Text b music of african americans

The history of American music reflects the history of the American nation. Time flew. The growth of country and industrial production demanded cheap strong hands. That is why plantators began to buy Negroes and to make them do heavy work at the plantations and at the factories. They were brought to America by slave-traders who captured them by force or betrayed them.

Negroes had to work from early morning till late at night. The only joy of their lives were songs. Simple, sometimes primitive, they imitated cries which helped to achieve rhythm in work. They were called “Blues”. In some of the blues the rhythm of work on building the railroads is clearly heard. Blues sung on the plantations had a different rhythm. They imitated dialogues between slave–drivers and slaves: an order was followed by a short reply of the slaves. This music form can be found even in modern Negro songs.

All the Negroes brought to America were christened. Slave-drivers hoped that Bible would help them capture the souls of their slaves. But Negroes saw in the Bible a call to break the slavery. They began to create own songs in which they addressed to God, asking for his advice and help, complaining of their life. They interpreted Bible allegories under the influence of their feelings and thoughts, expressed their hopes to find paradise, consoled each other. These songs were called “spirituals”. They can be looked upon as the bitter cry of entire people under the oppression.

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries religious meetings were held by Negroes in the woods on the frontier. Sometimes Negroes gathered to plan revolts and demonstrations of protest. To call Negroes for a meeting a spiritual known to everybody was chosen by Virginia Negroes. It was a hymn. When somebody sang it the people knew that they had to go to a meeting.

Blues and spirituals laid the foundations for modern American music and became the basis for jazz, rock and many other styles in music.

In the 20th century the tradition of creating Negro music was continued by many musicians, among them Paul Robeson. Robeson’s destiny is remarkable: he died in 1976, 200 years after the slaveowning republic was founded. The son of a former slave, he died in a hospital in Philadelphia, “the Cradle of Liberty”.

Paul Robeson was a concert singer, a stage actor, a football giant, a Black leader, a communist, an internationalist, a revolutionary artist. At various periods of his life people called him “the best al-round athlete in the US”, “the world-famous baritone”, “the best actor of the year” (for his role of Othello in 1944 – 1945). He played roles in 11 films, played many roles in the theatre, made Black spirituals and songs like “Joe Hill”, known all over the world.

4.5. The greatest american composers of the 20th century active words and word combinations

1. blackout	затемнение сознания; провал памяти
2. break a path	прокладывать дорогу
3. camp	лагерь, стан, стоянка
4. contribute [kqn‘tribjHt]]	содействовать, способствовать, вносить вклад
5. debt [det]	долг
6. define [di‘fQin]	определять, давать определение
7. dizziness ['dizinis]	головокружение
8. exploit [iks‘ploit]	эксплуатировать; разрабатывать; развивать
9. feature ['fJtSq]	изображать, отражать, отводить важнейшее место
10. full-length	полный, без сокращений и купюр
11. hire [hQiq]	нанимать
12. hum	напевать, мурлыкать
13. identifiable [Qi‘dentifQibl]	индентифицируемый, определяемый, устанавливаемый
14. inane [i'nein]	пустой, бессодержательный; глупый
15. increase [in'krJs]	возрастать, увеличиваться
16. infectious [in'fekSqs]	заразительный
17. innovate ['inouveit]	вводить новшества, производить перемены
18. inspiration ['inspi'reiSn]	вдохновение
19. in this regard	в этом отношении
20. introduce [,intrq‘djHs]	вводить; представлять; предварять
21. notable ['noutbl]	выдающийся, знаменитый, значительный
22. overwhelm [,ouvq‘welm]	потрясать, ошеломлять, поражать
23. refuse [ri'fjHz]	отказывать /ся/; отвергать
24. repertory ['repqtqri]	репертуар
25. song–plugger […plAgq]	рекламный песенный агент, плаггер, аккомпаниатор
26. source	источник, исток
27. tremendous [tri'mendqs]	огромный, громадный, потрясающий
28. tumour ['tjHmq]	опухоль
29. undoubtedly [An‘dQutqdli]	несомненно, бесспорно
30. while	время, промежуток времени