Need an authentic gospel choir

[sedohr]

Hi

I am doing a gospel album this year and I´d like to have a real gospel choir to back up the solo singers. I guess it would make sense to go south where gospel music as we know it was born.

Do you guys know of any choirs that does stuff like that and an engineer that has some experience in these matters ?

There is a little twist to it, the album will not be in english, so some time will be spent on learning how to pronounce the words!!

Thanks,
Kalli

[dbbubba]

My good friend and ex-intern got a Grammy nomination woirking with Kirk Franklin.
He works in Dallas, TX at Luminous Sound (which is a beautiful facilty.)
He could help you.

Teaching a southern gospel choir another language is gonna' be a bitch!
You'll waste a lot of time.

What type of choir do you want?
Black southern gospel.
Pentecostal white folk?
They differ.

Danny Brown

[sedohr]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

My good friend and ex-intern got a Grammy nomination woirking with Kirk Franklin.
He works in Dallas, TX at Luminous Sound (which is a beautiful facilty.)
He could help you.

Teaching a southern gospel choir another language is gonna' be a bitch!
You'll waste a lot of time.

What type of choir do you want?
Black southern gospel.
Pentecostal white folk?
They differ.

Danny Brown

Hi Danny

Yes I guess it will be painstaking to teach a choir a new language. I´m gonna arrange it with that in mind, lots of mmms and aahhhs. But I am afraid that some words have to be sung as well.

I want to get a black southern gospel choir. Back to the roots-style. None of that fancy Cmaj#11 chords and a 6 string slap bass. Just the basics.

BTW checked out the Luminous Sound website, looks beautiful!!

Kalli

[macr0w]

Originally Posted by sedohr

Hi Danny

Yes I guess it will be painstaking to teach a choir a new language. I´m gonna arrange it with that in mind, lots of mmms and aahhhs. But I am afraid that some words have to be sung as well.

I want to get a black southern gospel choir. Back to the roots-style. None of that fancy Cmaj#11 chords and a 6 string slap bass. Just the basics.

BTW checked out the Luminous Sound website, looks beautiful!!

Kalli

I know this is probably not much help but, black southern baptist choirs sing in their native language for the most part. Which would be southern american english. I seriously doubt you will get a whole choir to learn a new language unless you have really deep pockets.

[balaperdida]

Alternatively, why not create a choir of talented, big-voiced Icelandic friends, listen to a lot of gospel music to study its nuances, and record that ? Myself, I'd rather hear an Icelandic interpretation of gospel than some real-deal southern methodists mispronuncing one of the most complicated declensive languages on earth.

If nothing else, you'll save some $$$.

[dbbubba]

Having recorded choirs over the years I'll tell you this...

Black Gospel choirs are more of a colection of individualks or solists that are all singing together.
There is a discipline involved, but it isn't like a traditional choir.

Part of the charm is that everybody is doing there own thing.
They all have vibrato going where a traditional choir sings in straight tones.

Also, the women in black choirs sing with a different tone than other choirs.
It is a more nasal, midrange tone.
All of these factors add together to give the classic sound that you describe.

Also, you'd probebly never get them to sing in another language.
It is a fairly loose arrangement of people and it'd be a real challenge!

They work on feel. BIG time.

Danny Brown

[sedohr]

hmmm yes. I have a few times faked a gospel choir with a few good singers with a lot of vibrato and belting it out. We have a decent gospel choir over here as well. But what we lack are those big, black voices and feel. It´s a sound you wont get any other way.

But you guys may be right. It may be impossible to have them singing in icelandic. Even if I´d write it out like this: hey - r hymn-ah-smith-uhr

and it wouldn´t be gospelish enough to have them only singing aaaah- oooooh- aaahhh...



Shame because it would have been a fun trip. I´m always looking for excuse to travel, I went to Bratislava last year to record an orchestra..

thanks for your replies

Kalli

[Royal T.]

Hi, I'm new to this Forum.Well,I'm from Africa.Born and raised in Monrovia,Liberia where we have have 16 languages.I also lived in Accra,Ghana for 4yrs and thaught music in different languages.(choirs and groups to be exact).When I came to the USA in the year 2000,I was hired by a Church to teach both traditional,classical and gospel in some of my african languages and english.The Choir did very well with the pronounciation on the words.The African songs sounded good.You have to really know what you are doing as the director who is teaching the song.You must first know how to pronounce the words(right).I personially don't give them the sheet(lyrics).COPY HEAD IS BETTER THAN COPY BOOK.I 'll have my own copy at the piano. .I'll say the words and then have them to write it the way they'll hear it.I will also inteprete the words to them in english.When they have learned the song then,i'll give them the original copies.That's my little trick on how to get any singer to learn a song in another language.15 minutes to get the lyrics and 15 minutes to learn the song.2 days per song.2 songs in 2 days.Keep refining.Thanks.Any more questions Email me @ www.printecia4@yahoo.com. P.S. I know that you are poasting for a choir but I just thought that my little trick will help.