Performance Practices used in Line Hyms in Black Churches in Central Mississippi

FAIN: FT-12192-74

Ben E. Bailey
Tougaloo College (Tougaloo, MS 39174-9700)

To study the performance practices of "lined hymns" used by congregations in black churches of rural Mississippi. Early Americans adopted the practice of "lining out" hymns--the repetition of a line of music sung by the congregation in response to a line sung by a leader--and African slaves quickly accepted the idea and produced a body of American folk music which is unique and powerful in its impact.