Video from KarmaTube
At Carnegie Hall, gospel singer Wintley Phipps delivers perhaps the most powerful rendition of Amazing Grace ever recorded. He says, "A lot of people don't realize that just about all Negro spirituals are written on the black notes of the piano. Probably the most famous on this slave scale was written by John Newton, who used to be the captain of a slave ship, and many believe he heard this melody that sounds very much like a West African sorrow chant. And it has a haunting, haunting plaintive quality to it that reaches past your arrogance, past your pride, and it speaks to that part of you that's in bondage. And we feel it. We feel it. It's just one of the most amazing melodies in all of human history." After sharing the noteworthy history of the song, Mr. Phipps delivers a stirring performance that brings the audience to its feet!(Source)
This is not only a powerful rendition of one of the most beautiful hymns in gospel music, it is a music history course as well. Wintley Phipps does a masterful job & the audience is transfixed by his delivery. Every religion I have read about has its dark spots and bright spots. What I love most about the Christian tradition is the expressive love & joy of its faithful followers, especially in the sphere of music.
Lest we forget the trajectory of how this country (the United States) came to be, it is always good to revisit the past in order to make sense of what is going on today. This country was built on the blood, sweat & tears of slaves under the most cruel, dehumanizing circumstances. It is truly a miracle that out of this bloomed the most beautiful music that the world has ever heard.Most of the music we hear today is rooted in the style, rhythm and soul of the enslaved Africans. Plantation owners thought the singing helped the slaves to be more productive. so they allowed it. Unbeknownst to them, their singing & hums were plaintive cries of an unbroken spirit, yearning for relief, praying for freedom.
Although they came from different regions & understood little of each others language, customs, etc, the enslaved were able to channel their emotions/spirits through song/chant. Even when the white missionaries attempted to break them by corrupting the Christian faith for the purposes of nation-building, the slaves creatively worked around this by morphing the church hymns they were taught into their native chanting rhythms--out of this came the first American music, the Negro Spiritual.This led to the Blues, Jazz, Rock, R&B, Pop, Hip Hop & Modern Gospel (which has brought the evolution of American music full circle back to the Negro spirituals) We owe an incalculable debt to the unbroken spirit of the enslaved, chanting for release...Knowing this history allows us to experience the fullness of our humanity & connectedness. Wintley Phipps aptly demonstrated this point in the above clip.
Cnntinuing along the theme of music which expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent (Victor Hugo), the movie Amistad had some brilliant moments that seemed to capture what it must have been like for our dehumanized brothers & sisters. A few scenes, like the journey through the Middle Passage and the court scene left a powerful visual impression on many, especially on the descendents of the African slaves. The score to this movie was equally as impressive in resurrecting ancient memories of our collective unconscious..the psychic wounds still run deep....Take a listen & join me in honoring the spirits of our ancestors...
OneLove
:::MME:::
This is not only a powerful rendition of one of the most beautiful hymns in gospel music, it is a music history course as well. Wintley Phipps does a masterful job & the audience is transfixed by his delivery. Every religion I have read about has its dark spots and bright spots. What I love most about the Christian tradition is the expressive love & joy of its faithful followers, especially in the sphere of music.
Lest we forget the trajectory of how this country (the United States) came to be, it is always good to revisit the past in order to make sense of what is going on today. This country was built on the blood, sweat & tears of slaves under the most cruel, dehumanizing circumstances. It is truly a miracle that out of this bloomed the most beautiful music that the world has ever heard.Most of the music we hear today is rooted in the style, rhythm and soul of the enslaved Africans. Plantation owners thought the singing helped the slaves to be more productive. so they allowed it. Unbeknownst to them, their singing & hums were plaintive cries of an unbroken spirit, yearning for relief, praying for freedom.
Although they came from different regions & understood little of each others language, customs, etc, the enslaved were able to channel their emotions/spirits through song/chant. Even when the white missionaries attempted to break them by corrupting the Christian faith for the purposes of nation-building, the slaves creatively worked around this by morphing the church hymns they were taught into their native chanting rhythms--out of this came the first American music, the Negro Spiritual.This led to the Blues, Jazz, Rock, R&B, Pop, Hip Hop & Modern Gospel (which has brought the evolution of American music full circle back to the Negro spirituals) We owe an incalculable debt to the unbroken spirit of the enslaved, chanting for release...Knowing this history allows us to experience the fullness of our humanity & connectedness. Wintley Phipps aptly demonstrated this point in the above clip.
Cnntinuing along the theme of music which expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent (Victor Hugo), the movie Amistad had some brilliant moments that seemed to capture what it must have been like for our dehumanized brothers & sisters. A few scenes, like the journey through the Middle Passage and the court scene left a powerful visual impression on many, especially on the descendents of the African slaves. The score to this movie was equally as impressive in resurrecting ancient memories of our collective unconscious..the psychic wounds still run deep....Take a listen & join me in honoring the spirits of our ancestors...
OneLove
:::MME:::
