Charles Lyell, A Second Visit to the United States of North America, Vol. I (London, 1849), 327
Item
Title
Charles Lyell, A Second Visit to the United States of North America, Vol. I (London, 1849), 327
Includes music itself or text of song
no
Identity of singers; solo/group
enslaved oarsmen
solo+ group
Voice/instrument
male voices, also percussive qualities "keeping time to the stroke of their oars"?
percussive use of the oar in the water
Space/room
Altamah River in GA
activity
rowing a canoe
Ornamentation / improvisation
improvisation, also call and response?
genre
hymns, "love ditty"
Geographical location
Darien, Georgia
Notable adjectives
"loudly", "oddly", "profane"
Excerpt
He came down the river to meet us in a long canoe, hollowed out of the trunk of a single cypress, and rowed by six negroes, who were singing loudly, and keeping time to the stroke of their oars. He brought us a packet of letters from England, which had been sent to his house, a welcome New Year's gift; and when we had glanced over their contents, we entered the boat and began to ascend to the Altamaha.
Context
In this section of the book, Lyell was describing the experience he had while traveling on a canoe on the Altamaha River, in the village of Darien. On the canoe with him was Hamilton Couper, a slave owner, and a few enslaved oarsmen. On the canoe, the oarsmen were singing, and Lyell writes about what he heard.
Bias of author
Lyell describes the music as sounding odd to him, and he said that the oarsmen were singing loudly. It seems like he might have had a preconceived notion about what enslaved Americans sound like, which is not necessarily in the most positive light.