WASHINGTON (RNS) —The interplay between song and sermon — and the importance of both in Black churches — is the focus of a new docuseries created by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.“Gospel” premieres on PBS stations on Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 12 and 13) and is preceded by a related concert that premieres this week on Friday on public television.
“Gospel and preaching go hand in hand, flip sides of the manner in which we sound the word of God through these two sublimely majestic art forms,” Gates said in remarks at a late January preview event that showcased clips from two of the four episodes that will air over the two days.
Gates, a Harvard professor known for his “Finding Your Roots” program and creator of the book and docuseries “The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song,” noted that gospel emanates from a variety of styles of music — such as the blues, R&B and soul — but as an overall genre has stood the test of time.
“Gospel is the resonant, living repository of our people’s rich spiritual past,” he told an interracial crowd that gathered at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church to hear him speak, view the clips and listen to musicians perform hits recorded by Walter Hawkins, Richard Smallwood and The Clark Sisters.
Dionne Warwick in “Gospel.” (Photo courtesy PBS)
Singer Dionne W …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
“Gospel and preaching go hand in hand, flip sides of the manner in which we sound the word of God through these two sublimely majestic art forms,” Gates said in remarks at a late January preview event that showcased clips from two of the four episodes that will air over the two days.
Gates, a Harvard professor known for his “Finding Your Roots” program and creator of the book and docuseries “The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song,” noted that gospel emanates from a variety of styles of music — such as the blues, R&B and soul — but as an overall genre has stood the test of time.
“Gospel is the resonant, living repository of our people’s rich spiritual past,” he told an interracial crowd that gathered at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church to hear him speak, view the clips and listen to musicians perform hits recorded by Walter Hawkins, Richard Smallwood and The Clark Sisters.
Dionne Warwick in “Gospel.” (Photo courtesy PBS)
Singer Dionne W …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]