[Dixielandjazz] Sacred Tunes in Secular Settings

Mon Jan 12 18:03:30 PST 2009

People are certainly funny when it comes to what they believe.  Several 
years ago when I was in the AF band we did some jazz Christmas carols in a 
mall.  A couple of them were rock versions.  After a Rock solo I played to a 
well known religious Christmas carol a man came up to me absolutely incensed 
that we would play Christmas carols that way and that he was going to file a 
complaint.  He was bent out of shape by the whole program and because I had 
a bunch of stripes assumed I was running the show.

When I was a young teacher we were called on to do a tune for an Easter 
program at the school.  At that time the program was highly religious 
complete with prayers.  I selected "Were you There When They Crucified My 
Lord?"  I allowed the students to put together the tune.  We did it with 
banjo, Piano, Drums, Cornet and Tuba.  They did it as a rolling gospel style 
Dixie tune.  BTW they did it very well.

The principal who was a very dour Presbyterian came running up to the stage 
during the rehearsal and shouted to stop that disrespectful trash.  He later 
called me into his office for a half hour rant.  After that I refused to 
ever have the band perform again for any of his religious services at the 
school.  A few years later the courts ended all that kind of stuff anyway.

Almost all religious music is not allowed in public schools.  Someone 
mentioned Amazing Grace being arranged for students.  I don't think that 
will float in the public schools.  I taught elementary band and there are 
some religious tunes in the beginning books but they change the titles. 
Actually that's sad because there is so much of music history tied up in 
"religious" music.  Almost everything by Bach is a good example.

It's kind of hard to play much Dixie without doing a Gospel type tune like, 
Down by the Riverside or Saints to name a couple, every so often.
Larry
StL
 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen G Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 6:55 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Sacred Tunes in Secular Settings

>> "James O'Briant" <jobriant at garlic.com>
>>
>> This brings up an interesting topic: the use, in secular venues
>> and situations, of sacred melodies (that is, melodies that almost
>> always have sacred lyrics and are considered by most listeners to
>> be "church music).
>>
>> For example, I have a recording (from the '30's?) of a song that's
>> labeled "Black Eyed Peas" on the CD.  I don't recall the band or
>> the singer.  The lyrics are:
>>
>> Just a bowl of Black-eyed Peas,
>> Plate of ham hocks if you please.
>> Salt and pepper makes me sneeze.
>> Just a bowl of Black-eyed Peas.
>>
>> The tune, however, is "Just a Closer Walk With Thee."  I've been
>> in one situation where a musician objected to playing this tune in
>> a secular venue with the secular lyrics.  He considered it
>> sacrilegious, or at least disrespectful, to use what he considers
>> a "church song" with the above lyrics.
>>
>> Anyone else run into issues like this, either with performers or
>> audiences?
>>
>> Thanks!
>
>
> Yes Jim, Barbone Street has run across objections to sacred songs in 
> secular venues.
>
> Once we had a substitute trombonist who was on a political gig for the 
> late Senator Roth of Delaware. (the guy who authored the ROTH IRA). It 
> was  his final political campaign celebration, a real flag waver. We  had 
> red vests to wear with white pants and blue shirts etc.
>
> He refused to wear the vests, considering them "raiments" which were 
> forbidden by his religious beliefs. He also refused, on religious  grounds 
> to play "Its a Grand Old Flag" and "America The Beautiful"  because they 
> glorified symbols and countries instead of God and "When  The Saints Come 
> Marching In" because it was a sacred song in a secular  setting.
>
> Needless to say, we never used him again.
>
> Duke Ellington also refused to play Sacred Songs in secular settings 
> according to his biography by Edward Hasse, Ellington said to Carter 
> Harman; "I won't play the "Saints Go Marching Home (sic). It's . . .a 
> fear . . . I just don't think it has a place in jazz, that's all."
>
> But he did think it OK to compose a Concert of Sacred Music to express 
> his spiritually. He wrote one for the Episcopal Cathedral in San 
> Francisco and another for St John the Divine Cathedral in NYC. They  were 
> not masses, but rather conversations with God by musicians and  dancers.
>
> He would also perform them in secular venues and was more than a  little 
> miffed when the Baptist Church in Washington DC refused to  endorse the 
> Concert of Sacred Music he performed at Constitution Hall.  (The venue was 
> only half full)
>
> Cheers
> Steve Barbone
> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>
>
>
>
>
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