Wednesday, May 19, 2010

I know I've been changed



Not exactly Gregorian, but....

(I'm thinking that more gospel music will start showing up here in the future, in fact; it's not that far away from chant, after all.)

8 comments:

bgeorge77 said...

YES! Thank you, I was beginning to feel like I was the only one who saw the connection here.

raphael said...

I love your blog.
I had a few nerdy questions to ask you about your blog- is there a contact email somewhere? I couldnt find it.

bls said...

No, but feel free to ask any questions you like....

Enoch said...

I like this song, "I know I've been changed." I hadn't thought of it before, but I can see that there is a connection with chant.

Many years ago, before my conversion to Catholicsm, I sang in a gospel choir at a Protestant church (here in the U.S.) We only sang the old African-American gospel songs (Negro spirituals), and it was a lot of fun, and the songs were lovely.

bls said...

I love gospel! Here's another great one from the Staples, BTW:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Laxd4r_mEaU

Enoch said...

bls,

I wasn't able to access the other Staples video; the link said that the video wasn't available. If you can provide the name of the song, I can do a search for it. Thanks!

I'd like to also mention that Willie Ruff, an African American professor of music at Yale University, thinks that gospel music here in the U.S. has its roots in Scotland, and more specifically, in the Western Isles of Scotland. His views are a bit controversial, but his research shows a similarity between gospel and psalm singing (seinn na salm) from the Protestant Islands in the Western Isles.

So I'm wondering if psalm singing on the Protestant Islands (Lewis, North Uist, Harris) has, for its roots, Latin chant from before the Reformation.

here's a link to Prof. Ruff's story:

http://www.metafilter.com/68085/Gaelic-Psalm-Singing

bls said...

Enoch, I was just able to see it. Maybe if you to refreshed your browser - or used another one? I use Firefox.

The song is called "Sit Down Servant." It's great!

Thanks for the link. It's interesting what you say about Scotland! My choir just sang James MacMillan's "A new song" - (here's a lovely version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkUbqeIOHqU) and our choirmaster said that the six-note runs are related to Scottish folk singing, too....

Enoch said...

bls,

I did find the song, and it's excellent - the harmonies of their voices blend together so well. I found another Staple Singers song called, "Be careful of the stones you throw." It's a good one, too..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1jGF-6bFpI&feature=related

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