IIPC Debate 128
Wednesday 1.10.2025 at 14.15-15.45 Arcanum, lecture room A112, University of Turku
Research fellow Nina C. Öhman Department of Philosophy, History and Art Studies at the University of Helsinki
VOCAL VISIONS, ECHOES OF ELSEWHERE, AND THE CLARK SISTER'S MELLIFLOUS MUSIC
Since the birth of African American gospel music in the 1930s, the distinct sound of gospel vocal expression has exerted enduring impact on American music and popular music worldwide. Recognizing gospel music’s unconfined resonances in religious and commercial spheres of sound, this presentation explores gospel singing as an art form that projects temporal and spatial transcendence. To that end, first this presentation explores the spiritual and aesthetic facets of African American gospel music tradition and the creative leadership of many women who have fostered the popularity of gospel singing. Second, this presentation offers a closer listen to the music of the Clark Sisters. Musically trained by their mother, the renowned choir director and composer Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, the Clark Sisters are known for their virtuosic vocal skills and dexterous harmonic expression, known also as “the Clark sound.” By examining varied aspects of their artistry, this presentation offers insights on their creative processes and the power of their gospel singing.
Nina C. Öhman, PhD, MBA, is a research fellow in the Department of Philosophy, History and Art Studies at the University of Helsinki. She recently completed a three-year term as a core fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Öhman is a musicologist / ethnomusicologist interested in women’s music cultures, religion, and American popular music. Her work is focused on women's leadership in the history of African American gospel music. Also she has a research project on the early field of jazz music in Finland. She completed her PhD degree at the University of Pennsylvania and MBA degree at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is the board chair of the Finnish American Studies Association (FASA) and the vice-chair of the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology (SES). She is the editor-in-chief of the Musiikin suunta journal.
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