Gospel music, with its roots in Sunday school hymns, camp meeting spirituals, and the melodies and harmonies of popular music is one of the major contributors to the Jazz. In Gospel music, there is usually a chanter who is a choir leader. That person must have a good voice that could carry. Although the choir sang mostly hymns, psalms, and folk songs, some of the songs they sang were used as alert songs, songs that have a double meaning referring to the Underground Railroad. In class, we watched several documentaries on gospel music, but two in particular caught my attention. First, there was the performance in Carnegie Hall by Kathleen Battle and Jessie Norman, and second there was the documentary about celebration of gospel music in the Quinn Chapel.

The concert that took place in Carnegie Hall has two main performers and a large orchestra conducted by James Levine. The two singers were Kathleen Battle and Jessie Norman. I have to say that those two singers astonished me with the power of their voice. They have distinct voices one from the other but bo

I think the reason why these two documentaries stood out in my mind is because they showcased similar type of music but in two completely different fashions. The concert in Carnegie Hall was a lot more formal than the one in the Quinn Chapel. The settings are completely different, one in New York at a renowned concert hall, one in Chicago at a historic landmark, the terminal for the Underground Railroad. The concert in Carnegie Hall seemed more organized and “controlled” whereas the one in the Quinn Chapel was open to all and the room was packed with people of all ages. Just a glimpse of the audience in both concerts could tell us which show it was. The format of the concert in Carnegie Hall seemed more structured than then one in the Quinn Chapel. In my opinion, the one that took place in Quinn Chapel was more representative of gospel music. I think this because the audience seemed more like a community than a gathering of people who came together to listen to music. Everyone was involved and they were all dancing and singing along which comes from the core of gospel music since its ancestor is African music. Both concerts had

Some topics in this essay:
Quinn Chapel, Carnegie Hall, Sweet Chariot”, Jazz Gospel, Jessie Norman, , Underground Railroad, Play Harp”, carnegie hall, quinn chapel, gospel music, Kathleen Battle, concert carnegie, concert carnegie hall, James Levine, alert songs, kathleen battle, kathleen battle jessie, jessie norman, battle jessie, celebration gospel, performance carnegie, whereas quinn chapel, battle jessie norman, gospel music roots,