By BERNADETTE RAE
Ask Allen Bailey if the Harlem Gospel Choir is now more show business than church business and the answer from the man who founded the group 30 years ago, is loud and clear.
"Praise the Lord!" he bellows all the way from New York. "We don't think of ourselves as entertainers - we are missionaries, first and foremost, and ministers for Christ!"
When Bailey first recruited members of Harlem churches for his choir in 1970, he was inspired by Dr Martin Luther King's ideal of "bringing people together and giving something back."
And the choir still holds close to that ideal. It is, says Bailey, "the godly thing to do."
Today the Harlem Gospel Choir expresses that principle by promoting children's charities in response to expenses-paid invitations.
The sale of CDs and records pays the wages of its 40 fulltime singers, who travel 320,000 km and perform their inspirational blend of traditional and modern black gospel and jazz at about 200 concerts each year.
A 20-strong group of Harlem Gospel Choir singers will perform in Auckland and Wellington this week before appearing at the Otago Festival of the Arts.
Over the past 10 years the choir has sung at the celebration of Nelson Mandela's release from prison, held at New York's Yankee Stadium, and at the performance for Pope John Paul II in Central Park.
They have toured the United States with the Chieftans, appeared with U2 in their movie Rattle and Hum, sung in a Unicef concert in Japan and in cathedrals throughout Sicily. And they make an annual pilgrimage to Italy to share their gospel music during the Christmas season.
But their roots are never forgotten. "When Black folks are depressed, they can't afford to go to the psychiatrist," says Bailey. "They go to church instead and receive all that faith and praise poured out from the pastor, the congregation, the local people."
He describes the rousing, foot-stomping and hand-clapping music as "feeling the Spirit - an indescribable sensation and a direct blessing from Jesus Christ."
Ask the people from Takapuna who journeyed to Harlem two weeks ago, he advises.
Every Sunday, Harlem opens its churches for the Harlem Spirituals, and the tourists flock in from all over the world. The Takapuna tour group, Bailey says, were "jumping up and down, praising the Lord and singing right along."
He is not surprised that people respond so readily to the music, the atmosphere and the big-hearted Harlem people but he does wonder how people from all over the world seem to know the words.
While the traditional songs, like Oh Happy Day and When the Saints Go Marching In form the core of the Harlem Gospel Choir's repertoire, they also write new songs, though the message remains the same.
Gospel music is rooted in the old field and work songs, but derives its form from the call and response exchange between the preacher and congregation in African-American churches. Allen Bailey's 30 years in the music industry include periods working with the Commodores, Michael Jackson and Prince.
"I can't sing. I have no musical talent," he says. "I just pull the strings."
He roars with laughter and confesses he is excited because he is waiting to sign the final papers which will give the Harlem Gospel Choir its own building in the heart of Harlem. "It is amazing what happens when you work for the Lord," he guffaws.Bernadette Rae
*The Harlem Gospel Choir perform at Holy Trinity Cathedral on Wednesday and Thursday.
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