Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases the African American Spiritual "Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho".
The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composers of this Spiritual and thanks to Moses Hogan, one 20th century arranger of this song. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these YouTube examples.
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YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
Example #1: The Nathaniel Dett Chorale - The Battle of Jericho (intro by Moses Hogan)
Riddle Films, Published on Dec 19, 2007
From In Performance with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, produced by Riddle Films.
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The singing begins at 1:01.
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. CalledByGod615, 2014
"That ending was great! I didn't hear the hard "T" that Moses wanted though but it still sounded great!
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2. Michel Couzijn, 2017
"When Moses demonstrated that, he accented the b's rather than the t's. I think he was mistaken when he said 't'. The 'b' makes more sense, musically (or rhetorically if you will)."
**
3. brahms1545, 2017
"There is some comments about how Moses Hogan wrote it to be a "battle" and this choir did the opposite. Please listen to the Moses Hogan Chorale. They did exactly as he requested and it's an awesome experience. This isn't his group, nor him conducting. RIP Mr. Hogan.
This clip is important to me because we get to see the actual composer describe what he wanted to accomplish, in his own words."
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Example #2: Moses Hogan Battle of Jericho
CamThamusicman, Published on Jan 10, 2009
Moses Hogan and The Moses Hogan Singers
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL "JOSHUA FIT THE BATTLE OF JERICHO"
Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Fit_the_Battle_of_Jerichohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Fit_the_Battle_of_Jericho
" "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (or alternatively "Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho" or "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho") is a well-known African-American spiritual.[1]
The song is believed to have been composed by slaves in the first half of the 19th century. Some references suggest that it was copyrighted by Jay Roberts in 1865.[2] In 1882, the song was published in Jubilee Songs by M. G. Slayton and in A Collection of Revival Hymns and Plantation Melodies by Marshall W. Taylor. The first recorded version was by Harrod's Jubilee Singers, on Paramount Records No. 12116 in 1922 [3] (though some sources[who?] suggest 1924). The Online 78 Discography entry for this record credits Jay Roberts as the author. Later recordings include those by Paul Robeson[4] (1925), Mahalia Jackson[4] (1958), Clara Ward, Laurie London, Hugh Laurie (2011) and Elvis Presley (1961) among many others.
[...]
Early published versions include some parts in dialect, such as "fit" for "fought". The lyrics allude to the biblical story of the Battle of Jericho, in which Joshua led the Israelites against Canaan (Joshua 6:15-21).[1] However, like those of many other spirituals, the words may also be alluding to eventual escape from slavery – in the case of this song, "And the walls came tumblin' down."[8][9] The lively melody and rhythm also provided energy and inspiration.[10] Critic Robert Cummings wrote: "The jaunty, spirited theme hardly sounds like the product of the pre-Civil War era, and would not sound out of place in a ragtime or even jazz musical from the early 20th century. The closing portion of the tune, sung to the words quoted above, is its most memorable portion: the notes plunge emphatically and impart a glorious sense of collapse, of triumph."[9]
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The lyrics "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho" is one exception to the statement that I made in this pancocojams post https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/comments-about-singing-spirituals-using_30.html that contemporary singers of African American Spirituals shouldn't use 19th century Black dialect that is no longer used by African Americans.
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Excerpt #2:
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26306
Subject: RE: Origins:Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Apr 17 - 01:42 AM
Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song:
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
DESCRIPTION: Joshua comes to Jericho, orders the horns to blow, and sacks it after the walls fall down. Chorus: "Joshua (fit/fought) the battle of Jericho... And the walls came a-tumbling down"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (recording, Paul Robeson)
KEYWORDS: Bible religious battle
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Lomax-FSUSA 110, "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (1 text, 1 tune)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 45-46, "(Joshua)" (partial text)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 37, "Joshua Fought The Battle Of Jericho" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fireside, p. 304, "Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jerico" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 303, "Joshua Fought The Battle Of Jericho" (1 text)
DT, BATJERCO
ADDITIONAL: Harold Courlander, _A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore_, Crown Publishers, 1976, p. 310, "(no title)" (1 text)
Roud #10074
RECORDINGS:
Cotton Pickers Quartet, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" (OKeh 8878, 1931)
Delta Rhythm Boys, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" (Decca 25019, c. 1950)
Dixie Jubilee Singers, "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (Columbia 14329-D, 1928)
Eureka Jubilee Singers, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" (Sharon X-507, n.d.)
Hall Johnson Choir, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" [medley with "Walk Together Chillun"] (Victor 4460, 1940)
Nazarene Congregational Church Choir, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" (Herschel Gold Seal 2016, c. 1927)
Paul Robeson w. Lawrence Brown, "Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho" (Victor 19743, 1925)
Pete Seeger, "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (on PeteSeeger04) (on PeteSeeger23)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last" (tune)
SAME TUNE:
Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last (File: SCW41)
NOTES: The siege of Jericho takes up most of the sixth chapter of Joshua, with the fall of the city's walls, and the city itself, being detailed in 6:15f. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.0
File: LxU110
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Here's information about The Traditional Ballad Index:
From http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/BalladSearch.html
“The Traditional Ballad Index
An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World
The Traditional Ballad Index is a collaborative effort designed to help people find reference information on folk ballads. This page is designed to let you find ballads by entering titles or keywords.
The database offers a variety of information about each song, including a brief description, a bibliography, and historical background. Alternate titles are given. Most songs also have a list of keywords to help you search.
[...]
Our thanks to California State University, Fresno, Folklore for hosting this site.”
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Subject: ADD Version:Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Apr 17 - 01:56 AM
JOSHUA FOUGHT THE BATTLE OF JERICHO
CHORUS
Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho—
Joshua fought the battle of Jericho,
And the walls came tumbling down.
You may talk about your kings of Gideon,
You may talk about your men of Saul,
But there's none like good old Josh-u-ay
At the battle of Jericho (that morning.)
Up to the walls of Jericho
He marched with spear in hand,
"Go blow those ram-horns," Joshua cried,
"Cause the battle is in my hands."
Then the lamb ram sheephorns began to blow,
The trumpets began to sound.
Joshua commanded the children to shout,
And the walls come a tumbling down.
There's no man like Joshua
No man like Saul
No man like Joshua
At the battle of Jericho.
Source: Folksinger's Wordbook (Silber & Silber, 1973), page 303
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This is one version of this Spiritual. Some older versions can be found on that Mudcat discussion thread.
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