I would have loved to have seen this program. Hopefully, it will eventually be aired in the United States and elsewhere.

I agree with PoppaGator's comment that "In general, I think it's obvious that Black gospel, like the blues and all other African-American musical forms, combines European and African influences in some way." Although I would have written that Black music combines African and European influences instead of the other way around

;O)

I see know reason to doubt that African Americans adopted the practice of "lining" out religious songs from others. It seems to me that a large part of the reason for adopting that practice was the similarity between "lining" [or "presenting" a song as I am reading is the term that Gaelic people used] and the traditional African pattern of call & response. Of course, the fact that both groups had large numbers of people who couldn't read can not be discounted. However, my point is that illiteracy would not have been the ONLY reason that African Americans adopted this practice.*

Considering further the position that similarities in customs influence choices, I offer this quote from Shiela Walker's "African Roots/American Cultures-Africa In The Creation of the Americas" {Lanham, MD; Bowman & Littlefield, 2001; p. 159}:

{Writing about the factors that contributed to the form of Christianity that most African Americans adopted in the eighteen century}.."The Methodist and Baptist denominations were the most successful in conveting African exiles and Afircan-Americans to Christianity. I believe this is true, in large measure, because the religious practices of the then evangelical movements of John and Charles Wesley openly embraced ecstatic expressions of religious fevor. Consequently "speaking in tongues", "fainting", "moving with the shakes"; uncontrollably going into trance like states" were all practices in which white Methodist and Baptist religious celebrants engaged. In other words, religious behavior of the eighteenth century evangelical Methodists and Baptists were very consistent with religous behaviors of eighteenth century West Africans, although the religious ideology was not. This congruence of religous behavior was what anthropologist Melville Heskovits suggest was fertile ground for cultural syncretism to grow."
Olly Wilson 'It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing": The
Relationship Between African and African American Music

end of quote.

* Given the increased literacy among African Americans, the need for a leader to recite a line of a song, and the congregation repeat that line has all but disappeared and so to has the practice of lining. Besides, lining's African "cousin" call & response interfers much less with our {people of African descent's} first love-syncopation.


Azizi