Reviewed by Thérèse Smith | Reviews | Journal of American Ethnic History, 27.1

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the Journal of American Ethnic History online. About 227 words from this article are provided below; about 419 words remain.

If you are a subscriber to the Journal of American Ethnic History, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a subscriber to the Journal of American Ethnic History, you can:: • subscribe here.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American Ethnic History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to the journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

Reviewed by Thérèse Smith | Reviews | Journal of American Ethnic History, 27.1 | The History Cooperative

Reviews

*Lining Out the Word: Dr. Watts Hymn Singing in the Music of Black Americans*. By William T. Dargan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. xvi + 320 pp. Map, tables, illustrations, appendices, notes, bibliography, discography, and index. $45.00 (cloth).
William Dargan's Lining Out the Word is an ambitious attempt to outline the history of the African American tradition of lined hymnody (or Dr. Watts, as it is commonly known)—in which a leader chants each line of text for a congregation, lacking hymnals or psalters, to then sing in unison—from slavery times to the present day. But the book also attempts to do much more, drawing analogies and parallels with other sacred genres and with secular traditions. Dargan's key point is that the tradition of lining out has served as a powerful "'gatekeeper,' sustaining both continuity and transformations, through which new forms have emerged from the recombination of existing elements" (p. 15).	1
Opening with a chapter that gives an overview of the Dr. Watts tradition in musicological and historical terms, including discussion of what it owes to English and African influences and antecedents, Dargan proceeds to consider the various regional styles that have evolved within the tradition. Subsequent chapters explore English and African historical contexts, transformation into the blues, and the role of the language of the hymns in their style.	. . .

There are about 419 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.