Event
Annual Spirituals Concerts - Our 26th Year
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| Ann Caldwell and the Magnolia Singers |
First-ever performance in Drayton Hall’s raised English basement a highlight of this year’s event.
Three performances by Ann Caldwell and The Magnolia Singers, Saturday and Sunday, December 5th and 6th at 5:30pm, with an additional matinee concert on Sunday, December 6th at 3:00pm.
Tickets are still $35 for adults and $30 for Friends of Drayton Hall, and include a catered reception and informal tours of the house prior to the performance. Call (843) 769-2605 for information and reservations.
For group rates and information, please call (843)769-2630.
For the 26th consecutive year, Drayton Hall presents African-American spiritual music in concert. One of the longest-running performances of its kind in the Lowcountry, these popular annual concerts have become a Charleston tradition as they offer a rare opportunity for visitors to gather at the oldest unrestored plantation house in America and experience music that could have been heard centuries ago in the surrounding fields and praise houses.
In 2009, fans of this annual event will get an added surprise as one of the more unexpected areas of this 18th-century architectural masterpiece is transformed into performance space. For the first time ever, the spiritual concerts will take place in the raised English basement of the main house and will be staged to take advantage of the atmospheric properties of this exceptional architectural feature.
Part workspace and part kitchen and storage area, complete with a large brick fireplace, oversized hearth, pantries, and cupboards, the raised English basement (actually the ground floor) of the main house is in an excellent state of preservation. Before the concert begins, a member of the preservation staff will point out some of the fascinating features and will also describe the purpose of the space in more detail – including its use by the last 20th-century inhabitant of Drayton Hall.
In the tradition of the Gullah spirituals’ call and response pattern, the Magnolia Singers invite Drayton Hall audience members to join in. “That’s where the Gullah spiritual makes its impact,” Caldwell explains. “It calls people to be part of the music; rather than sitting passively on the sidelines, it invites them to connect with the words and those around them. Take ‘This Little Light of Mine’—it’s an invitation to stand up and let that light shine—audiences love it because they can relate to the message.”
It is not uncommon for the group to branch out in the course of a single song, each singer varying verse, tune, and tempo, to weave what Caldwell describes as “a tapestry of music.” Often on the program is a playful piece entitled “Shine” that captures the variety and genuinely expressive quality of Gullah performance. “Everybody has something they want to show off,” laughs Caldwell, “and this piece has a good time poking fun at that universal trait.”
About Ann Caldwell
Ann Caldwell is a full-time vocalist, producer, and performing artist who studied voice with June Bonner, former soprano with the Metropolitan Opera. As a teacher of the Gullah spiritual, Ms. Caldwell says she’s careful to teach the song but not the interpretation so that the individual voice—the unique rhythm, tone, and emotion—comes through “to give some idea of the heart of the person.” Ms. Caldwell can be reached at AnnCaldwellSings@bellsouth.net and at (843) 577-4634.
About The Magnolia Singers
The Magnolia Singers are an a capella vocal ensemble dedicated to the preservation and performance of early Southern music and spirituals. Members are accomplished performing artists and include soprano Yvonne Brown, baritone John Smalls, and altos Elaine Singleton, Pat Jones, and Margaret Coleman. The junior member of the group is eight-year-old Teosha; while not a part of the Drayton Hall program, her participation is a reminder that while the message can run deep, at its heart Gullah music is both simple and widely accessible.
