Amazing Grace

The Princely Players’ gospel sound guides audiences through the cultural landscape of Africans in America.

By: Susan Van Dongen

In On the Road to Glory at Crossroads Theatre Jan. 15, the Princely Players will perform spirituals, work songs, hymns and songs of freedom.

   In 1968, passions were running high. It was the height of the rift between various divisions of society and people were angry. Quite a few found negative ways to express their strong feelings.
   On the other hand, Odessa Settles, a high school student at the time, found a positive way to address the burning issues of the times — through music. Ms. Settles thanks her eight-member ensemble, the Princely Players, for pointing her in a different, more healing direction.
   "For us, performing created a way to dispel or release all the anger that was rampant during the time," Ms. Settles says. "We could talk about the social issues in a positive way, through the arts. That was a great personal goal for us — in fact it kind of saved our lives. Some of our friends didn’t fare as well.
   "The arts change your whole perspective and give you a way to deal with what’s going on in life through very peaceful means," she continues. "That’s what we were trying to do then and what we still try to do. We have the chance to meet thousands of young people around the country and get their creative juices flowing, so that’s a great blessing."
   In the tradition of gospel groups like the Jubilee Singers and the venerable Fairfield Four, the Nashville-based Princely Players offer evocative programs on the enslavement and liberation of African-Americans. The struggle for freedom by Africans in America, culminating in the civil rights movement and continuing even today, stands as an example of the power of the human spirit. The essence of this spirit is embodied in the music that was a part of the experience.
   On Jan. 15, the Princely Players will pay a special visit to the Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, guiding the audience through the cultural landscape of Africans in America. The program, "On the Road to Glory," features spirituals, work songs, hymns and songs of freedom — all of which were a galvanizing force in the struggle to survive the trauma of slavery.
   "The show is broken up into seven or eight different segments, with several costume changes," Ms. Settles says. "We address African-American history through a cappella singing and drama. We tell the story of Africans coming to America and we take it all the way through the civil rights movement — and then we address what’s going on today socially."
   The Princely Players will perform well-known songs like "Steal Away," "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," "Go Down Moses" and "Wade in the Water." They’ll also explain the origins and deeper meanings of favorite spirituals such as "Amazing Grace."
   "We talk a lot about the spirituals," Ms. Settles says. "Before the Civil War, the spirituals addressed religion and freedom at the same time. There was this forceful out-flowing of religious passion. This was the music used in pre-Civil War times in the ‘invisible church’ as we call it. The slaves were not really allowed to attend church so they had it out in the fields. That’s when this music was born — during the pre-literate era of slavery. There were all kinds of songs — jubilee, folk songs, sorrow songs, shout songs, slave melodies. They often described the surrounding conditions, but they were also used for other purposes, for example, to escape."
   In other words, the lyrics to the songs would have double meanings and would give directions to the underground railroad or other passages out of the slave states.
   "People need to know this," Ms. Settles says.
   Although the Princely Players were officially launched in 1968, the members had been school friends for many years before that.
   "The majority of us have known each other since about third grade," Ms. Settles says. "We started singing together at one of our local high schools in Nashville. Our founder was H. German Wilson, who was the music and drama teacher at our school. He was a graduate of Fisk University in Nashville and a former member of the Fisk Jubilee singers, who are well-known for their stage performances of spirituals."
   Even while still in high school, the Princely Players were traveling around the country, performing with and for people like Robert Kennedy, poet Nikki Giovanni and LeRoi Jones. The latter gentleman is now known as Amiri Baraka, the controversial former poet laureate of New Jersey.
   "Then we graduated in 1968 and disbanded for a while to pursue our own careers," Ms. Settles says. "We reformed when we got together for our 10th high school reunion, and we’ve been together ever since."
   The eight-member ensemble has performed at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Yale University, Little Rock’s Festival of Religious Arts and the Smithsonian Institution. The Princely Players have been featured on National Public Radio, the BBC, and the Smithsonian Institute’s gospel series as well as Time-Life’s recordings of Civil War-era songs.
   Utilizing poetry and songs that run the gamut from the earliest sources of African-American music in this country through the civil rights movement in the 1960s, the Princely Players are known for their superb voices and exceptional stage presence. They’ve collaborated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Nashville Symphony, and members of the ensemble have recorded with such Nashville-based musicians as Randy Travis, Danny O’Keefe and Kathy Mattea.
   They’re also sought after for workshops in the areas of American history, African-American studies, sociology, women’s studies and choral music.
   "Our workshops encourage the young people to do what we did when we were that age, to be fortunate enough to express yourself, regardless of what’s going on in society," Ms. Settles says. "The arts try to address societal changes. You can really talk about things and try to see what you can do to effect change.
   "One of our main (reasons for existence) is to give respect to the history of African-American culture through drama, song and sometimes dance," she continues. "We try to interest young people around the country in the performing arts. We know what the arts do for people — they improve self-esteem and increase intelligence. They give you a better outlook on life."
   Although the Princely Players’ programs are constantly being tweaked, Ms. Settles says the overall presentation hasn’t changed much, because the story of African-American history — and the need to tell it — hasn’t changed.
   "This show could probably go on as long as there is a new venue," she says. "It’s like a classroom. That’s what we’re often told. It’s interesting that so much of what we’ve always been doing still applies today."
The Princely Players will perform at the Crossroads Theatre, 7 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, Jan. 15, 8 p.m. Presented by the State Theatre. Tickets cost $25. For information, call (732) 246-7469. On the Web: www.statetheatrenj.org