The Spirit is Moving

Ten days after this year's summer gospel weekend I am left with two overwhelming impressions : one of musical excellence and the certainty that God was at work.

As usual the three days were exhausting (more like four days as I started the previous evening with a rehearsal for a concert Rejoice were giving on the Friday evening of the course, and on the Monday I had another late night as Rejoice organised a surprise party for Taïa Kronberg who is moving back to Denmark.) It took me the best part of a week to recover physically but also to get my ideas in order as so much had happened.

The programme of songs seemed simpler than previous years - or maybe everyone is getting better ?! And there was a return of the individual workshops seen in previous years : Urban Gospel (Fabrice Cler), Caribbean Gospel (Erwan Jan), Male Voice Choir (Wayne Ellington) and Traditional a-cappella Gospel (Colin Vassell). Each prepared two songs for the final concert and the result was excellent in each case.

I was particularly moved by the male voice choir which sang in close (and quite difficult) harmony. I would have wanted to do this workshop but obviously couldn't! Wayne did an excellent job teaching the men and building their confidence. Colin remarked to me in the concert how amazing it was that men together sounded so confident and yet when you stuck a couple of women in the choir they weren't quite as at ease. Must be a 'guy thing'! This, I think, was Wayne's point in proposing this work as a time for empowerment of men. Indeed he made an interesting speech at the beginning of his workshop's performance when he explained that God had called Man (not Woman) and that some men felt undermined by women these days. However, they shouldn't feel so as God had called Men because they were strong. It was a bit odd translating that as the only girl on the stage, even if I completely adhere to the idea. The musical result : especially the a-cappella song, was remarkable.

The Caribbean workshop was lively and included a great dance : that was a happy couple of songs. I appreciated Wayne's solo during that which spoke to me of churches across London with a Caribbean feel.

The Urban gospel was too loud (I know Les Halles has rotten acoustics but still). Even so, there was a 'rock' feel to it that got the audience moving. I was touched to see a little boy (about 8 or 9) rock 'n' rolling with his mum. It was such a touching sign of complicity to witness. This urban gospel had brought them together. Even if the words were inaudible the spirit of the music showed the audience that Christians can have a good time : something a lot of French forget, I think.

The traditional workshop sang two a-cappella songs led by Colin. He was the revelation of this workshop as Karen Gibson was unable to come this year. We did miss her but Colin was rather a success! He has an amazing, open personality which communicated so much to everyone. He was a very precise director also and so it was almost impossible to make a mistake! He taught the choir some breathing tricks (snatch breathing and stagger breathing) which allowed them to hold a note for 42 seconds during the concert : to much applause! I've been trying to explain stagger breathing to my choir for ages : maybe they'll get it better now?? Must try again. He also gave me a little solo to do which was a-cappella and VERY high! I'm not pleased with how it sounded but I did hit all the notes which was a boost to my flailing soprano confidence. Also, I was pleased to hear Kevon's compliment on finally finding my 'chest voice'. Coming from him (check out his myspace of you don't know what he sounds like) that was a compliment that'll keep me trying next year! Also my friend, Natalia Lubrano (check out her myspace too!) said she'd enjoyed my 'timbre' and wondered if we could sing something together. Fine.

Colin's workshop was marked by a very personal input as he told the choir how gospel music had helped him through the time of his mother's death and again as he went through a bout of depression. I had to kind of divorce myself from his words as I translated them as too much of it rang home for me and I'd have blubbed! He sang his favourite Kirk Franklin song "In His Hands" both just for us and again at the concert. In fact, I think he decided to sing this during the interval and phoned someone at home to find out the key so the pianist could accompany him. Olivier, the pianist rose admirably to the challenge. Even better, Wayne was about to sing a solo during the concert when another song came to him and Olivier managed to accompany that as if by telepathy! I was definitely impressed by Olivier, as a musician, but also as a young Christian. We had very interesting conversations and I was much heartened to know that young people (he's only 22) are actively Christian today.

The rest of the concert was so moving : everyone cried at some stage : the audience, the choir, the singers... Wayne was in tears at one point as he really tried to get a message across. He explained to me afterwards that he was praying for at least one person to come to Jesus and hey presto : after the concert, several did.

I have started the summary of the weekend at the end it seems but it sums up the whole period quite well. You just need to add a concert in the park by Rejoice on the Friday evening (good fun and a relaxed outdoor crowd) with an impromptu duo from Wayne and Colin going over some classic gospel songs together. Actually it was more like a dual than a duo! Also Wayne's rendition of "Total Praise" which had the café owner in tears even though she isn't a Christian. This led to a very stimulating conversation about whether certain songs are anointed. I think here it's a definite yes, but the singer is most certainly too!

On Saturday evening the open stage concert took place in the Temple Protestant (United reformed Church of France) and it was great to discover some new voices. Natalia did a great performance.

Unfortunately not enough members of Akwa-Gospel were present for us to prepare anything this year. But there was quite enough for us to hear anyway!!

There is so much I could say about these few days and yet no words can summarise the feelings that assailed me during and after it. Simply I feel priveleged to have been part of something so powerful, to have met Wayne Ellington again, Colin Vassell and Olivier, as well as members of Rejoice who I am only now, at the end of the year, coming to know. I have been priveleged to translate some important testimonies that I believe will help people redirect their lives. Mine has certainly been redirected. Thanks to all the participants and especially to Erwan Jan whose choice of theme in the songs was definitely 'inspired'.

Here are some of the comments from Akwa-Gospel (bilngual version!!)...

Deirdre writes :

Je te remercie encore de m'avoir encouragée à participer au stage il y a deux ans.

C'est un pur bonheur. C'est simple, un mois avant je trépigne d'impatience et pendant la semaine qui suit, je reste sur un petit nuage jovial et swing 24 h sur 24.

Les chants me reviennent (même les paroles, mais oui !) tout au long de la journée, pas les mêmes, cela dépend des heures. La gaîté se communique aux collègues, le "gospel attitude" est entré dans leur univers.

Que te dire, que c'est dur de redescendre, car j'ai atteint des sphères où il est bon de vivre. J'ai rencontré des chanteurs professionnels qui savent se mettre à ma portée (bon à part que je n'arrive pas glisser même pas trois mots d'anglais tellement je suis émue en face d'eux). Je n'oublierai jamais leur regard, leur écoute et ce qu'ils m'ont transmis sur scène et pendant le stage. Je me suis laissée portée presque jusqu'aux cieux.

Ces chanteurs, avec leur virtuosité et leur talent très grand ont su garder une grande simplicité. Ce sont des "humanistes" qui m'ont transportée là où je ne pensais pas arriver. J'ai beaucoup apprécié leur humour, et pour tous, j'ai senti qu'on existait individuellement, hors du groupe, et notre participation était la base d'une construction et ça c'est extraordinaire. ..

Quant à l'émotion en fin de concert, elle a été réelle et partagée de manière très pudique. Les larmes furent épongées dans la joie. C'est un moment intense qui m'a fait, une fois de plus, promettre de rester toujours optimiste et joyeuse...

L'idée d'ateliers est très bonne, cela permet de travailler en petit groupe...Et en plus le résultat de chaque atelier est génial ! On voit l'évolution du gospel et en bref tout était bien quoi ! je n'ai que des compliments et si j'étais moins timide, j'aurais été voir Wayne et je lui aurais dit qu'il est exceptionnel même si il le sait par d'autres, j'aurais été voir Colin (quelle performance de soliste et de formateur pédagogue !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) et lui aurais dit qu'il a ensoleillé nos journées, et Keaven , était vraiment à l'écoute des gens (jeunes et moins jeunes), et c'est rare aujourd'hui. Et je confirme que Fabrice ... nous a beaucoup aidées, nous les alti, il sentait (bon il a de l'oreille) quand on peinait et arrivait à notre secours, (comme Colin)...

Vraiment, j'ai vécu trois jours d'exception, d'émotions fortes, et de bonheur.

Thank you for encouraging me to take part in this course 3 years ago. It's pure joy. I'm restless with impatience for a month beforehand and the week afterwards I'm on a little cloud of 'swing' 24 hours a day...this joy gets through to my collagues and the 'gospel attitude has become part of their universe.

I met professional singers who knew how to talk to me on a level I understand...I’ll never forget how they watched and listened to us, nor what they communicated to me on stage and throughout the weekend. I was transported almost to heaven. These singers, with their virtuosity and great talent know how to hold on to their simplicity. They are “humanists” who took me to a place I didn’t expect to go. I really appreciated their humour, and for each of them I felt we existed on an individual level outside the group and that our participation was the basis of building something extraordinary...As for the emotion at the end of the concert, it was very real and shared with a great sense of modesty. Tears were wiped away in joy. It was an intense moment which made me promise once again to stay optimistic and joyful...If I wasn’t so shy I would have spoken to Wayne, and even if others have already told him this, said that he is exceptional, and to Colin (what a solo performance and what a good teacher) and said he brought sunshine to our days and Kevon really listened to people both young and not so young, which is a rare thing these days. And Fabrice helped we altos a lot and , like Colin, if he saw us struggling he came to our help.

The workshop idea was great and allowed us to work in small groups. To cap it all the result was brilliant...
I really experienced three days of strong emotion and joy.

Anna writes :

du beau, du bon, du vrai,...pour mon corps, ma tête,mon mental,mon âme...que du bonheur! du grand bonheur.

Il faut se laisser entrainer, chanter "à plein", chanter pour soi, se faire plaisir, laisser l'émotion m'envahir, puis faire passer ce trop plein à ceux et celles qui écoutent et le courant passe c'est magique!

Dans ma tête restent les gospel appris cette année mais me reviennent ceux des années précédentes, alors toutes la journée les airs s'installent et sans m'en rendre compte je chante du matin au soir (c'est quelquefois usant surtout lorsque l'on ne se souvient pas des paroles)

Tous les ans je souhaite faire découvrir à mes proches (famile, amis...) ces 3 jours de grand "décapage" je vous assure que ceux et celles qui ont participé à ces stages ne souhaitent qu'une chose c'est de recommencer. ..

je souhaite à tous de vivre ces moments de pur bonheur!

Great, true, real, beautiful joy for my body, my head my mind and my soul!

If you let yourself go and let the music speak through you to the people who have come to listen there's a magical current!

In my head I hear all the new songs I've learned this year but also the ones from previous years and I keep singing all day long : which is a bit tiresome when i can't remember the words.

Every year I want ot bring the people I love to these tree days of renewal and those who have come have onyl one thing in mind afterwards : to do it again!

I wish for everyone to experience these moments of sheer joy.

Carol writes :

J'ai eu du mal à m'endormir cette nuit! (...)

Pour ce qui est du stage , j'ai beaucoup apprécié les ateliers, je trouve que ça donne une couleur au concert. C'est vrai qu'on a eu du mal à se quitter hier soir, quel arc-en-ciel d'émotions !!! Sur la palette du rire aux larmes, on a tout fait !! On avait tous pensé à nos bouteilles et nos anti sèche, mais personne n'avait de mouchoirs !! Alors il y en avait beaucoup autour de moi qui reniflaient discrètement ( en fin aussi discrètement que possible ;)).

Colin et wayne sont extraordinaires, Fab et Kevon ont un bel avenir devant eux, ils ont des qualités pédagogiques exeptionnelles! ...Pour les techniques vocales je crois avoir progressé encore, j'arrive plus facilement à protéger ma voix avec le "twang", même si aujourd'hui je "grésillais" un peu !!!

J'ai vécu un moment très fort, je voudrais pouvoir prier plus souvent comme ça, (mais les catho sont trop coincés du c.....!!!!!) je signe tout de suite pour l'an prochain!!

Gros bisous Karen et merci à toi

I couldn't get to sleep tonight!
As for this weekend I appreciated the workshops : they gave a colour to the final concert. It was hard to say goodbye at the end. What a rainbow of emotions!!! From laughter to tears. Everyone had crib notes tucked away somewhere but no-one had thought of the handkerchiefs (I had !: Gospella) so everyone around me was sniffing as discreetly as possible!

Colin and wayne are extraordinary, Fab and Kevon have a bright future and they all have amazing pedagogical talents. I thinkI'vemade progress in voacl technique and I manage to protect my voice a bit more with the "twang" now, even if there are still a few parasites.

I experienced a powerful moment and I would like to pray like that more often but catholics are just too ‘square’! I’m signing up for next year straightaway!”

Sylvia says :

Tu peux le dire , une montagne russe d'émotions.
Comment expliquer ce frisson qui te prends des orteils jusqu'aux cheveux , cette émotion qui t'envahit lorsque tu chantes, jusquà te faire pleurer,tellement c'est fort.
Que dire de la voix des solistes qui te transporte dans un autre monde, particulièrement celle de Wayne pour moi.
Enfin voilà ,vraiment que du bonheur, que ceux qui n'y étaient pas ne peuvent pas comprendre.Le seul problème c'est qu'après on en veut encore et encore et qu'on ne voudrait pas que çà s'arrête.
Et là, quand çà s'arrête c'est le vide ,mais on chante toujours et toujours les mêmes chansons.

You can say that again : A roller coaster of emotions.
How can you explain this shiver from your toes right up to your hair, this emotion that invades you when you sing, so strongly that it makes you cry.
What can you say about soloists whose voices transport you to another dimension, particulary Wayne's as far as I'm concerned.
Indeed true joy that those who weren't there can't really understand. The only problem is that afterwards we want to go on and on and never stop.
Then everything is empty but we keep singing those same songs.

Gospella says :

I don't think there's anything to add. Did you notice how often the word "joy" was mentioned? You may draw your own conclusions but as the title of this blog implies (and I have not told you of all the many spiritual events of this weekend for myself and others as they remain private) the Spirit Is Moving!!

God bless,
Gospella

Post-poning!!

Hi all,
I have been trying to think of ways to post extracts from our February concert so that you can see how we're progressing. Unfortunately, it seems impossible to upload audio files (anyone out there know how/if it can be done??).

I have a video disc (késako??) but it needs editing : I can't possibly upload 45 minutes of other people singing! Also the films lack the beginning (and sometimes the ends!) of the songs. I don't seem to be able to edit this video disc (VCD) with Windows Movie Maker : again...anyone out there have any ideas??
I have also asked my choristers if anyone has any photos of our performance! Not a dicky bird! It's all quite disappointing. The audio files are very good and excellent quality too. I wish could attach them. The only thing I can think of doing is to give you our new (and much unused!) Myspace link to have a listen to "Help Me Find The Way".

http://www.myspace.com/akwagospel

That way you can at least have a listen. The site is pretty bare : but until I have something to pad it out I can't do much about that!

REJOICE!

The other gospel choir I sing with had a big concert last Saturday and it went very well. Despite some agitation on my part the couple of days beforehand I felt very relaxed and had a blast singing. I enjoyed myself so much (thanks notably to the excellent performances of the soloists Lurine Cato, Fab27 and Kevon as well as the detailed direction of Erwan and Taia (names unchanged for publicity purposes and because I can't think of them as 'Edward and Tina'!!!) that all throat tension seemed to disappear and I got out all those high notes I've been worried about.

Unfortunately the acoustics in the hall were appalling and the sound mix not particularly good. Once again, I couldn't really hear myself and so when I watched a video extract of the concert I heard myself quite distinctly and not really pleasantly! Ach!

The evening was full of the spirit of God. I'm sure it carried Lurine who was there despite being bereaved, and her selfless performance made the whole thing very emotional. I saw my own family members, who never get very excited about me singing usually, up on their feet and clapping their hands. I had a whale of a time. I made some mistakes but hey!

Next stop for Rejoice will be a gig all to themselves in April. Between now and then I have to learn all the back catalogue of repertoire and have my wisdom teeth removed! (Thus putting an end to my constant throat infections I hope.) Fun ahead then.

Next week, Akwa-Gospel meet again to perfect our current performance and also to start on songs for the July wedding. We need to keep learned songs fresh too as I'd like us to be able to stand alone in a concert eventually.

Love and blessings,
Gospella

Little Cabin

Well, two years after trying we have finally built our little cabin! Our concert was greeted with enthusiasm this afternoon and I must congratulate the singers for their performances.

Of course, Maureen gets a special mention for her first ever solo in Help Me Find the Way. She was really nervous but bit the bullet and did a good job. I don't quite get the mysterious faery-like quality I wanted but it was melodious.

As for the chords in the intro to Little Cabin... They were in tune but I still don't get the feeling I want from the celestial choir. This morning at rehearsal they said couldn't I just sing them their notes instead of their having to try to find them by themselves! Cheeky! That was what I wanted to do at the beginning and they refused! Ha!

It is a shame that we were so few : seven or so of our singers didn't participate today. And whilst we're on the subject of participating, the audience was pretty grey! A bit of clapping but that was it. Mind you the average agewas 60! There were less audience members than usual and less young people too. I wonder why? It's a shame because there was an excellent African group that had some of us dancing in the alleys.

Next rehearsal for Akwa-Gospel will be in March and we'll start on rehearsing the songs for the wedding we'll be singing at in July. I hope to recruit a few of the Akwaba-a singers for this to boost numbers and also as the bride is the daughter of an ex bass!

If someone has some good footage of this afternoon I'll post it here.

Bye for now.
Gospella

D-2

Well it's D-2 until our first concert of the season. Are we ready? As we'll ever be!

After the last rehearsal in December when I felt rather demoralised, I decided to share my feelings with the singers to see what they had to say. They were surprised to hear I felt that way and basically said they weren't really complaining ; they were just expressing their difficulties! They absolutely want to keep going and are enjoying themselves! Well! I guess it does to be honest about how you feel. I think (as I also told them) that I am rather unsure of myself as a choir director, not having done it before and therefore perhaps pay too much attention to their complaints.

Afterwards the rehearsal was a success. We've packed in another one since then too as we wanted to get in some extra practice before our concert on Sunday.

For the intro of "Little Cabin" we've decided to let the singers find their own chords to harmonise my solo and that works well most of the time except that they can't get the hang of the one or two 'blue' chords I wanted. Ben's going to help out there but I fear he'll be alone! We've practised this intro with the main village choir as they come in on the full version of the song (four-part harmony handed on to us by Karen Gibson - thanks, Karen. You have been credited in our concert programme!) and that goes pretty well. I've toned down the solo a bit. I decided to go for an understated, curbed sound rather than a full-throated belt, which should make a contrast with the power of the fifty-voice choir.

2 days until my own composition gets its premier! I couldn't find an alto to do the second voice on the duet of the second verse (Anne is having trouble with her voice : there has been a horrible virus going round which attacks the vocal chords and lasts for over a month) so I decided to sing that part and gave the soprano solo to Maureen. She doesn't have the Celtic lilt I wanted for the sound but she has a powerful voice and a good musical memory. Also, and this is the most important thing, she has never sung a solo in public before and when she joined the choir two years ago she told me that it was her ambition so this is my gift. I think she's quite nervous about it but I've practised with her alone and she'll be OK! The alto part is quite low for me but I don't think I'll choke!

"This Train" is still causing a few problems with the lyrics but we'll take it a bit slower and maybe we'll survive the "cigarette puffers and cigar smokers" not to mention the "hootchie-cootch shakers and Charleston prancers". They're not meant to get on that train anyway!

Step-clapping and smiling remains one of the constant challenges but I'm hoping they'll be caught up in the heat of the moment as they usually are and not caught like a rabbit in footlights!

We have a new 'costume'! Akwaba-a have new waistcoats (bright orange with an African print) and we all wear black underneath. This means that when Akwa-Gospel step forward we'll be in all black, so to relieve that I have provided goldy-green scarves for the ladies. Thanks must go to Maureen for hemming them. And sorry that the sequins melted on to her iron!!:-)

As for numbers we are pared down to the bare minimum. Six sopranos, five altos, four tenors. It's not a lot but it's quite well balanced so the sound has potential.

So "break a leg". If we get some good recordings I'll be sure to post them here.

Bye for now.

Gospella

All Good things for 2008

There are still two major reports to file before the end of 2007 (in just a few hours now!).

AKWA-GOSPEL
The first is our final rehearsal of the year which I exerienced with mixed feelings...

Our objective was to rehearse with a view to the concert in February. There were not so many people present and, as usual, latecomers ate into the rehearsal time. A couple had said they'd be unavailable, Ben was stuck in Parisian traffic again. Mary arrived after working late and in a foul mood.
After our initial stretching and vocal warm-up I decided to get everyone moving and put on a track from the WOW 2006 CD. In a semi-circle we started stepping in time and dancing a bit freestyle. The instructions were to be aware of those around you and try to get something structured going. There are a couple of dancers in our group who put the rest of us to shame but we had a lot of fun. There was always someone out of step with the rest which caused much hilarity. The goal wasn't to invent a choreography but rather to feel at ease moving about in time to the music and to create a feeling of how we look as a group. It's an exercise which was quite fun and I'm going to have them do it again.

We ran over "It's Me" as we're keeping this song in our repertoire for this year. Then we went on to "This Train". The words of this song absolutely panic the singers! They knew they'd fluffed a few words at the concert and tried to mutiny and get rid of it! I repeated my Dad's compliments for those who hadn't read their e-mail and we went through the words again : first speaking fragmented sentences, then singing them fragmented, complete but slow, and then up to speed. The progress was good but they'll need to practise those words. I'm full of hints on how to cheat the pronunciaton (I do that for a living!) and showed them which syllables to aim for if they couldn't get their tongues round them all. That seemed to calm them down a bit.

Then we went over our intro for "Little Cabin". It was a bit of a disaster. Even when I give each group their note they can't always hear it! There is one chord in particular which I love and has a dissonant quality which we may have to put under wraps for a bit! I'm rather concerned that this won't be ready for February. Basically we need to keep singing it over and over for them to get the right notes but we only have one rehearsal scheduled before the concert!

To get everyone feeling positive and leaving in a good mood I finished off by playing the WOW version of Kurt Carr's "God Great God" for those who knew it to sing along to. They did a pretty good job considering we haven't sung it for over six months. The point I was trying to make is that their memories do work and that they can achieve something complicated in English if they just make a bit of effort. It surprised some to know we'd learned it last year. Everyone was in good spirits : but they were kind of dashed to the ground by a bout of complaining from Mary about the burden of organisation of Akwaba-a events. The good humour disappeared and I went home wondering if it was worth continuing if all the singers get out of it is to complain.
Subsequently I have asked one or two of them individually if they think it's worth continuing and they say yes. I feel, however, it's going to be a long hard slog.

REJOICE
The second report doesn't concern this group but the other gospel choir I'm singing with this year as we had our first concert of the season.
It was a Christmas concert mainly for the members of the association and took place in the Protestant Church in town. The large choir (80+ singers) the Kids' choir, an a-cappella set-up and Rejoice were performing one after the other and then together. A few of Akwa-Gospel's members came along to listen and seemed to enjoy the evening.

It was minus 4°C outside and not much above in the church where we arrived at 5pm for a sound-check with the band. It's really quite strange but the sound levels are never what they are supposed to be when the concert gets going! (Audience members have commented on this several times to me.)

Anyway, there was no vocal warm-up (I had anticipated this and done mine in the car!) and the run-through of two of the songs was disastrous as no-one was directing us! Also, I was on my own in the soprano department a few times as one hadn't arrived, another had pulled out and two were singing a duo! Me and my inflamed vocal folds were left to their own devices! HELP!
When it came to the Real Thing there was absolutely no fold-back on our mikes and we were singing at the top of our lungs with no idea if we were on key or not. Obviously you unconsciously yell when you can't hear yourself and this led to a 'breakdown' for my voice in the middle of 'Total praise' where I decided it was best to mime than to sound like a cracked bell!
(I've listened to one of my friend's recording of the evening and it isn't obvious thank goodness!)

Apart from that, the evening was a good one. The atmosphere was very intimate and friendly. Technically there's progress to be made but it was an encouraging start for me, I think. Let's see what 2008 brings...

WEDDING BELLS
A final development over the Christmas Holidays has been a meeting with a young couple who want Akwa-Gospel to sing at their wedding. They wanted gospel music but didn't really know what. They said "Amazing Grace" and "Happy Day"! (A bit too trad for my taste and not in our repertoire at all.) I managed to do some hard-sell thanks to video and MP3 files on my PC of us singing "Bless The Lord" which they loved and "Because of Who You Are" for a meditative moment in the ceremony. They love the idea. I think the choir will be relieved because most of them know these two songs, although they'll need some work between now and July.
There is a little post scriptum : we're also to sing "All You Need is Love" at the exit of the church during the photos! Need to buy the music and learn that one!

Well, this brings you up to date on the end of the year and now let's look forward to more adventures in 2008.

I wish all you readers Peace and the Lord's Blessings for all you encounter in this coming year.

Gospella

The sound system!

Well, Akwa-Gospel did its 2007 'coming out'! We have our first 'gig' of the season under our belts and it was pretty OK despite appalling conditions for performance!

Last Sunday we were invited to sing along with Akwaba-a at a gathering of 360 people belonging to an association called "Hospitalité de Touraine" who organise trips to Lourdes for handicapped people. They have a day together : mass, lunch and then entertainment, of which we were a part.

We were told the schedule was tight and we had to be on stage performing at 2pm sharp and off 45 minutes later for the next singer to start. It was agreed that we'd arrive at 1pm to set up the stage as we had many instruments and a sound system to install (there are abour fifty performers in our set-up). There were also costume changes planned etc.

We arrived at 1pm as planned, on a day only ducks want to be outside (torrential rain!) only to find that the venue was chock-a-bloc with people, there was nowhere for us to leave our belongings or even stand (we spent half an hour in the toilet to keep out of the way) and particularly ... there were people having lunch on the stage! No chance of setting up the sound system then as they were still on their main course and as anyone who knows the French will see, cheese, dessert and coffee were still to come!
So we just hung out in the toilet until 2 o'clock when we made a frantic dash to set up the stage (the plinths and daïs, the speakers, the mikes, the instruments, costumes...) in ten minutes flat. Congrats to Ben for the sweat of his brow!

I spent most of my time with Akwaba-a miming, as I have very little voice. The bronchitis I had a month ago has never really gone away and my vocal folds are at least twice their normal size.
I tried to save them for the two solos I had to do.
Needless to say my solo on "Were You There" was disappointing as I couldn't get much subtlety into my voice. The choir did a pretty good job putting nuance into theirs but unfortunately it was totally lost in a place where people were chatting over coffee, walking around to go to the toilet after lunch etc.!! We followed up with "It's Me" and "This Train". These are quite lively and were appreciated (I was sweating buckets by the time I'd finished jumping about at the front as the hall was stifling!). The choir cocked up the phrases "cigarette puffers" and "hootchie cootch shakers and Charleston prancers" but the overall effect was good. The whole of Akwaba-a plus gospel singers on "I'm Gonna Wait" had great impact too.

We had to rush through our last number in which I do a jazz impro, which meant I had to come in white-hot without any build-up which is a bit rough (like my tonsils!).

Anyway, the event was appreciated by the audience who have asked us back next year (??!!?)
As Terry (who is one of our tenors and also a volunteer with this organisation) said, we brought some colour into the lives of people who really need it. In that respect it was a very successful day!

My father was in the audience as he happened to be here for the weekend. It was the first time he had seen me sing since my teens! Not a perfect performance by any means, but it gave him an idea of the service we provide for our community. He was impressed by the gospel choir and said he had no trouble understanding their English. I have passed on the compliment.
The previous evening he and I had been to see New Gospel family perform in the city. Here are a few thoughts on them.

There were 26 performers in total forming a giant semi-circle around the director who leapt around between them like a crazy thing! They were from many nations : France, Switzerland, Haïti, Guadeloupe, some African countries... The sound was a good strong one with some amazing voices. There were several different people singing the solos and they sang a mixture of Urban gospel, Traditional gospel both in English and in French. They had a lot of conviction and indeed, when it came time to bear witness, the director said they were all there from spiritual conviction too. I was particlarly impressed by one tenor who sang a couple of solos as he was technically perfect. He never missed a single beat or note! Some of the other soloists were not always on pitch, which offended my ears at first but then I got to thinking. We are too used to studio perfection these days and it would do us good to be more tuned in to the emotion behind a singer's voice rather than technical prowess! As far as emotion goes : they scored ten out of ten!

One thing that was a little disappointing was that there were no live musicians. Everything was sung to a pre-recorded backing tape, which made the whole concert rather formatted as it didn't give room for any kind of improvisation.
Despite this they did a rather long set (with interval) and kept up the energy for the whole time. They had simple but effective choreography going too. All raising a hand at the same time, or clasping each other's shoulders, or a step in the same direction. I must work on the visual effect with Akwa-Gospel. We meet on Thursday : I think I'll try to get some 'dancing' going to the WOW 2006 CD my Dad brought me back from the States!

A nice touch at the end of the New Gospel family concert was that they were all lined up to say goodbye in the foyer as the audience left. That gave a really warm feeling.

I shall spend the next few days resting my voice and then it's off for our next rehearsal. Let you know how we get on.

God bless.
Gospella

Why do we sing?

This isn't really an up-date to our activities but a reflection on some issues that have been raised by some singers about the nature of gospel music.

To me, gospel music has always been entirely indissociable from the gospel (QED!). I was brought up in a church where the musical element was a very important dimension of our worship, and although it was not 'gospel' music, the outreach element was the same. When I first realised that some people involved in gospel singing here in France didn't even know that they were preaching God's word I was shocked!

I was reluctant to pursue my singing with them as I didn't know if the integrity of the message was getting through. (This was never a judgement on the singers themselves, only about the way the music would be perceived by those listening.) Since, I have come to the conclusion (in fact I have returned to the way I thought about things in my adolescence : is it regression or progress??!!) that people sing for a variety of reasons and that God is working through all of us whether believer or not. The Bible is full of stories where He has used non-believers in His work : think of Pharoah putting Joseph in charge of all his property and inviting his family to live in the region of Egypt during the famine (Genesis 45 : 1-15); or Saul of Damascus who by his persecution of Christians and subsequent conversion was a pretty good advertisement for God! (Acts 8 : 1-3; Acts 9 : 1-22).

The question was raised again when Akwa-Gospel was deciding whether to sing for a wedding. Here are the thoughts of one of our sopranos, who is non-religious :

"If someone is a believer, the least they can do is to appreciate the diversity in the world and the people they encounter. There are so many religions, or so many other ways of perceiving our passage on this earth!
I did some soul-searching before signing up to the summer gospel course. Karen Gibson's words helped me : if you have something you can offer others, do it. You need to be aware of what you can give others (and they will return your gifts).
I think of my presence at the wedding as a gift. Singing is a gift we can offer those who can't sing or who don't dare to and who like it. If I can bring them pleasure that's all that matters...I'll praise the Lord to please them, in the same way I used to sing songs I didn't like to please my grandmother."

Gospella