A New Spirit
April 19, 2003: 7 PM, Bodek Lounge at Houston Hall, New Spirit of Penn Gospel Choir
Upon entering the hall, I was amazed to find myself the only Asian, in a sea of African-American faces. I was shocked, yes, but not so ill prepared for such an occurrence. After all, it was this quiet fear of standing out, or being out of place, that prevented me from coming last semester. I was told by one of my good friends early in the year that there was � to my surprise � a relatively new gospel choir, founded in 1998, that had broad support in the African-American community at Penn. The group was called New Spirit of Penn and retained a membership of mostly Christian African-Americans, while maintaining close connections with West Philadelphia churches. This was intriguing because there were few specific cultural groups that focused on one musical style in particular, and even fewer that actively promoted religion at the same time.
Personally, I am quite knowledgeable about what would be termed the African diaspora, both from the pop culture symbols that pop up on MTV and BET and from conversing with members of the urban black community. However, I would not stretch this to cover all the values and ideals inherent in African-American expression, and so, did not want to become a poser � a very derogatory term for those attempting, but failing, to promote a sense of familiarity and ownership. I find it very understandable that there should exist a strong drive to protect and reclaim a cultural style, for after all, some African-American musical styles, such as rap, hip hop and R&B, have spread such that all nationalities identify with them.
So, upon deciding to come to the concert on this Saturday evening, I found myself a little nervous at being the only representative of my race. Sure, there were a few Caucasians in attendance, but they sat quietly at the back, not participating in the rowdy dancing and clapping attending every song that was sung. I felt that I had built up the courage to be there and so I deserved to enjoy the concert for myself. I ended up clapping, shouting and rocking to the rhythm really close to the front. Though I was constantly aware of being watched, the irresistible nature of the music itself and the constant energy of the performers allowed me to feel comfortable getting into the spirit of things.
The performance was held in a lounge/hall that seemed to be set up similar to how a church service would be arranged. The seats were in rows with a split in the middle leading to the �nave�. The concert itself seemed to be more of a celebration of God rather than just a showcase for their songs; the inclusion of blessings, mini-sermons, testimonials and references to the fact that it was Easter the next day pointed to a greater religious basis. I could easily picture this concert placed in the little Baptist churches farther in West Philly instead of the sterile and orderly atmosphere of Houston Hall. Like a real church service, their concert included input from members of the community (the audience) and other leaders that would have some expertise to share. They had invited a minister to help conduct a message and blessing and another, more experienced gospel group to deliver a more physical act to break up the music sets.
The group consisted of a leader/music arranger who conducted most of the numbers, singers in all four voice parts (some of the tenor roles were taken by women), a pianist, guitarist and drummer. The musicians made up the accompaniment and the melodies were consistently taken by the chorus. Frequently, the countermelody or secondary melody would be taken up by a soloist. By some strange arrangement, the soloist was often a man who was not actually a member of the group but served in a ministerial capacity to some community in West Philly. (There are also a few Caucasian members who weren�t present at the performance. I found their non-presence puzzling; however, I think they joined the group for a novelty item to be listed on their resume.) A constant feature of gospel music in general and at the concert were the consistent percussive rhythms and repetition of the verse-chorus cycle until the conductor decided that it was time to stop. Usually, this was when the audience tired of clapping and dancing, and so the conductor would signal the band to start ending the number. The performance lasted around 150 minutes even though there were only 10 songs scheduled; the mini-sermons and the extended repetitions of the songs stretched the length of the concert out. It was surprising that most people stayed right through until the end, even though the concert was so long.
On numbers such as �What Manner of Man Is This?�, �Jesus Saved You�, and �To the Cross�, the conductor told audience members the words and instructed them to sing along. Unlike most concerts, gospel events are loud, energetic and very participatory. In fact, without audience involvement, the concert would have been very slow indeed. Some of the songs used were original, but mostly they were adaptations of songs written for Baptist choirs in the early 20th century and arrangements of slave spirituals used for makeshift religious services in the plantations. Their usage of these songs continues a tradition that has remained consistent for decades, save for improvements in instruments used to accompany. Their skillful performance was able to remind the audience that there was a long tradition behind the music and that they were well equipped to continue the tradition as an extremely competent and versatile musical group at the university.
After the advent of blues and jazz, the traditional church began to accept the use of such brash and energetic music in the choir stands where previously it had been banned for being devil music. After the appearance of rock and roll, gospel finally became a mainstay of the African-American church. Currently, with the support of major record companies, gospel music has spread out of the confines of the church and into the general population where it has become wildly popular. Much of its popularity has to do with the message it brings and its utilization of catchy rhythms. Since gospel music is supposed to be spreading just that � gospel � it has been used as a method of praise and of conversion, by telling others about the streets and how God can help out. Its similarity to other African-American musical styles has allowed it to be adopted and respected by the whole African-American community.
Throughout the performance, what showed on the faces of the performers and the audience (both young and old) were pure joy. Everyone was standing up and swaying heavily to the rhythm in the aisles and at their seats, with frequent Hallelujah and Amen interjections, and at times there was much singing along and clapping to complement what the performers were doing onstage. The choir was allowed more freedom in movement and appeared to be dancing and moving to the beat in a very intense but appropriate manner. The audience appreciated all of the energy that was being put into the motions and gave a round of applause for every worthy effort in singing or dancing. While other repertory might allow for similar amounts of audience participation, it is on a much different level, as the kinds of response would differ tremendously. In a popular music concert, moshers could do their thing, but seated audiences dancing in the aisles would not appear cool. At a folk concert, or even when more mellow songs are playing at a popular concert, a certain type of swaying and rhythmic response is acceptable, as is clapping, but not at the level acceptable at a gospel concert.
I really enjoyed watching the New Spirit of Penn perform. Not only was I able to listen to a good performance of music I hadn�t been able to listen to in a while, I was allowed the opportunity to participate in the music. The fact that I was a little out of place didn�t really detract from an enjoyment of the concert. Their usage of the concert as a quasi-religious service only served to bolster the effect of the message they were trying to spread in their songs. Singing about God seemed to be very appropriate when matched with personal testimonials and messages from preachers used to the fluid atmosphere of an urban audience. I think that their skillful performance earned them the right to be a representative of gospel music at Penn, as one of the few African-American performance groups on campus.