Program Notes | December 3, 2011 | Holiday Concert
Notes researched & written by Joan Olsson
GOSPEL MUSIC
Gospel music is written to express either personal, spiritual, or a communal belief regarding Christian life. The creation, performance, significance, and even definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. It is performed and composed for many purposes including: aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. However, the most prevalent themes of gospel music are praise, worship, and/or thanks to God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit. Generally, the music is characterized by dominant vocals which are usually enhanced by a strong use of harmonic support.
Several forms of gospel music utilize choirs, piano and/or organ, drums, bass and/or electric guitar. In contrast to standard hymns, the gospel song is expected to have a refrain and often a more syncopated rhythm.
One can find the roots of gospel music throughout the academic discipline of ethno-musicology, going back to Europe and Africa, and also through a study of the 2,000 year history of church music and rural folk music. However, for practical purposes, gospel music, as we mostly know it today, can be traced to the l8th century. Coming out of an oral tradition, gospel music typically utilizes a great deal of repetition, as a carry-over from the time when many post-Reconstruction blacks and whites were unable to read.