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Jazz in the Pews: 'Experiments in Sunday Worship' in the 1960s

Witkowski, Deanna (2024) Jazz in the Pews: 'Experiments in Sunday Worship' in the 1960s. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

“Jazz in the Pews” explores the relationships between two Black Catholic composers, Mary Lou Williams and Eddie Bonnemère, and two parishes for which they composed liturgical jazz: St. Thomas the Apostle Church, a Black Catholic parish in Harlem, and Saint Peter’s Church (Lutheran), a predominantly white Protestant congregation, in midtown Manhattan. By exploring a larger ecosystem that encompasses Vatican II liturgical reform, ecumenism in New York, the civil rights and Black Power movements, and the beginnings of the Black Catholic Movement, “Jazz in the Pews” argues that the liturgical jazz works composed by Williams and Bonnemère could not have been created in a different moment in time or in another locale outside of New York.

The project also explores how Williams and Bonnemère situated themselves as Black Catholics within the larger ecumenical moment of the late 1960s. Beginning with his thirty-year tenure at Saint Peter’s in 1967, Bonnemère navigated mainline, white Protestantism (including interactions with clergy, congregations, and publishers) while simultaneously contributing to early Black Catholic sacred music initiatives including the first African American hymnal, Lead Me, Guide Me, in 1987. By contrast, placing Williams’s Masses in the context of early Black Catholic organizations throws into stark relief how her sacred music was rarely given a national Catholic platform. “Jazz in the Pews” asks how the scope of Williams’s liturgical music might look differently if she had received more robust support from Black Catholic and white Protestant organizations. The project also asks how each composer’s agency and views of their audiences for their sacred music contributed to the dissemination of their work and suggests ways to advance their legacies in the present day.

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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Witkowski, Deannaddw27@pitt.eduddw270000-0002-0740-6199
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee MemberCassaro, Jamescassaro@pitt.edu
Committee MemberHarris, KimKim.Harris@lmu.edu
Committee MemberJelks, Randal Mauricermjelks@iu.edu
Committee MemberJohnson, Aarondraj@pitt.edu
Committee ChairHeller, Michaelmichaelheller@brandeis.edu
Date: 27 August 2024
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 26 April 2024
Approval Date: 27 August 2024
Submission Date: 30 June 2024
Access Restriction: 2 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 2 years.
Number of Pages: 194
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Music
Degree: PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Doctoral Dissertation
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Black Catholic, jazz, liturgical jazz, Vatican II, Eddie Bonnemère, Mary Lou Williams
Date Deposited: 27 Aug 2024 13:42
Last Modified: 27 Aug 2024 13:42
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46648

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