The advent of the art song in the United States occurred early in the
twentieth century when composers such as Charles Ives (1874-1954), John
Alden Carpenter (1876-1951) and Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920),
began to combine United States folk song elements with European musical
idioms. Although African-American composers such as Harry T. Burleigh
(1866-1949), Nora Holt (1866-1956), Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1978) and
Florence Price (1888-1953) began writing art songs during this same time
period, the social climate during the years following the Emancipation
Proclamation provided limited opportunity for African-American composers to
have their works performed and published. Nevertheless, these composers
persevered, further enriching the art song genre in the United States with
musical idioms derived from the African-American culture. These idioms
included polyrhythms (several rhythms played at once), blue tonalities
(intervals smaller than a half step), and themes from Negro spirituals.
These composers also set to music the texts of such notable
African-American poets and writers as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston
Hughes, Gwendolyn Bennett, Countee Cullen and Helene Johnson.
Songs written by African-American composers are often referred to as
"African-American" art songs, however, this term is a misnomer since
emphasis is placed on the race of the composer in relation to the song.
Indeed, in most cases, both black and white American composers in the early
twentieth century studied at the same institutions with the same teachers.
With few exceptions, one would be unable to discern the race of the
composer by merely listening to the song.
Although both African-American men and women faced facial roadblocks as
composers, the trials of African-American women composers were compounded.
Not only did they face racial bias, they also were confronted with sexist
attitudes from those who held the belief that the tendency of women toward
"emotionalism" made them unfit for the seriousness of composing. While it
is a fact that women composers cannot divorce themselves from their gender,
it is virtually impossible to conclude that a woman penned a composition
upon hearing the work. The fact that most critics, musicologists and
publishers were white men further hindered the progress of African-American
women in the world of composition. Despite these obstacles, an amazing
number of women composers persisted, adding their unique compositional
gifts to the field of music.
Dr. Carren D. Moham
