Africa
Shape Note Hymn by William Billings
The Singing Master’s Assistant (1781, 3rd ed.)
The following information about the William Billings song Africa comes from this "Answers.com" article.
http://www.answers.com/topic/africa-william-billings [accessed 5/21/2014]
"History
Billings wrote Africa some time before 1770 and included it in his first published hymnbook, The New England Psalm Singer. Later
he made revisions for the version included in his The Singing Master's Assistant (1778) and still further, very minor, revisions for
Music in Miniature (1779). It is the latter two versions that are performed today.
The name of the hymn is, as far as can be determined, completely arbitrary, and reflects a practice of Billings's day to give names
specifically to the tunes of songs. Billings also wrote an "Asia" and an "America"; more often, he adopted the names of (arbitrarily
chosen) New England towns to label his tunes.
Music
Musically, the work is notable for the parallel descending thirds and sixths that shift from part to part. Like many of Billings's hymns,
there is no one line that counts as the "melody"; while the tenor line predominates, the ear is likely sometimes to hear the treble line as
more prominent. Some renditions of this hymn (such as the one on the Tudor Choir's "The Shapenote Album") follow a common
eighteenth-century practice and have part of the tenors singing the treble line an octave down, while part of the sopranos sing the tenor
line an octave up. The result is a brighter, more colorful texture.
Words
The 1770 version of Africa was published without lyrics. Since it readily fits any iambic quatrain written in couplets of eight and six
syllables (common meter), singers of this version would certainly have had no trouble finding lyrics to accompany it, as such quatrains
are common in hymn lyrics.
For the 1778 and 1779 versions, Billings did choose lyrics: the first stanza of Hymn #39 of the first volume of hymns (1709) by the
© Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Pauly. All rights reserved.
famous English hymnodist Isaac Watts.
Now shall my inwards joys arise,
And burst into a Song;
Almighty Love inspires my Heart,
And Pleasure tunes my Tongue.
This stanza doubtless appealed to Billings, who took joy in singing throughout his life. Billings altered Watts's "joys" to "joy", though
this change is not always observed by singers. Sometimes the other stanzas by Watts are also sung to the tune of Africa; they are as
follows:
God on his thirsty Sion-Hill
Some Mercy-Drops has thrown,
And solemn Oaths have bound his Love
To show'r Salvation down.
Why do we then indulge our Fears,
Suspicions and Complaints?
Is he a God, and shall his Grace
Grow weary of his saints?
Can a kind Woman e'er forget
The Infant of her Womb,
And 'mongst a thousand tender Thoughts
Her Suckling have no Room?
Yet, saith the Lord, should Nature change,
And Mothers Monsters prove,
Sion still dwells upon the Heart
Of everlasting Love.
Deep on the Palms of both my Hands
I have engrav'd her Name;
My Hands shal raise her ruin'd Walls,
And build her broken Frame.
It is not unreasonable to sing Africa with the additional stanzas, since Watts's hymn verses were well known in Billings's day."
© Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Pauly. All rights reserved.
Recordings
One of my favorite recordings is by His Majesties Clerkes. You can find this on Spotify and iTunes.
Analysis
Key: Eb Major
Meter: 3/2
Structure: Strophic 7+7
This piece is set in hymn style. The texture is both homophonic and, for the most part, homorhythmic (meaning that all parts move
with the same rhythm.) This is a strophic form, and we will do three verses. Each verse is identical in setting.
The tenor line is the melody line, but all parts should be strong. Tenors and sopranos should practice both the tenor and soprano line,
as it is possible that I may switch parts. This is not an uncommon practice in music of this genre.
Harmonies are characterized by the parallel thirds and 6ths mentioned above, as well as frequent open 5ths (particularly noticeable at
final cadences).
© Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Pauly. All rights reserved.