{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/iiif/p843r0qk7s/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Murray Schmoke oral history, 2002 April 10"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/008/original/peabody-institute.logo.large.horizontal.blue.cropped.png?1549570058","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":[" A graduate of Morehouse College, Murray Schmoke (1928-2007) came to Baltimore in the late 1940s to work as a chemist. In 1956 he joined the Great Hymns Choir, which was directed by Daniel Rideout. In 1965 he assumed responsibility for the choir's rehearsals and in 1975 he became its director. His son, Kurt Schmoke, was mayor of Baltimore from 1987 to 1999. (Abstract)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":[" 2002-04-10 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":[" Schmoke, Murray A., Sr., 1928-2007 (Interviewee)"," Costigan, Brendan (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":[" English (Primary)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["audio/mp3"]}},{"label":{"en":["Publisher"]},"value":{"en":["Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["The collection is open for use. Contact peabodyarchives@lists.jhu.edu for more information."]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["https://aspace.library.jhu.edu/repositories/4/archival_objects/215391"]}}],"summary":{"en":[" A graduate of Morehouse College, Murray Schmoke (1928-2007) came to Baltimore in the late 1940s to work as a chemist. In 1956 he joined the Great Hymns Choir, which was directed by Daniel Rideout. In 1965 he assumed responsibility for the choir's rehearsals and in 1975 he became its director. His son, Kurt Schmoke, was mayor of Baltimore from 1987 to 1999."]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["The collection is open for use. Contact peabodyarchives@lists.jhu.edu for more information."]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/008/original/peabody-institute.logo.large.horizontal.blue.cropped.png?1549570058","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/117/494/small/schmoke_photoshop.jpg?1651086119","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - pims0091_SchmokeM_01.mp3"]},"duration":2063.04653,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/117/494/small/schmoke_photoshop.jpg?1651086119","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-peabody.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/117/494/original/pims0091_SchmokeM_01.mp3?1624270977","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":2063.04653,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["SchmokeM_1_OHMS_20220609 [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"BRENDAN COSTIGAN: My name is Brendan Costigan. I'm a sophomore at Johns Hopkins\nUniversity in the Baltimore's Black Community Music Project. Right now I'm\ninterviewing Mr. Murray Schmoke. Mr. Schmoke, can you just say quickly what your\nmusical interest is?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: My musical interest is strictly in singing. I have been singing\never since -- well, I can remember when my mother forced into the young people's\nchoir in my church in Raleigh, North Carolina. So I've been singing a long time,\nstarting off as a tenor, and when my voice changed, I reverted to bass.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: So you say you first started out in the church choir. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=0.0,60.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"You were\nprompted to do so by your mother. What path did your singing take after that?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: After that I joined the high school choir, and that was under\nthe direction of George Vanhoy Collins, who was a graduate of Hampton Institute,\na very, very fine musician. He had been taught by a student in Hampton, who had\nbeen taught by R. Nathaniel Dett. The African American community owes R.\nNathaniel Dett a great debt of gratitude for recording the spirituals that were\nbrought into him by the young people that came from all parts of the United States.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=60.0,120.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Okay. So after high school, what?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: After high school, I went to Morehouse College, and there I\njoined the Morehouse College Glee Club. I sang in that for four years, and I was\nin the quartet for two years of that time. That was under the direction of\nKemper Harold, and he was another very fine musician.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: That was the quartet or the glee club?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: The glee club. The glee club, yeah, well, they were not, they\nwere the same thing really. If you were in the glee club, you were part of the quartet.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Okay.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Part of the quartet was part of the glee club.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Okay. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=120.0,180.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"So at what point did you find yourself in Baltimore?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: After graduation from Morehouse, I came to Baltimore looking for\na job in research. My major was chemistry, and I did not particularly want to\nteach. I was looking for a job in research. I wanted to continue singing because\nthat was my greatest hobby. So I immediately joined the church choir here at\nDouglas Memorial Community Church, and I continued singing.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: What year was that that you joined the choir?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: 1950.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Under whose direction was it at that time?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=180.0,240.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"At that time that was Mrs. Evangeline Mitchell Caswell. She\ndirected the choir. She was another good musician, but the choir needed really a\ndirector. So later on, Reverend Bascom, who was the pastor at the time, got\nSpencer Hammond, James Spencer Hammond to come and direct the church choir.\nAnother fine musician.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: What did he play?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: He played the organ and piano. He directed the church choir.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Okay. Go ahead.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=240.0,300.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Then in 1956, I joined the Great Hymns Choir under the direction\nof Daniel Rideout. Daniel L. Rideout.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: So a little more about the Great Hymns Choir. What exactly was\nthe Great Hymns Choir and who was Daniel Rideout?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Daniel Rideout was at that time secretary to Bishop Edgar Love.\nHe was a preacher, but he was also a musician. And he had gone around to various\nchurches. He was always called upon to preach at various churches, and he was\ndisturbed by the way congregations sang hymns. He decided that he would form a\nchoir that specialized only in singing hymns, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=300.0,360.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"and to demonstrate to churches and\nto church choirs that hymn singing could be beautiful. He had a very unique\nstyle of singing these hymns that made them quite exciting.\n\nI was asked to join that choir by a neighbor of mine, Mrs. Naomi Hasty, who was\nalready in the choir, and she kept prodding me to come to a rehearsal. I went to\none rehearsal, and that was held at the Sharp Street Methodist Church, and I was\nhooked from then on. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=360.0,420.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dan Rideout, whom we affectionately called Uncle Dan, was\njust a fine person and just an excellent musician.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: You said that Uncle Dan had a problem with the way that other\nchoirs sang hymns. What exactly-- maybe not necessarily a problem, but just\nmaybe he thought they weren't doing it the best way.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Well, most churches, well, churches have the problem in that in\nmany instances they do not have good musicians in the church. And they tended to\ndrag, they take forever to sing a hymn. So he always felt that the hymn singing\nshould be upbeat. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=420.0,480.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"It should be happy. And it should portray happiness rather\nthan sound like a funeral dirge.\n\nSo his technique was to accelerate the pace of the hymn, and also the words. He\nemphasized that we should get the message of the hymn over to the congregation.\nAnd that was very important. Each hymn has a message, has a definite message.\nAnd if you don't get that message across, then you're not doing your job.\n\nSo his idea was to accelerate the time of the hymns, give them more life. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=480.0,540.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"And to\nhear that choir sing was just a joy in itself.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Was the Great Hymns Choir, the techniques that was set in\nplace by Uncle Dan, was it unique in the Baltimore music scene as far as other choirs?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Yes it was because you didn't find many choirs that specialized\nin singing hymns. Most choirs sang anthems or showtunes or something like that,\nbut you didn't find many that specialized in singing hymns.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: How big was the Great Hymns Choir at its greatest point?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: About fifty members.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: And you joined in 1956.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: I joined in 1956. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=540.0,600.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The choir itself was formed by Uncle Dan in\n1954. October, 1954.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Now how did the Great Hymns Choir fit into the Baltimore music\nscene? It's clear that it was very unique, and it was the only choir that\nspecialized hymns, but was it very well known to the public?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Oh yes. Yes. It was known to churches because Uncle Dan was an\noutgoing person, and he made sure that ministers knew about this choir. He\nstarted off with Methodist Ministers, but he contacted any minister he thought\nhe could get his choir to sing. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=600.0,660.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"And he made it known that this was the Great\nHymns Choir, Baltimore's Great Hymns Choir. He was ready to sing anywhere.\n\nWe sang at large churches, at small churches, at medium size. He would take us\nanywhere that a church would allow us to come. We traveled all up and down the\neastern seaboard from Richmond, well, as far south as Richmond, but as far north\nas Boston.\n\nAnd one of our greatest programs was done at Boston University in front of a\ncongregation of Methodist musicians.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: What year was that?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=660.0,720.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I don't remember exactly, but I think it was around 1960 or '62.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: So it was in front of Methodist ministers?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Musicians.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Musicians. Musicians. I'm sorry\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Yes.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: What was it called?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: It was a just a conference of Methodist musicians.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: And how did that go? What was that like?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: It was just a convocation of Methodist musicians all over the\ncountry. You know how we Americans love to have meetings. [Laughter] And no\nmatter what the group is we have to have a meeting or a convention. This was a\nconvention of Methodist musicians. It occurred at Boston University.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Now did you sing at this convention?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Yeah, we sang. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=720.0,780.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"That was one of the spots that Uncle Dan had\nwrangled from the convention sponsors. He was not shy at all. He felt that his\nchoir was the best in the United States, and he convinced people that his choir\nwas worth listening to. So we sang at that convention, and the people were\nreally thrilled with us.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Okay, so in traveling with the Great Hymns choir you said you\nwere everywhere between Richmond and Boston. Were there any extraordinary trips\nthat stand out in your mind? And also what was that like traveling with all\nthose people? How did you travel?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: In most instances, we traveled by car in a motorcade. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=780.0,840.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Now for\nthe long trips, for Boston and to Richmond, we hired a bus, and we went on the\nbus. But most of our engagements were between Maryland, somewhere in Maryland,\nVirginia, Pennsylvania. So in that case, we would go by motorcade. We had\nseveral cars, mine being one of them. And we'd just load up people in the cars\nand take off.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: At one point your role in the Great Hymns Choir eventually\nchanged from just being a member to something more. Why don't we talk about that.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=840.0,900.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Okay. After so many years, Uncle Dan was promoted to district\nsuperintendent, and his headquarters was to be on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.\nHe went to Chestertown.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: District superintendent of the?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Of the Methodist, the Methodist Church. See he was part of the\nMethodist conference. He was made district superintendent on the Eastern Shore\nof Maryland. He had to move to Chestertown, and in so doing, it was very\ndifficult for him to come to Baltimore to rehearse the choir.\n\nWhile he was in Bishop Love's office, of course, he lived in the city, and he\nwas able to rehearse the choir at any time. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=900.0,960.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Well, our rehearsal was on Saturday\nnight. No, no it was on Thursday night. He could not break away and come to a\nrehearsal while he was in Chestertown.\n\nSo at that time, in 1965, I took over rehearsing the choir. And eventually, I\nbecame the choir's director. I'm not really a musician, but I just, I really\nused the same techniques that Uncle Dan taught us. The same techniques so that\nyou couldn't tell who was directing the choir, either myself or Uncle Dan,\nbecause we used the same kind of technique in presenting the hymns.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=960.0,1020.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Okay. Did you feel different, different at all as being, you\nknow, running the choir as opposed to when you were just a member? Did people\nlook at your differently?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: No, not really because all of us, well, we knew each other, and\nall of us had a great love for the singing of the hymns and a great love for\nUncle Dan really. So no, the attitude toward me did not change because we all\nknew each other. We were just having a good time singing. There was no problem\ncreated by my directing the hymns, the choir itself.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1020.0,1080.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"So you started directing the choir, or took over for the\nrehearsing in 1965.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Yeah.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: And then you became formal director in?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Well, I don't say the formal director. I was the substitute\ndirector. [Laughter] I was, because we still considered Uncle Dan as the real\ndirector of the choir. And unfortunately, after his retirement, there was a\nproblem of mental deterioration which you find in many brilliant people. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1080.0,1140.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"He was\na brilliant man.\n\nAnd I more or less took over the directing of the choir then. We didn't realize\nwhat was happening until in 1975 we gave a program over at the Masonic Temple,\nand it was in tribute to Uncle Dan and his many years of directing the choir.\nAnd it was on that occasion that we realized that there was certainly mental\ndeterioration there. Such that we couldn't allow him to continuing directing.\nThat's when I really, I really took over the choir.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Back to the status of the Great Hymns Choir in Baltimore. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1140.0,1200.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I\nknow that there it was unique in the Baltimore music scene.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Yes.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: In going on your trips, did you interact with other choirs\nfrom around the country? And if so, how did the Great Hymns Choir stand in\nrelation to them in terms of how good the Great Hymns Choir was, and also in\nterms of, you know, its presentation, its technical side of singing?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Well, it was Uncle Dan's purpose was to teach congregations and\nchoirs that hymn singing could, shouldn't be just an adjunct to the service. It\nshould be a major part of a church service.\n\nWe were evangelists in a sense, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1200.0,1260.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"in that we were trying to project the hymns as a\nmajor part of the service. And as we went around the country, we had a cadre of\nvery fine singers. Now Uncle Dan made sure of that. He started this choir as a\nMethodist choir, because we used the Methodist hymnal. He would go around to\nvarious churches, and when he'd hear a good voice, he would encourage that\nperson to join the choir. And that's how the choir was formed.\n\nSo that you had a choir loaded with very good singers. And they were not the run\nof the mill. The average church choir would not have many very good singers. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1260.0,1320.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"So\nhis idea was to project the hymns. As we went around, we were sort of\nevangelists telling people that hymn singing was a major portion of the service\nand should not be cast aside. Choir directors should concentrate on hymns as\nthey do concentrate on anthems. So that was our purpose.\n\nI think we got it across to choir members. We were invariably complimented after\none of our concerts.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: After one or all?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: After all of them.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: So it was pretty much well known that the Great Hymns Choir\nwas about as good as you could get.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Oh yeah.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: In the city of Baltimore.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Oh yeah.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Did any other choirs or any other singing groups fancy\nthemselves as being your equal?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1320.0,1380.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"No. There was no real competition in that area. This was our\nspecialty, and as far as we could see, nobody else tried to duplicate our\nefforts. Nobody else decided to specialize mainly in hymns. And, of course, our\nconcerts consisted, well, we would sing an anthem or two, but mainly the concert\nwas hymns right out of the Methodist Hymnal.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: So what ever became of the Great Hymns Choir?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Well, it retired. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1380.0,1440.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"And I can't tell you the year that I stopped\ndirecting the choir, but it was becoming too much of a burden on me to keep the\nchoir going.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Did you have other responsibilities at the time?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Oh yes, including this credit union. I don't remember exactly\nwhen Reverend Ridout died, the choir sang for that funeral. But it became too\nburdensome for me so I told the choir at the end of the certain season, and I\ndon't remember which season it was, that I would cease to direct the choir. And\nwe couldn't seem to get anybody to take my place to direct the choir. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1440.0,1500.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"So we just\nfaded out of existence.\n\nI still have a list of choir members which I write occasionally. And I encourage\nthem to come to hear the Morehouse Glee Club in concert.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: So you still go to those? Do you sing?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: I still sing in the church choir. Yeah. I didn't stop singing; I\njust stopped directing the choir. My greatest joy is singing in this church\nchoir, the chancel choir of the Douglas Memorial Community Church, and which,\nincidentally, has a very fine musician directing it: Mr. James Spencer Hammond.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: So the Great Hymns Choir was effectively, I guess you could\nsay disbanded.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Yes.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1500.0,1560.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Do you think that you've left a strong legacy as being not\nonly a member, but as one of the leaders of the Great Hymns Choir?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Yes. Well, I like to think so. Incidentally, we had a terrific\ndirector in, and accompanist in Audrey McCallum. And every now and then she\nencourages me to get the choir back together again.\n\nWe have had one reunion since then, since the choir dissolved, and we just had a\ngood time. Cause we came down here, we had a good time just singing hymns. It's\nreally great.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Do you ever see, do you think there could be a possibility\nthat the Great Hymns Choir could be sort of revitalized?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1560.0,1620.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Oh yes. I think so. Some of the older members still sing because\nI still sing all the. And, yeah, it could be revitalized. Preferably with a bona\nfide musician. I never pretended that I was a musician.\n\nI'm a music lover, and I took the techniques that Dan had taught us, and used\nthat with the choir, but I admittedly am not the musician that needs to direct a\nchoir like that. Spencer Hammond could do a better job of that.\n\nBut if there were younger people who were interested, and I think that there\nare. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1620.0,1680.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I think that you could effectively. You'd have to go searching for them.\nWho would make the commitment to come to a rehearsal. Even though you're just\nsinging hymns, you have to rehearse. You have to rehearse. If you can get a\ngroup of young people who are committed to that kind of thing, the choir could\nbe re-formed. Yes, I think so. It would be a good thing.\n\nHere at this church occasionally we have a hymn sing. Spencer is always trying\nto project the newer hymns. The hymns didn't stop being written when Isaac Watts\ndied. He was just one of the, well, Uncle Dan always called him the greatest\nhymn writer along with Charles Wesley.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1680.0,1740.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"But Spencer tries to project the newer hymns. And we still have hymns being\nwritten. So it would be great if such a choir could be re-formed, but I'm not\nthe one to do it.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Well, just as a side question. What are some of hymns that the\nGreat Hymns Choir was known for singing that stand out in your mind that would\nreally, that really displayed the technical skill and the uniqueness that the\nGreat Hymns Choir had instilled in it by Uncle Dan?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Well, one of our favorites was God Moves in a Mysterious Way His\nWonders to Perform. That's a Charles Wesley hymn. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1740.0,1800.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Uncle Dan, we would phrase the\nhymns so that each phrase of the hymn got the message to the audience. That was\none of his very good ones, God Moves in a Mysterious Way His Wonders to Perform.\nAnother one that he used to demonstrate that a choir could use a hymn and make\nit into an anthem was I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath, and that was a\nJohn Wesley hymn. And he was one that he recited just before he died, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1800.0,1860.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I'll\npraise my Maker While I've Breath, and when my voice is lost in death, praise\nshall employ my nobler power. My days of praise will ne'er be passed while life\nand thoughts of being last or immortality endures.\n\nThose are two of the fine hymns that we would project to the audience. And I can\nname a lot of the hymns that audiences, choirs don't, that churches don't\nordinarily sing. Well, and some of the hymns that they do sing, but drag so\nbadly. And Uncle Dan would pick them up.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1860.0,1920.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Let's see if I can think of another one. I need a book.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Okay, well, this is the last question.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Okay.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: What would you want, or what do you want the Great Hymns Choir\nin 2002 to be remembered for? What it did and what it stood for?\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: To project the importance of the hymns in the service. That was\nreally our purpose. To project the importance of hymn singing, congregational\nsinging and choir singing of the hymns. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1920.0,1980.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"That they not be dragged and dragged out\nand made into funeral dirges, but that they were happy, they should project\nhappiness to the audience. And an audience, a congregation should look forward\nto singing hymns rather than thinking of hymns as a, as just a sideline of the\nchurch service.\n\nThat hymns are as important as preaching, because they project a message to the\ncongregation. And if we did anything, if the congregations that we sang before\nremember anything about us, that would be the thing that I would hope that they\nwould remember. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=1980.0,2040.0"},{"id":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494/transcript/38493/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"That hymn singing can be beautiful, and that it is important in\na church service.\n\nBRENDAN COSTIGAN: Okay. Well, Mr. Schmoke, thank you very much for your time. It\nwas very educational and very interesting. Okay.\n\nMURRAY SCHMOKE: Okay.\n\n[END OF SESSION]","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://streaming.peabody.jhu.edu/collections/1178/collection_resources/44169/file/117494#t=2040.0,2100.0"}]}]}]}