Negro Spirituals and other less-known songs in the Spiritual style tell the Christmas story

16 MP3 Songs
SPIRITUAL: Traditional Gospel, SPIRITUAL: Spirituals



Details:
Spring 2007
Greetings Friends and Supporters!

Well, here we are! It really is true that time flies when you are having fun! When the late Rev. Gil Lloyd and his wife, Doris, asked me to assemble a non-denominational group of singers to present an opening-night concert for the International Association of Ministers' Wives and Widows' convention in 1987, it didn't occur to me that the group would still be performing twenty years later.

Along the way we have traveled from Bellingham to Portland and throughout the Puget Sound. We have shared the stage with wonderful groups like the Concord Choir of Portland, the CSL: Choir of Light, the Everett Chorale, Les Chanticleer, the Seattle Choral Company, the Seattle Peace Chorus, the Seattle Jazz Orchestra, the Shades of Praise, S.T.A.N.D., and the Vladimer Chamber Chorus from Russia. We have produced two original multi-dimensional programs, one sacred ("Easter Revisited") and one secular ("Lovin' and Leavinâ").

We have been privileged to bring great composer/arrangers such as Roland Carter, the late Moses Hogan, and Robert L. Morris to Seattle and to present concerts of their works. We have presented concerts of the early masters such as H.T. Burleigh and Jester Hairston and featured works by Jackie Hairston and Undine Smith Moore.

However, our crowning achievement to date has been the recording of two compact discs, "Faith" and "The Gift: Love, Part 1." 1st Corinthians 13:13 says "And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." From this scripture evolved a recording project that offers a unique collection of Negro Spirituals and art songs that will eventually be in five discs. "Faith" provides uplifting Spirituals to calm the spirit in these tumultuous times. "The Gift: Love, Part 1" is based on the Christmas theme: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. "The Gift: Love, Part 2" will present a collection of Spirituals based on the Easter theme: the Son loved us so much that He gave His life as a ransom for our sins. Commercial time! This ongoing project needs your financial support. The Sound self-produced the first two recordings. Please contact us for further information about how you can help us continue on this mission.

Well, enough from me. I am so excited and looking forward to seeing you at the Benaroya on June 23rd. Our good friend, Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock fame, will join us again as she did for our tenth and fifteenth anniversary celebrations. The evening promises to be exhilarating with an original work based on the writings and sayings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., composed by Dr. Barnwell, highlights from The Soundâs career, and our one-of-a-kind workshop choir experience directed by Ysaye which is open this year to all singers.

Through the years, The Sound has performed many benefit concerts for numerous organizations and causes including feeding the hungry in King County and assisting a clinic supporting Katrina survivors in Shaw, Mississippi. This year, a percentage of the proceeds from our anniversary celebration will go to New Horizons, a local ministry that addresses the needs of homeless teenagers. You will find more information about them in this newsletter.

To God be the glory for the things He has done. Juan