Gospel is a type of religious music.
Gospel is a concept that comes from the English language. This is the name given to religious music that emerged among the African-American population in the United States .
The gospel is sung in a choral manner. The groups can have up to thirty singers, who perform compositions whose lyrics exalt Christian values .
The origins
The roots of gospel can be located in black spirituals . These Christian songs emerged at the end of the 18th century , when African American slaves adapted Protestant hymns.
The spirituals were usually based on the hardships of the first slaves who were taken from Africa to North American territory. The musical style of the immigrants merged with the Christian rites that many of them adopted, giving rise to songs that invited listeners to participate.
By incorporating more elaborate harmonies and other instrumentation, spirituals evolved into what is known as gospel. In this evolution there was a change in the lyrics, which began to focus on the figure of Jesus Christ .
Types of gospel
It is possible to differentiate between several types of gospel. Traditional gospel is considered to be that found in evangelical churches in African-American communities, with a fast rhythm , a choir that has one or more soloists, and the prominence of a Hammond organ.
Black gospel is one that is combined with rock , funk and other styles, while blues gospel is mixed with said genre. Latin gospel and southern gospel also have their distinctive characteristics.
In the churches of the American African-American community, gospel singing is often performed.
International expansion
In the 1960s , gospel landed on the European continent. Thus, countries such as Germany , Norway and Sweden began to have their choirs.
The growth of gospel worldwide had to do with great artists who performed songs of this type and even films that contributed to its popularity. Elvis Presley and Whitney Houston , for example , included gospel compositions in their repertoires.
Among the emblematic songs of gospel is “Oh Happy Day” , written and recorded by Edwin Hawkins in 1967 , although based on a hymn by Philip Doddridge from the 18th century . Joan Baez and Aretha Franklin are some of the stars who sang this song.
Gospel in Nigeria
One of the nations where gospel had the greatest impact and acceptance is Nigeria . The African country adopted it in the 1970s and has not stopped growing since then.
In the first stage, the Nigerian gospel developed in the churches . In recent years, however, several famous singers have brought gospel to many other places.
“Voices of Fire”, a Netflix hit
It is interesting to mention that there is a Netflix documentary series based on the creation of a gospel choir: “Voices of Fire” , released in 2020 .
Throughout six episodes, the story is told of the initiative taken by Bishop Ezekiel Williams , who left Hampton Roads ( Virginia ) in search of the best gospel talents to unite them into a band. In his project he had the accompaniment of his nephew, the famous singer and producer Pharrell Williams .