have
>>>undertaken the difficult task of bringing to contemporary readers
>>>(and listeners, via the CD that accompanies the book) the sounds of
>>>American slave culture. The impressive work songs, spirituals, and
>>>prayers were compiled from tracks recorded in the 1930s by the Works
>>>Progress Administration. Drawing on WPA interviews with former
>>>slaves, slave narratives, and other historical documents from the
>>>1700s through the 1850s, the authors provide the context for the
>>>field calls, work songs, sermons, and other sounds and utterances of
>>>slaves on American plantations. The authors also focus on
>>>recollections of the wails of slaves being whipped, the barking of
>>>hounds hunting down runaways, and the keening of women losing their
>>>children to the slave block.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>Joel Bresler
>>Independent Researcher
>>250 E. Emerson Rd.
>>Lexington, MA 02420
>>USA
>>
>>781-862-4104 (Telephone & FAX)
>>[log in to unmask]
>>www.followthedrinkinggourd.org
>>IN CASE OF VERIZON EMAIL PROBLEMS, PLEASE USE MY BACK-UP EMAIL:
>>joelbresler-at-gmail.com
>>
>
>
>
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