Gee’s Bend Quilters – Boykin, Alabama: Sacred Spirituals of Gee’s Bend
Dolceola Recordings – 15 February 2019
The mission of Dolceola Recordings is to document community-based music in the US in analog field-recording fashion, much in the spirit of the legendary Alan Lomax recordings.
This release brings us music from the isolated African-American community of Gee’s Bend in the heartland of Alabama State: a collection of 19 traditional sacred spirituals sung by a close-knit group of four quilters (all bearing the surname Pettway, which implies a sibling connection). The tradition of quilting in that region goes back to the 19th century, and the singing that accompanies this activity is regarded as a healing for the soul; as one member of the quartet, China Pettway, also puts it: “while quilting, I sing because it’s a sound of whistling humming God gave me”.
The fervency of expression and intense commitment is a hallmark of all spiritual and gospel singing, of course, and the performances on this set of recordings are a glory-filled expression of the singers’ beautifully emotional singing style, one that’s described as unique to the group but can be heard as profoundly influential. It’s a style in which the emotion places a limited degree of harmony at its service (perhaps less than one might expect), and it relies less on a constant wall of vocal sound than a sensitive release of dynamic tension on the part of one or other of the singers during the conveyance of the songs’ message.
The traditional gospel technique of call-and-response is still utilised on several of the spirituals (including Sit Down Servant and Old Landmarks), although it’s most potently demonstrated on the Quilters’ version of Steal Away, which displays a special sense of transport and momentum that’s more commonly associated with a shanty. The increasingly rousing Satisfy With Jesus brings another compelling example of this technique, and, together with the more rhythmic Moving By The Power, is one of a handful of spirituals to also employ a modicum of handclapping as it builds to a heightened state of fervour. The group’s version of Amazing Grace is extraordinary too, especially when juxtaposed with other phrases in common within their account of Shine On Me. Hallelujah is a model of restraint, where the group’s sheer control of dynamics is exemplary, but if I were to pick one spiritual that exemplifies the group’s skill for sensitive arrangement of parts then it would probably be Last Miles, one of the lesser-known selections. (In fact, quite a number of the spirituals the Quilters sing on this, their debut CD, were refreshingly unfamiliar to me).
But each one of these spirituals has some special aspect of its performance and interpretation to commend it, while the unifying quality is the joy of commitment to the message and its telling. Its contemplative power derives from the weight of its experience. The massively uplifting impact of the Quilters’ four earthy, uncannily complementary voices is miraculous, and it’s something of a revelation to receive into your soul such earnest, dedicated performances. Big voices, big time inspiration.
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