New-York tribune., 1922-04-09
711pha Nendaz1 No2cfwar
SoP~ano
% f se G Gxs Iare

about nine pages are devoted to music
About two pages are devoted to negro
dances and negro folklore and the re
naming thirty pages are devoted to
literature. In touching on the negro
dance, negro folklore and negro music
my intention was simply to lay the
groundwork of proof that the negro
has creative genius. and not only that
but the ability to create that which has
universal appeal, leading up to the
fact that this creative genius, which
has hitherto been exercised in what
may be called lower forms of art, will
forms, especially in literature. The
pages devoted to music are about
equally divided between ragtme, negro
secular music and the spirituals, negro
sacred music. | gave as much space
as | did to ragtime for several rea-
sons:
First No matter what might be the
worth and the beauty of ragtime az
music, it cannot be denied that it is
known the world over. No matter what
musicians may think of it, it is, new
ertheless, a force in music
Second The negro origin of the
spirituals has been we'll established,
and this has been done largely through
the careful and scholarly work of Mrs.
tuI,
biel himself; but many people need to
learn that ragtme is of negro origin.
Mr.. krehbiel regrets that Gin book
which proves that there has been a
really beautiful Towering Of the poetic
spirit among educated negroes in
America" I should feel called upon "to
break a lance in favor of the vulgar
type of music" known as ragtime. He
says that in my essay "there is much
discussion of the vulgar music which
has taken possession of the vaudeville
stage and the dance halls and a strenu-
Gus effort made to prove that it origi-
mated with black musicians. We should
prefer to continue to think that it is a
degraded form Of music whose essen
tial elements, especially its rhythms,
were of African origin. So eager is
Mr.. Johnson to claim most of it as the
product of his people that he does not
hes itate to admit that the first exam,
pies of it came from houses whose
character is not fit subject for de-
scription, but where the musicians
were negroes"
I do not see that the fact that rag
time music originated in, az Mr.
krehbiel puts it, "houses whose char.
acter is not a fit subject for descrip-
ton" has anything to do with the con-
slderation of it as music. That it did
originate in such houses is merely in
cidental. The contention that rag
time should not be studied or even men,
toned, because of it's vulgar origin
strikes me a most absurd standard
of criticism. 1t cannot be denied that
ragtime is the popular musical idom
of America to-day; that it has inf1u-
enced not only American music, but
American life; that it is known in
every corner of the world and known
as American music; that, in fact, it
is the only artistic production sprung
from American soil that is known the
world over and universally acknowl-
edged as a distinctive American prod
uct. This makes it thing that could
not be ignored in an essay such as I
was writing.
But Mr.. Krehbicl is wrong II he
thinks I rated ragtime above the
spirituals. In fact, in my preface
say: "Now these dances which I have
referred to and ragtime music may be
lower forms of art, but they are evil
dence of a power that will some day
be applied to the higher forms. And
even now we need not stop at the
negro's accomplishment through these
lower forms. In the 'spirituals' or
slave songs the negro has given
America not only folksongs, but a mass
of noble music"
then continue in the next four
pages to discuss the spirituals, and I
end what | have to say about them
with these words:
And does it not seem odd that this
greatest gift of the negro has been the
most neglected of all he possesses
Money and effort have been expended
upon his development in every direc-
ton except this. This gift has been
regarded as kind Of side shsw, some
thing for occasional exhibition; where
in it is the touch stone, it is the magic
thing; it is that by which the negro
can bridge all chasnis. No persons,
however hostile. can listen to negroes
singing this wonderful music without
having their hostility melted down
II is difficult for me not to think
that Mr.. Krehbiel, after reading the