The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1922-11-18

Burleigh the eminent Negro Musician
and composer has written a letter
to tho National Association for the
Advancement OF Colored People in
which he urges the cooperation of
colored and white people in presery-
ing from debasement in jazz the
musical treasure OF the Negro Spir-
ituals. Mr.. Burleigh's letter, as made
public by the Advancement ASCOT
alton today at 70 Fifth Avenue, New
York, says in part:
The growing tendency of some of
our musicians to utilize the melodies
of our spirituals for fox trots, dance
numbers and semi-sentimental songs
is, / feel a serious menace to the
artistic standing and Development
Of the race.
These melodies are our priced pos
session. They were created for de-
finite purpose and are designed to
demonstrate and perpetuate the deep
est aesthetic endowment OF the race.
They are the only legacy of slavery
days that we can be proud of;-our
one, priceless contribution to the
vast musical product of the United
States.
In them we have mine OF musical
wealth that Is everlasting. Into
their making was poured the aspif-
alton Of race in bondage, whose
religion-intensely felt-was their
whole rope and comfort, and the only
vehicle through which their inner
shirts soured free.
They rank with the great folk
music of the world and are among
the loveliest of chanted prayers
Now, since this body of folk-song
expresses the soul of race, 1t is a
holy thing. To use 1t and not arti-
ficialize or cheaper it calls for re-
verence and true devotion to its
spiritual significance. Yet these de-
linquent musicians contemputuously
disgrace these traditions for person
al, commercial gain.
Their use of the melodies debases
the pure meaning Of the tunes, con-
verting and perverting them into
tawdry dance measures or maudlin
popular songs Their work is mere
tricious sacrilegious and wantonly
Obstructive. II offends the aesthetic
feeling of all true musicians-white
and black and because some Of US
have endeavored never to- sink the
high standard of our art nor COM
mercialize the sacred heritage of our
peoples song, but rather to revere
and exalt ii as a vital proof OF the
Negroes spiritual ascendancy over
oppression and humiliation, we feel,
deeply, that the wilful persistent,
superficial distortion. of our folk
songs is shockingly reprehensible.
Skilled musicians can detect in
SANITY the fragrant misappropriat-
ion, the amateurish perversion.
There are others, the unskilled
musicians and particularly our
young people who cannot detect the
misuse of these prayer-songs who
cannot distinguish the false from
the true, the make-shift from the real,
the spurious from the genuine, the
theatric from the spiritual and who
are thus being feed with wrong
idea, a false valuation of all our
beautiful melodic inheritance-unless
stopped
How can It be stopped? These
gentlemen seem not to realize that
they offend the deepest sentiment Of
the race. They seem incapable of COM
pretending the enormity of the off
ense and the far-reaching effect upon
future generations. True, these
melodies are public property and
there is no real means Of protecting
them except through race pride.
Have these men sufficient race
pride to forego the cheap success
and the easy money. Have they shf-
ficient racial pride to re1lse to
prostitute the inherent religious
beauty of our Spirituais? Can we
not convince them that it is all in
bad taste; that ii is like polluting a
great free fountain Of pure melody?
In the interests of millions of
people who live and revere the
Spirituals and who believe these old
melodies can be essential factor in
the culturals evolution of the races
as we'll as powerful stimulus to its
higher artistic development-and in
the interest of millions Of white
people who love the revere the
Spirituals and who believe that the
Negro stands at the gates OF human
culture with hands laden full with
musical gifts" / earnestly solieit
your help and cooperation in de-
terr'ined effort to peruade our mis-
guided friends to cease their rese-
Grating work and to Join with us
in honoring. and protecting from any
secular or degenerate rse the Nesfo
SpirituaIs-the only songs In America
that conform to the scientific de-
finition Of folksongs
/ have The honor to remain,