Events
Utengasse 15, Basel
Organizer:
Jazzcampus
Songs of Slavery and Emancipation
Screeing of the documentary Songs of Slavery and Emancipation and concert by the Jubalo Choir (Berea College Kentucky) directed by Kathy Bullock. The Choir will be supported by 30 vocalists of the Musikschule Basel Jazz.
Throughout the history of slavery, enslaved people organized resistance, escape, and rebellion. Sustaining them in this struggle was their music, some examples of which are sung to this day. While the existence of slave songs, especially spirituals, is well known, their character is often misunderstood. Slave songs were not only lamentations of suffering or distractions from a life of misery. Some songs openly called for liberty and revolution, celebrating such heroes as Gabriel Prosser and Nat Turner, and, especially, celebrating the Haitian Revolution.
The discovery of a song containing explicitly revolutionary lyrics, composed and performed by slaves in 1813, led to further research. Were there more songs fitting this description? If there were, why hadn't we heard of them before? This eventually led to the discovery of numerous such songs. These were then recorded and filmed. A book telling the story of discovery, authenticating the findings, and further elucidated by a leading historian was also completed.
Export event as
iCal
