Shall We Gather at the River: Florida Folklife Collection

Various Artists
Shall We Gather at the River
State Library & Archives of Florida
www.floridamemory.com/Collections/folklife/folklife_cd3.cfm

The Florida Folklife Digitization and Education Project has made available an audio CD called Shall We Gather at the River. It is a fascinating collection of African American sacred recordings captured at various festivals and special events in the Sunshine State as early as 1955 and as recently as 2004, though most are from the 1970s and 1980s. The primary events are the annual Florida Folk Festivals and a special 1985 program in Orlando dedicated to Floridian gospel announcer, singer and story-songwriter Otis Jackson.

On this CD you will find a variety of sacred styles: from straightforward congregational singing to a cappella quartet singing, long-meter hymnody, shape-note singers in convention, solo singing, and even a harmonica-led recording, complete with ring-dance rhythm, courtesy of the always-marvelous Georgia Sea Island Singers.

One common thread running through the fifteen cuts on Shall We Gather at the River is how the actual performance practice of African American sacred folk song confounds academic attempts to mark its development on a timeline. For example, on a 1958 recording, the Amigo Male Singers perform a spiritual in the 1920s jubilee style. Meanwhile, the Washington Singers offer a raw Pentecostal-influenced a cappella outing that sounds like 1958 but was actually recorded in 1985.

Another constant is the production, which is superb, especially given the complexities of outdoor festival and field recording. The earliest cut on the CD, a Hickory Bottom Harmoneers track from the 1955 Florida Folk Festival, is so crystal clear, one can hear what Golden Age gospel singing truly sounded like before it was translated into low-fidelity vinyl grooves.

Besides the Georgia Sea Island Singers, the only other group on the CD that is well-recognized is the Dixie Hummingbirds. Their participation in the 1985 Otis Jackson program is documented with a nearly seven-minute version of “Jesus Is Coming Soon.” Jackson wrote and narrated the ‘Birds’ two-sided “The Life Story of Madame Bethune” for Peacock Records.

Historians and collectors will enjoy Shall We Gather at the River, but it is listenable enough to satisfy all traditional gospel enthusiasts.

Four of Five Stars

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.