Audio file
Title: Commentary by Vera Hall on John Saw The Number and maintaining a Christian perspective through adversity
Date recorded: May 1, 1948
Contributor(s): Performer: Lomax, Alan; Performer: Hall, Vera Ward; Recordist: Lomax, AlanBelongs to: New York City 5/48
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Date recorded: May 1, 1948
Contributor(s): Performer: Lomax, Alan; Performer: Hall, Vera Ward; Recordist: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s):
Genre: interview/commentary
Culture: African American, Southern U.S.
Instruments: voice
Setting: Alan Lomax's apartment, 3rd Street
Language: English
Location: New York City, New York, United States
Physical form: Reel to Reel
Tape number: T816
Track Number: 6
Archive ID: T816R06
Note: Hall believes that this song was created when the world was created. She recalls her mother's religious instruction, and explains that religion helps people behave properly in the world. Lomax asks her why there are so many problems and so much suffering in the world. Hall answers that many people "aren't working towards God." If you make one step towards God, he will make two steps toward you. She describes how her belief in God helped her get through the hardships of the Depression.
About the session: This session of oral history and songs represents the only time that Vera Ward Hall left her home state of Alabama. She was invited to New York by Alan Lomax to perform in the Fourth Annual Festival of Contemporary American Music at Columbia University in the City of New York, May 10th through May 16th, 1948, sponsored by the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. Vera performed on Saturday, May 15th, 8:30pm, at the McMillin Theater. The concert was entitled "Ballads, Hoe-Downs, Spirituals (White and Negro), and Blues," with performances by Texas Gladden, Hobart Smith, Jean Ritchie, Brownie McGee, Vera Hall, Dan Burley, Pete Seeger, and narrations by Alan Lomax. These recordings were made not at the concert, but during the remainder of Vera Hall’s stay in New York with Alan Lomax. Lomax is joined by his wife Elizabeth, their daughter, and an unidentified couple, who can be heard throughout the session. This session is comprised of tapes recorded at 15 IPS, probably used as working sequences for a possible LP. Alan Lomax used an echo box to produce the effect heard on Vera Hall's voice. These recordings have been compiled into an individual session because they were not recorded as candid interviews, but as conscious attempts at professional recording for commercial release. One of the tape boxes is given a date of Sunday, May 23rd, and this date has been assumed for the entire session.
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