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Listening Back: Black Media Series This event will consist of 3 main parts: a lecture, a live performance, and a showing of the movie, St. Louis Blues. The event will focus on the life and legacy of W.C. Handy, his influential but little known song Chantez Les Bas, and the 1958 film which paid homage to both the man and his music.
The lecture will include a brief summary of W.C. Handy’s life and musical impact as the so-called “Father of the Blues,” followed by a discussion of his biopic, St. Louis Blues. Within this discussion we will show a few short clips from the movie as well as referencing well-known songs and hymns from Handy’s catalogue. The lecture will conclude with an in-depth exploration of the song, Chantez Les Bas, which is featured prominently in the film. The lecturer will explain the history and musicology of the piece, the differences between the few recorded versions of the tune, and the relevance of the work as it relates to today’s musical landscape.
