THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO
STEPHEN LAWRENCE
WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO WRITE MUSIC . WITHOUT
STEPHEN THIS BLOG WOULD NOT EXIST
With enormous patience, kind thoughtfulness, but above all musical brilliance Stephen taught me the methods of writing music for songs. I knew just a little more than zero before starting work with him. We all know that Stephen is a musical genius who wrote the most memorable pieces for people of all ages. But few people know, as I do, how much talent he has as a teacher. That is a separate skill.
To hear the songs, look for the round orange circle with the white arrow
HARRIET TUBMAN AND
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
A Musical
music by Susan Maskin
arranged and performed by Bernie Katzman
lyrics by Susan Maskin
lyrics by Susan Maskin
many of the songs presented as instrumentals; lyrics are posted
"SERVANT OF GOD, WELL DONE"
PLEASE USE THE MENU AT THE RIGHT,
OR FOR MOBILE PHONE , THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
March 10, 2013 is the 100th anniversary of
the death of Harriet Tubman
She was between 91 and 93.
PLEASE USE THE MENU AT THE RIGHT,
OR FOR MOBILE PHONE , THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
March 10, 2013 is the 100th anniversary of
the death of Harriet Tubman
She was between 91 and 93.
My purpose in creating
this historical musical is to pay tribute to Harriet (Araminta) Ross
Tubman and the many people who were passengers and conductors on the
Underground Railroad or who escaped on their own. I also want to pay tribute to all of the other
enslaved African Americans who were unable to make the trip.
Most of the songs posted are instrumentals followed by lyrics. There are also improvisations created by Bernie Katzman which are based on the original melody. The song played here (click on link at the bottom)is called "Forever to be Free" and might have reflected the thoughts that Harriet had throughout her life and especially her later years.
This musical is based on the life of Harriet Tubman, a famous abolitionist and humanitarian who escaped from slavery and became a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Although much of the information is based on whatever we know of the facts of her life, there are some songs in which the characters and/or events are fictitious.Nevertheless, the fictitious parts are based on the reality of life as lived by most enslaved Americans during the pre-Civil War period. Additional information and songs describe the Underground Railroad in general and those who worked for the crusade to rescue enslaved people in the United States.
It is very difficult to write about this topic. There are many myths about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad and it is difficult to separate myth from reality. Some of what we think of with regard to the Underground Railroad is unproven speculation, and thus might be more legend than fact. The veracity of those "factors" vary.
For example, it is thought that most enslaved people who escaped were helped along the way by beneficent abolitionists who put lanterns in the windows of "safe houses." While this certainly did happen, it might not have happened to the extent that we think it did. We have to note that many of the enslaved people escaped on their own, without any guidance at all; their journeys haphazard, oftentimes, unsuccessful.
This musical reflects both fact and legend about Harriet
Ross Tubman Davis specifically and the UGRR generally.
This musical is based on the life of Harriet Tubman, a famous abolitionist and humanitarian who escaped from slavery and became a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Although much of the information is based on whatever we know of the facts of her life, there are some songs in which the characters and/or events are fictitious.Nevertheless, the fictitious parts are based on the reality of life as lived by most enslaved Americans during the pre-Civil War period. Additional information and songs describe the Underground Railroad in general and those who worked for the crusade to rescue enslaved people in the United States.
It is very difficult to write about this topic. There are many myths about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad and it is difficult to separate myth from reality. Some of what we think of with regard to the Underground Railroad is unproven speculation, and thus might be more legend than fact. The veracity of those "factors" vary.
For example, it is thought that most enslaved people who escaped were helped along the way by beneficent abolitionists who put lanterns in the windows of "safe houses." While this certainly did happen, it might not have happened to the extent that we think it did. We have to note that many of the enslaved people escaped on their own, without any guidance at all; their journeys haphazard, oftentimes, unsuccessful.
This musical reflects both fact and legend about Harriet
Ross Tubman Davis specifically and the UGRR generally.
****
Harriet Tubman was born Araminta (Minty) Ross in 1820 or 1821 ( exact records were not kept.) Minty was one of many children of Rit and Ben Ross. Much of what we know of her comes from oral history. (An early biography of Harriet Tubman by Sarah Bradford, published about 1869, is the source used by modern biographers. Bradford had interviews with Harriet Tubman).
Minty,
as she was called, was rebellious from a young age. As was true of
other enslaved people, Minty (later Harriet, after her mother who was
called Rit for short) longed for freedom. While still living in
Maryland, she married John Tubman, a free man in the area. (It is
thought that by the 1840's there were quite a few free black people
living in Maryland and Delaware.) Minty's father, Ben, was manumitted
(freed) as dictated by the will of the plantation owner where Ben lived. It is thought that according to the will,he was to be freed at the age of 45. Not too much is known about Ben Ross except he was very clever and therefore relied upon by the owner of the plantation on which he lived. The same specification about Rit might have been part of the will of the owner of the plantation where she was enslaved.
The owner of the plantation where Harriet was born, Edward Brodess, was frequently in debt. He raised money selling the services of his people to others. He also very frequently sold many of them south.It is thought that a few of Harriet's siblings were sold away and never heard from again. This practice of "selling south," / "selling down the river," caused constant fear among the enslaved people living on his plantation as in all plantations.
In 1849 Harriet Tubman escaped with the help of antislavery
activists using a network of "safe houses" and symbols . The routes
followed were collectively known as the "Underground Railroad."
Harriet returned to the south many times (perhaps as many as 19 trips--estimated 13 to 19 times)
to help her family and others escape to the Northern states and to
Canada. (Because of the "Fugitive Slave Act" of 1850, the northern states were no longer a safe haven for escapees and so those who did escape had to find refuge in Canada.)
During the Civil War, she was a Union activist, nurse and spy. In 1869 she remarried, Nelson Davis--a marriage that lasted 19 years until he passed away. Harriet Tubman Davis spent the rest of her life engaged in humanitarian causes. She was especially active in the woman's suffrage movement. In the latter years of her life she built a home for the aged in Auburn N.Y. which she helped run until her death in 1913 at the age of about 91. I believe she was one of the most courageous people who ever lived.
During the Civil War, she was a Union activist, nurse and spy. In 1869 she remarried, Nelson Davis--a marriage that lasted 19 years until he passed away. Harriet Tubman Davis spent the rest of her life engaged in humanitarian causes. She was especially active in the woman's suffrage movement. In the latter years of her life she built a home for the aged in Auburn N.Y. which she helped run until her death in 1913 at the age of about 91. I believe she was one of the most courageous people who ever lived.
In 1936, the Federal Writer's Project under the Works
Progress Administration (WPA) began interviewing former enslaved people who were still alive at that time.
The link is:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/
PLEASE NOTE: As I have never studied linguistics, the
songs only very vaguely reflect period speech patterns, and in some songs, none at all. My purpose is to create songs which reflect the history of the times, and to pay
tribute to those people who suffered under the institution of slavery as well as those who sought to be of assistance.
Thank you for visiting this blog and in so-doing paying tribute to Harriet Tubman, to those working on the Underground Railroad, to enslaved people who "rode the railroad," to those who successfully or unsuccessfully escaped totally on their own, to those who never were able to make the trip, to the abolitionists nationwide, and to all Americans who believed and still believe in the basic principals of freedom upon which the United States of America was founded.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE WHILE THE BLOG LOADS.
MENU (CLICK LINKS BELOW)
-- Follow the North Star
-- Freedom Train
-- Hop on Board
-- Henry Box Brown
--Where My Soul Will be Free
-- Freedom Train
-- Hop on Board
-- Henry Box Brown
--Where My Soul Will be Free
THANK YOU FOR VISITING
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