An Interview with the Artist-Producer
An Interview with the Artist-Producer For singer-songwriter-arranger-producer Rosephanye Powell, the concept for the CD project MOTHERLESS CHILD began in 2002, and was an outgrowth of many years of researching, performing, lecturing and arranging African-American spirituals as a student, singer, educator, and composer. Her passion for preserving the spiritual and its legacy has been captured in this highly artistic, enlightening and entertaining CD. Below is an excerpt from a recent interview with the artist-producer:
First, how do you pronounce your name and what is its origin?
My name is pronounced “ro-SEH-fuh-nee. If one thinks of the name “Stephanie”, adds ro and removes the t, one should pronounce Rosephanye correctly. About the origin, I have heard two stories. The first is that my grandmother (or one of my great female relatives) wanted to name me Fannie. (Fanny is an alternate spelling.) My mother, a school teacher, was not pleased with that idea but compromised and combined her name Rosa with Fannie. The second story that I heard was that it was suggested to name me Stephanie. My mother wanted me to have part of her name, so, again, she combined her name Rosa with Stephanie, removed the t and changed the i to y (because she thought it complimented the look of the name while functioning like the i to make the long e vowel sound. As well, it distinguished further my name from Stephanie.
Why did you choose to develop a project dedicated to African-American spirituals?
For one thing, I grew up singing what we called in rural Alabama “gospelized” spirituals. These were spirituals sung in many black churches that had a gospel flavor and were accompanied by piano, in addition to other instruments, as well as hand clapping and feet patting. My experiences with spirituals became more sophisticated when I attended Alabama State University (Montgomery), a historically black university, where classically-arranged spirituals were a consistent part of our choral and solo vocal music repertoire, alongside works by Handel, Bach, and Mozart. As a professional, when I would participate in workshops, discussions, symposiums and panels around the country on the subjects of preserving the African-American spiritual, and the neglect of these songs in mainstream Black America, there was generally a sense of frustration as to how academicians and classically-trained performers might peak the interest of mainstream young and adult African-Americans to embrace the spiritual as a music still relevant to contemporary society. Reflecting upon the commercial success of projects that included performances of spirituals by prominent artists such as Take Six, Richard Smallwood, Karen Clark-Sheard, and Sounds of Blackness, I embarked on a journey to produce an album dedicated to the spiritual that might appeal to mainstream, urban American music listeners.
What makes your project different from the artists that you just mentioned?
MOTHERLESS CHILD is dedicated solely to the performance of spiritual arrangements with one exception. The first track, Journey Part I: Harambe, is an original song that I composed to support the narrative which describes how the journey to slavery and the birth of the spiritual began in Africa. MOTHERLESS CHILD is distinct in that the project is peppered with brief narratives and a dramatic audio portrayal which serve to enlighten and educate as well as entertain the listener.
Why do three of the tracks ten tracks include the title Journey.
This has to do with the educational component of the project. I want the listener to be drawn into the journey of the slave from the joy and freedom in Africa, to the depths of anguish experienced in the captivity of the slaves and oppression of the American slave system, to the joy of freedom sometimes experienced only in death. Thus, each of the “journey” tracks represents one of these experiences in the slave’s journey. My hope is that the insights provided may encourage the listener to learn more about this subject.
Why did you entitle the project MOTHERLESS CHILD?
I selected the spiritual Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child as the centerpiece or theme because it is one of the most well-known spirituals. This is due, in part, because it was the spiritual to which every slave could relate since it was common for slaves to be sold away from mother, father, sisters, brothers, children, husbands, and wives. Thus, this song represented the deepest anguish, loneliness, and heartache that a slave could experience and represents a shared community expression.
What do you want listeners to bring away from MOTHERLESS CHILD?
First, I would like for them to enjoy the musical artistry and depth of expression; that is, to receive pleasure from it. Second, I would hope that the project could provide insight into the lives of the African-American slaves—their pains and heartaches, but as importantly, their strength in enduring and overcoming the unimaginable mental, emotional and physical abuses of slavery. Third, I would hope that it would peak interest in the legacy that is the African-American spiritual which is considered, by many anthropologists, to be the first true American folk song. Finally, in order to accomplish the third objective, I would hope that the contemporary arrangements would enable the listener to embrace the spiritual as a song that still has relevance. With young adult suicide at its highest level, some must feel like a Motherless Child; that is, emotions of utter loneliness and depression. For those of us who believe in life after physical death, there is the hope of Ain-a Dat Good News, and Soon-a Will Be Done. When I think of “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho,” I am encouraged to persevere when obstacles are before me. I can succeed and accomplish what I believe and will to do if I will act upon it without flinching and just Hold On. In Deep River and Balm in Gilead, one can reflect upon the good days and bad days that make up the journey that is life. Harambe encourages us to come together as one so that we may accomplish great things.
