How many of the original songs survive intact from the slave cabins? Probably not many in their original form. Time has transformed them like light in a prism. What we hope to present is a version of those spirituals, and they speak not just to black Americans, but to people worldwide.
Interpretation
The evolution of spirituals reflects cultural transformation over time.
This quote emphasizes the impact of time on cultural expressions, particularly the spirituals that originated from enslaved people. Kathleen Battle suggests that while the original forms of these songs may have changed, their essence and message continue to resonate broadly, transcending their historical context to speak to a global audience.
In practice
During a lecture on the evolution of music, this quote can illustrate how cultural expressions adapt over time.
Wherever and whenever I sing, if there is only one spiritual on a program, people will talk about two things afterward, and one of them will be the spiritual. What I bring to this is the best of my classical training - not all of it. I apply what is appropriate.
There's no line between a designer and consumer.
When you want to touch the reader's heart, try to be colder. It gives their grief as it were, a background, against which it stands out in greater relief.
The Creator made Italy from designs by Michelangelo.
Because anybody can write, but not everybody invents new forms of writing. Gertrude Stein invented a new form of writing and her imitators are just "talents."
I love theatre - it's where I started - and I've directed a play myself. I'm not sure if I want to direct a film, but certainly, as an actress, I'm always thinking, 'Surely this must be my last film.'
When people ask me if I am a feminist film maker, I reply I am a woman and I also make films.
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