Pennsylvania Spirituals in the United Christian Church
Open Access
Author:
Heagy, Kelly Marie
Area of Honors:
Music
Degree:
Bachelor of Music Education
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Timothy Paul Shafer, Thesis Supervisor Timothy Paul Shafer, Thesis Supervisor Joanne Rutkowski, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Spirituals Pennsylvania Spirituals Pennsylvania Dutch United Christian Church sacred music folk music
Abstract:
Over two hundred years ago, spirituals sung by the Pennsylvania Dutch were a major part of the religious revivalist services in central Pennsylvania. Despite the popularity of the spiritual at that time, the current Pennsylvania Dutch descendants know little about them and their use is almost extinct. An exception is the United Christian Church, a small denomination of churches within the Susquehanna Valley. This thesis explores the history and characteristics of the United Christian Church in relation to the preservation of the spiritual tradition. This thesis concludes that because the United Christian Church was reluctant to allow instrumental music into the worship service and has contained a strong fellowship of Dutch members in the church, the spirituals have been valued as an intimate part of the religious experience and thus, have endured. Background information and common forms of the Pennsylvania Spiritual are also included so that the reader may fully understand how these musical works are an original credit to the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch at the turn of the 19th century. An appendix of Pennsylvania Spirituals is included for reference.
