The Hallelujah Singers |
Hallelujah Singers
A vocal
group from Beaufort, founded 10 years ago by Marlena Smalls, the
Hallelujah Singers seek to preserve through music the Gullah
heritage, rooted in West African traditions and language, and
brought by the slaves to the Sea Islands of South Carolina and
Georgia. The Gullah language is Creole blend of West African and
European dialects, developed in the isolated plantations of the
coastal South. Most of the Gullah vocabulary is of English origin,
but grammar and pronunciation come from a number of West African
languages, such as Ewe, Madinka, Igbo, Twi and Yoruba. The slaves'
knowledge of rice cultivation, a crop that had been grown in the
West African region since 1500, made them desirable to the
plantation owners of the South Carolina Low Country where rice had
become a staple crop. The plantation owners, seeking the comforts
of their city homes, often left the day-to-day operation of the
plantations to the overseer or foreman, causing these isolated
plantations to be much less influenced by Euro-American culture and
allowing them to retain their "African-ness." It is these
circumstances that resulted in the preservation of the Gullah
culture.
Smalls developed and refined a series of concerts to
define the Gullah culture and the "Sea Island sound." Her goal was
to preserve the melodies and storytelling technique of the South
Carolina Sea Islands. Interwoven with music and narration, the
singers present miniature dramatizations of some of the unique
personages, rituals, and ceremonies that played an important part
in shaping the Gullah culture. Among the Hallelujah Singer's
repertoire are traditional plantation songs dating back to the
1600s.
The group consists of five singers and two musicians,
playing strings and conga drums. They have recorded three CDs. The
first, "Gullah - Songs of Hope, Faith and Freedom," produced in
1997, features plantation melodies and spiritual songs. In 1998,
"Joy - A Gullah Christmas" was released, and finally, in 1999, the
latest CD "Gullah - Carry Me Home" was produced; it is the first to
be nationally distributed. Performing at youth recreation,
community, and senior citizens centers around the country,
participating in various music festivals, and providing educational
outreach for students in South Carolina and Georgia, the group has
earned a number of awards, including the South Carolina Folk
Heritage Advocacy Award, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Community Service
Award, and the South Carolina Humanitarian Award. The Hallelujah
Singers have performed in concert worldwide, and have appeared in
television documentaries and the motion picture
Forrest
Gump. They have also performed for the United States Congress,
Hillary Rodham Clinton, and South Carolina legislators. In the fall
of 2000, the group will give a concert at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C.
Project documentation includes a page on the origins
of Gullah, background on Marlena Smalls and the group, credits,
plaudits and comments, seven photographs, news clippings, a
schedule of performances for 1999, a program for their 1999
performance at the Self Family Arts Center at Hilton Head Island,
their first CD: "Gullah - Songs of Hope, Faith and Freedom," and
video of their performances.
Originally submitted by: Floyd Spence, Representative (2nd District).
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