The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-12-08
Tells the Story of How She Came
to Sing Negro Songs
BORN AND RAISED SOUTH
Incidents Of Her Childhood and Her
PIaymates
She Comes Naturally by Her Peculiar Intona-
lions and DiaIect-fier EARLY Life and
How She Came to Sing Negro Songs

1t is fact well known that, as rule,
zach nation has its own peculiar and
characteristic style OF music. This fact
10 easily recognized by those who have
made a study OF musical com position.
Not only do nations have style OF
music all their own, but different sections
of q nation may nave their own peculiar
way of rendering il. The music Of the
songsters horn under the blue sky of Itay
differs from that of the singer from the
northern portions of Europe. and while
there may be q similarity in the general
style of the music of Latin singers, thcre
10 difference in the rendering as noted
Between the song of the Italian signorina
and that of the Spanish lover.
1t has been said that the United States
IN the only nation without national
music. This may be nc1ou tied for IN
several ways. We are as yet a compare
lively Young nation and made up of de-
scendents OF other nations, and again
our m usical education is attained largely
by sending the studehts abroad or by the
importation Of foreign teachers. Yet the
most unique and original songs that have
ever been produced belong exclusively
TO Ameraioa; but these cannot be classed
- national, rather sectional. They are
the negro melodies OF the south. Tho
sentiments of these songs are of the
simp lest Kind, and the harmonies con-
fined tn few chords. n Notwithstanding
its sim plioity the negro soIg is the most
difficult to correctly initiate. 1t mas long
been the iavorte music on the variety
stage, but few actors have ever rendered
il tfue to nature.
Only a few have done IT successfully.
Among these few now living are Maud
Huth and May Irwin. Miss Huth is now
in this city and the many Southern peo-
pie who have beard her at ths Orpbeum
pronounce her work as the best they ever
heard outside Of the OH plantation.
Miss uuth WITS interviewed and said:
Il dearly love the genuine negro melody.
"A great many actors aud others have at
tempted it and while fairly successful
from financial standpoint have, in my
opinion, maze failures in their attempt
to render the song as an "old Auntie'
would have done. They caricature the
part successfully but seldom make it
genuine. The negro song Is something
more than an attempt at dialect. True
the dialect is an important feature but
there must be with it n peculiar Intona-
ticn and cadence accompanied by sug-
gestive movement OF the head and body.
These pcculiarities can ony be correctly
learned by living among the negroes and
struying their ways. impulses and car
rage under varying vcumstanccs.'
How didlI learn it? Oh, that's a story
by itself. While my mother was u north
ern woman, she went south and made
her home for IA time at Macon, Ga, where
l was born. When but Il few months old
she moved out of town Il few miles to a
plantation owned by an uncle, and the
first sixteen years OF my lie were spent
OIL tlat olantation and about Macon. Ga.
My mot er WAS IN delicate health, and
naturally the cara taking OF me fell to
the Old auntie of the Plantation to even a
greater extent than was customary in
the old plantation days. This statement
you will understand, means great deal
more for the most exclusive families of
the south at that time left the younger
members of the family to the trustie
auntie. To illustrate the way auntie
brought .nc up, one story will suffice.
1t had oeen Gus omary for her to come
to the house every night to sleep and
care for me. In tho mornings l was
dressed up and taken over to the CABIN
by auntie, who had other duties Cor the
day. My mother noticed that my dress
was always in first class order and much
more Clearly than might be expected
from the most ssdate of two year-olds.
Ooe day mother was feeling quite
strcng and walked over to tho cabin to
see me Imagine. ii you can, her horror
to hnd me along with lot OF p.ckaninnies
seated in the sand with nothing on but
calico dress and that slit up the back and
united: Why shouldn't l come home in
clean coithes when auntie had already
stripped me as soon as ws got to the cab
in, my clothes folded ana laid aside until
l was washed and DIR, ssed to go home at
night At first mother thought il almost
a crime that | should roll around in the
sand all day with lot of pickaninies,
but when she found that some pr tty
good people in the south had spent their
childhood in Just the same way she al
lowed it to go on.
ut was in this way that l acquired my
knowledge OF the negro dialect" ooutin-
ued Miss HUH. latter l got older was,
of course, taken out of auntie's care to a
great extent and "A teacher engaged. When
friends would visit us it got to be a part
OF the pre- gram for their entertainment
to have me initiate auntie and to relate
some of my experiences with tina picka-
n1nnies. | was natural m.mic, and my
representations always made hit even
with people who were as familiar with
the characters as ono could possibly be.