THE COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS OF ALICE PARKER AND ...

A third observation is that in all of the Parker-Shaw arrangements there is a sense of great
earnestness and honesty. One does not perceive that the arrangers are writing in order to sell
many copies of music in order to make money for the publisher. Though the arrangements are
more simple than complex, they are not trite or formulaic. Each arrangement was approached
freshly, and with full attention and intelligence seeking to best express the text and be faithful to
the spirit of the melody. Both Shaw and Parker believed in the primacy of communication
between composer, performer, and audience, and in music’s meaning coming from its “releasing
the spirit to sing and shout, to laugh or cry, or pray the primitive prayer.” 66 These short pieces,
though making use of popular styles, were created with a desire to convey the beauty and dignity
of each style with artistic integrity. The sober power and earnestness of “Death Shall Not
Destroy”; the melancholy simplicity of “Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier,” with its falling motives
that historically portray lament; the silly youthful antics of “Seeing Nellie Home”; the rowdy
energy and humor of “What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor”; these and the other
examples above demonstrate that Shaw and Parker approached these folk songs with great
respect for the human emotions they represent.
composing, because it IS the rhythm of the song, and it does imply the ups and downs of melody.
“When I’m dealing with a complete song by someone else, I look first at rhythm, and try to intuit a tempo, and then
the rhythmic divisions inside that tempo—which gives me form. At the same time (so much for first!) I’m looking
at text, which gives me mood as well as form. Last comes pitch—the building block is the scale or mode, then
curves of phrase, range, tone of voice.
“It’s hard to really rank the three—they work together to create whatever it is that makes a melody stick in your
mind. For the arranger (thinking of Shaw’s influence on me, now), having a point of view about the whole tune is
primary—I have to be able to sing it in a way that keeps him listening. This is the basis of the arrangement—added
to that is the ‘idea’—the specific ‘hook’ that (again) draws the listener in, and unifies the whole piece. (Ideas: Ride
On, King Jesus: melody as ctpt; Seeing Nellie Home: text repetition as ctpt; Same Train: propulsive rhythm, train
sounds, etc.)
“I’m a bit amused that you don't seem to think that rhythm is primary. Music exists in time, and how time is
organized is surely ‘primary.’ But I’d say the three parts are equal. Maybe what can be said about the S/P
arrangements is that they honor all three in the settings.
“Does that confuse you enough? I hope so!”
66 Mussulman Dear People, 108.
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