The almalgamation of cultural traditions in creative practice

Music of the people is often described as folk music. This music typically was passed down from generation to generation through oral tradition, connecting and blending music and culture. That connection is a form of transculturalisation which is the merging of different cultural elements. The character of the African American gospel music tradition not only demonstrates the music of a specific origin of people, but also the blending of several aspects of musical elements from several diverse disciplines to produce an amalgamation of sounds. African American gospel music is connected to African American culture in a unique way. The effectiveness of its oral and literary learning through music is illustrated through performance and amalgamation of the story of American slavery. As African American music tradition evolved from the slave-field songs to the contemporary sound of gospel music today, so did the hallmarks of the genre with stylistic attributes such as syncopations, distinctive rhythms, harmonies and vocal techniques. The amalgamation of African American gospel and aspects of Western European music demonstrates the blending of functionally diverse learning techniques such as associative learning, rote learning and critical thinking. The history and development of African American gospel music displays indicators of broad musical influences from African and Western Art European traditions. Historical accounts confirm that Ethiopia became one of the first Christian nations in the fourth century and that their music was melodically driven with unique harmonic structures within the accompaniment. Skemer supports this notion as his research identifies Ethiopia as the oldest indigenous Christian culture in sub-Saharan Africa. Since King Ezana of Aksum (ca. 321–ca. 360) embraced Christianity, the history of this ancient land has been inextricably intertwined with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Ethiopian history and culture can turn to manuscripts chiefly written in ge’ez, the sacred and liturgical Afro-Asiatic language of Ethiopian Christians.1 Music included in religious rituals of the Aksum culture anticipates aspects of the African American spiritual and gospel music tradition illuminating both the genesis and development of this music. The synergy of African influences and tradition has not only created a markedly eclectic style of music but one which has itself also profoundly affected the music of the 20th century across a range of genres. In examining the concept of the amalgamation of European and African music, this exegesis will investigate key aspects of these contrasting influences in the development of African American gospel music, postulate conceptual ways of understanding the power of this musical genre, and explore these concepts within the context of my creative work as artist-practitioner. This study will critically examine the evolution of African American gospel music and explore the ways in which formal training in European Western Art Music tradition paradigms and a lived experience and immersion in the gospel tradition has informed the author’s compositional style and interacted with other more organic and visceral influences in his work. The project will explicate these concepts in the creative output of a written exegesis and folio of original music composition.