In his article "New World Prophecy," published last week in the autumn edition of The American Scholar, the cultural historian argues that the seeds of a truly American sound were sown but never watered, as American composers in the late 19th century largely resisted the influence of African American music. Had the vernacular of slave songs, spirituals and jazz taken root in our classical music, we would have a different landscape today - and a classical sound that is uniquely American. Still, it's fair to wonder why the sound of American classical music, especially as it developed in the early 20th century, remained so European, drawing heavily from the harmonic language of Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. Only 4.3% of conductors are black, and composers remain predominantly white as well.Īll of these ratios are skewed, of course, by decades of institutional racial bias. Less than 2% of musicians in American orchestras are African American, according to a 2014 study by the League of American Orchestras. Today, it's not uncommon for Kanye West or Kendrick Lamar to perform alongside a symphony orchestra, yet African Americans generally aren't performing in those orchestras themselves. More difficult to decode is the relationship African American music has had - or should have had - with America's classical music tradition. How that music has evolved, blending with or giving rise to other traditions - from African songs and dances to field hollers and spirituals, from ragtime and blues to jazz, R&B and hip-hop - is a topic of endless discussion. Four centuries later, the primacy of African American music is indisputable, not only in this country but in much of the world. When the first enslaved Africans landed on American shores in 1619, their musical traditions landed with them. A new article wonders why American classical music has remained so white. Antonin Dvorak predicted that American classical music would draw from African American traditions.
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