Gospel
African American sacred music with chorus, soloists, and call and response.
What it means
Gospel is an African American sacred music sung in worship and in concerts. The name comes from the English “gospel” for the good news. Typical are a powerful chorus, solo passages, and the alternation between a lead singer and chorus, called call and response, together with a rousing rhythm and much improvisation.
Musical use
Gospel developed in the 1930s from the spirituals of African American communities, blues songs, and the church music of black churches in the United States. Thomas A. Dorsey is regarded as one of its founders, and singers such as Mahalia Jackson made the style known worldwide. Gospel strongly influenced soul, rhythm and blues, and pop music; many popular artists began in the gospel choir.
Gospel should be distinguished from the spiritual, the older sacred song often stemming from the time of slavery, and from the blues, which deals with secular themes. Gospel, by contrast, is marked by chorus, band, and joy in religious expression.
Performance practice
Sing gospel with full commitment of breath and body, clap or step the groove, and answer the lead singer in the chorus. Pay attention to shared rhythm and text, since the energy arises from the group's interplay, not from individual performance.