The Princely Players

photo by: Jim McGuire

Technical Info

On the Road to Glory

The centuries old struggle for freedom by Africans in America, culminating in the civil rights movement and continuing even today, stands as a shining example of the power and dignity of the human spirit. The Princely Players have been featured on National Public Radio and the BBC and has been heard on the Smithsonian's Wade in the Water series and the Time-Life Civil War recordings.

The essence of this spirit is embodied in the music that was a part of the experience.  Songs of hope and the quest for freedom are found in the struggle to survive the difficult and de-humanizing trauma of slavery. And these songs were the galvanizing force in the struggle against what must have seemed impossible odds.  Amazing Grace, Steal Away, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Go Down Moses, and Wade in the Water are all testaments that still speak powerfully to us today.

In the tradition of the Jubilee Singers and the Fairfield Four, The Princely Players offer evocative and stunning programs on the enslavement and liberation of African-Americans.  The eight-member ensemble has performed their unique program of spirituals, work songs, hymns, and songs of freedom at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Yale University, Ryman Auditorium, Little Rock's Festival of Religious Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC- among many others.

With song and poetry from the earliest sources of African American music in this country to the civil war and the civil rights movement, The Princely Players deliver performances with superb voices and exceptional stage presence.

The Princely Players have collaborated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Nashville Symphony.  Members of the ensemble have recorded with Nashville musicians Randy Travis, Danny O'Keefe, and Kathy Mattea.

Members of ensemble are sought after for workshops in the areas of American History, African-American Studies, Sociology, Women's Studies, and Choral Studies.

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Residency

Workshops Lecture Demonstration

Performance Space Required: large classroom or small auditorium (space must have a clear area 10’ x 12’)

Suitable for: Grades 4-adult

Number of Performers: 2-9 members of the ensemble

Program length: 50 minutes

Technical Requirements (all venues): (3-4) standing microphones with one for presenter; audio equipment; (1) 24-inch stool or armless chair for each member

The Life and Art of William Edmondson
Recommended: Art History, African American Studies, and Humanities

This workshop presents numerous media images of Edmondson's available works and can include audience participation which offers the listener experience with the improvisational aspects of African-American folk music.  Scenes from the life of this great folk artist are depicted by means of a moving re-creation of Edmondson with music and dramatic embellishment by the full troupe.  The scope of this workshop also includes discussion of both visual and musical folk art and comparison with so-called cultivated art traditions of western cultures. 

Spirituals, Gifts from the Soul

Recommended: Music, Music History, Religious Studies, African American Studies, and Choral Performance

This workshop gives an overview of the body of music called spirituals which actually include numerous types of music and singing styles including 'hollers,' jubilees, drawn hymns, field songs, coded songs, sorrow songs, and protest songs, among others.  One of the characteristics of this music is a call and response, which features a song leader alternating with a group or congregation of singers.  Another characteristic is the relatively high level of improvisation or heterophony, a technique of alteration of the melody where a primary vocal line is harmonized and/or approximated by a group of singers.  The Princely Players will demonstrate these and other features of the music, and attendees will have the opportunity to participate in performances of more familiar tunes.

From Spirituals to Gospels

Recommended: Music, Music History, Religious Studies, African American Studies and Choral Performance

This workshop is a continuation and complement to “Spirituals, Gifts from the Soul”. It addresses the evolution of the traditional and contemporary forms of African American sacred music.  Although Spirituals and Gospel music are similar, they were born at different times.  The spiritual evolved during the antebellum period of Colonial America (17-18^th Century) and the Gospel (Good News) movement occurred during the 20^th Century coinciding with the Great Migration to the urban cities of the North and Western United States.

Informal Discussions

Members of the ensemble relate their personal experiences to students and answer questions via an informal discussion with students who are pursuing a professional music career.

Lecture Demonstration/School Performance

Suitable for: Grades 4-adult, audiences of all sizes

Number of Performers: 6-9 members of the ensemble

Program length: 50 minutes

Technical Requirements (all venues): 3-4 standing microphones with one for presenter; (1) 24-inch stool or armless chair for each member of the ensemble

This program demonstrates the importance of music and literature in the emotional and social lives of African-Americans and samples the multifaceted opus creative of this community.

Africans in Africa: An African chant is performed by a member of the group as an example of African music. The chant has a clear structure and the translation of the Yorba lyrics mean “what God has created let no man destroy”.  A short poem expressing longing and spiritual and emotional connection with Africa may also be included.

Passage of Slaves: This poem was written by a 14-year-old young lady, and is presented through the eyes of a young person aboard a slave ship.  This unique perspective gives a graphic and wrenching description of what the experience of the middle passage, that horrifying journey across the ocean in slave-ships might have been like.

Slavery:  This includes discussion of the ubiquitous role music, particularly the body of music called spirituals, played in the lives of the Africans during their slavery.  "I've been buked,” a sorrow song sung in a choral style is a modern arrangement of the spiritual text.  It effectively shows the pain and spiritual conviction necessary to survive the experience of slavery.

Religion:  Church services, which for most of American slavery was controlled by white slave owners, prompted many of the Africans to go "off in the woods, away from the mastah's ears" with church services of their own.  These unauthorized gatherings were in many respects quite different from the services most slaves were required to attend, allowing a deeper expression of anguish, anger, exuberance, and self-affirmation.  These services demonstrated the slaves’ strong hope for relief from their bondage and the possibility of a better life.  "Go in the Wilderness", a lively example of the call and response, is a piece that announces to the members of the community that a religious service will be held in a secluded area near the plantation.

The Road North: The period after institutional slavery, including the Great Migration of African-Americans to northern cities is covered.  A variety of musical styles, included spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, were blended in varying degrees as African-Americans began moving North to escape defacto-segregation and other unpleasant realities of living in the South after slavery.  The blues and/or gospel music will be sung.  “Jacobs Ladder” which features the technique of  'drawing' or 'lining' a hymn, will be demonstrated as an example of religious music of the time.  This technique involves the harmonizing and embellishment of a tune, with the congregation following a lead singer’s statement of brief segments of the hymn tune or scripture verse.

Harlem Renaissance: Reference here is made to the African-American cultural renaissance that culminated in the so-called Negro Harlem Renaissance.   A vocalized performance of Duke Ellington's "Take the A-Train” is the featured music.  This original arrangement has the voices of the group imitating instruments such as the trombone, string bass, drums, and horns in a jazzy, big band style.

Language: A demonstration of 19^th and early 20^th Century African-American dialect will be presented.  Text and lyrics from selected spirituals and excerpts from "An Antebellum Sermon" by Paul Laurence Dunbar will be used as examples of the distinctive use of language by the African-American community of the time, pointing out aspects of pronunciation and meaning.  This section will also include mention of the 'double meaning of many songs of subversion including protest songs, signals for impending escape, and unauthorized meetings in the woods.

The Human Spirit: Finally, comments about the perseverance, power, and dignity of the human spirit will close the program -- especially how the music and words of all people strengthen the spirit.  Closing music will be the spiritual “Ain't a That Good News.”

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Discography

The Princely Players
Princely Records (1967) (unavailable)

Civil War Music Collector's Edition/Various Artists
Time Life Music, Alexandria, VA (1991)

Wade In The Water: African American Spirituals
NPR 26 Week Series (1993)

Wade In The Water Volume  I: African American Spirituals: The Concert Tradition
Smithsonian Folkways 40072 (1997)

Wade In The Water African American Sacred Music Traditions, 4 CD Box Set
Smithsonian Folkways 40076 (1997)

On the Road to Glory – the Music Ed.
Princely Players (2005)

Appearances

The group has also appeared on the following documentaries, performing selections from the Wade in the Water recordings:

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Technical Information

Stage

1. Minimum stage size: 25 feet wide, 20 feet deep

2. An acoustic shell if needed.

3. The stage should have entrances either left or right at the stage level with proper soft goods and masking.

4. All performances are assumed to be in an indoor facility. If an outdoor facility will be used, PRESENTING ORGANIZATION shall provide a covered stage which will protect ARTIST from the elements, including bright sun and/or rain and ensure the safety of ARTIST.

5. Stage plot is included as an addenda to this rider.

Audio Requirements

Artist travels with eight (8) cartiod body microphones, 8 wireless Sennheiser 500 transmitters and 8 receivers.

PRESENTING ORGANIZATION shall provide a professional quality sound system capable of supporting 8 wireless body microphones, with speakers balanced to cover entire venue, including the following:

1. Four (4) balanced floor monitors

2. A professional quality sound mixing board with a minimum of eight (8) channels and outputs for mains and monitors.

3. A stereo graphic equalizer (single, half or third octave)

4. Adequate power amplification for size of venue: a minimum for 500 seats should be at least 200 watts per side for mains and 200 watts for the monitors, 2 Peavey CS-400s or larger. If audience is larger, the system should be increased accordingly.

5. The mixing and sound board should be operated from an audience position with clear view of center stage.

6. PRESENTING ORGANIZATION SHALL PROVIDE (at least) ONE QUALIFIED SOUND TECHNICIAN WHO SHALL BE THE SAME PERSON AT THE SOUND CHECK AND ALL PERFORMANCES OF THIS ENGAGEMENT.

Note: This act is designed with the above minimum requirements. Any lessening compromise in the audio components will diminish the artistic integrity of the PRINCELY PLAYERS performance.

Lights

PRESENTING ORGANIZATION shall provide a quality lighting system for any indoor performance and/or any outdoor performance when performance will take place near or after sunset. THE LIGHT PLOT IS SIMPLE AND SHOULD BE HUNG AND IN PLACE BEFORE SOUND CHECK.

1. Lighting should cover the broad area (20’ x 10’; marked on addenda) with properly focused ellipsoidal or fresnel spotlights or stage equivalents. If at all possible, these broad area spotlights should  be dimmable. They should be mounted in standard light plot layout with a warm gelled light coming from one side and a cool gelled light coming from the other. If only one gel is available, a warm gel should be used from both sides.

2. There should be three “special” areas downstage of the broad area. These downstage “special” areas should be approximately 8-10 ft. in diameter and dimmable. As with the broad area (#2 above) the specials should be gelled warm and cool from two sides. If the theatre has a follow spot its use would greatly enhance the downstage “specials.”

3. ARTIST shall give light board operator and stage manager light cues at the sound check.

4. PRESENTING ORGANIZATION shall provide one qualified light technician who shall be the same

Props

PRESENTING ORGANIZATION shall provide FOUR (4) WOODEN STOOLS 24” IN HEIGHT, at center stage approximately 10 feet from the downstage edge of the stage.

Load-In

Load-in should be scheduled for 5 hours prior to performance (evening before for matinee). Sound Check/Technical Rehearsal of no more than 1 hour in length should take place 4 hours prior to performance. All performance running personnel must be present.

Special Considerations

1. PRESENTING ORGANIZATION shall not allow the audience to enter the place of performance until the technical set up has been completed. ARTIST shall complete any warm-ups or rehearsals at least one hour prior to the announced time of performance, provided PRESENTING ORGANIZATION makes stage available for set up at least four (4) hours prior to the announced time of performance. All necessary technical personnel (lights, sound and stage manager) shall be present at the sound check.

2. No recording, broadcasting, filming, or video taping of the performance is permitted without ARTIST’S or ARTIST representative’s written consent. This includes personal or archival taping from the sound board.

3. PRESENTING ORGANIZATION is responsible for providing copies of this technical rider to the appropriate personnel not less than two weeks prior to the engagement.

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