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In 1985 my then wife, a cultural activities enthusiast, enrolled us in The University Of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Theatre Program. When she told me the premise of Gospel At Colonus, I could barely contain my supercilious disdain. The story of Oedipus, as performed by a gospel choir, what priceless lunacy!
(Actually, I did even then have a taste for gospel music. As a choirboy, driving to our frightfully correct Episcopal Church, I listened to WDAS on the car radio, which broadcast services from The Cornerstone Baptist Church in North Philadelphia. The preaching and singing were mesmerizing. "That," I thought, "is how people should feel about their religion, that is the joy and faith and jubilation of true belief.")
We entered the Annenberg with elitist skepticism and left exalted and humbled. This was not only one of the greatest performances I've ever seen; it was one of my life's memorable moments.
When The Brooklyn Institutional Radio Choir opened full force with Live Where You Can, I felt a lump in my throat, I got goose bumps, and I immediately burst into tears. It was so exquisitely beautiful, so powerful, and so completely righteous that I went into a sensory overload. I spent the next hours in a state of rapture.
As narrator, Morgan Freeman was dignified and formal, with a rich, stentorian voice. Freeman's enunciation and delivery were impeccable, he massaged the words, listening to him was intoxicating. (In 1985 he was not yet one of our most distinguished actors, he was "that guy" on Electric Company, a PBS kid's show.)
The choir would have been enough, but as The Original Five Blind Boys From Alabama entered, (a chain of men hand to shoulder), it almost seemed that spirits were being summoned. Clarence Fountain, lead, sang with such intensity and conviction that it felt like every note might have been the last one of his life, and he wanted to give it everything he had. Jevetta Steele's voice rang out clear and pure, a wonderful counterpoint to Fountain's raw, shout delivery.
This was one of those extraordinary moments when everything comes together. The quality of the songs is superb throughout; the musicians are all exceptionally good, and the collaboration created something that is far greater than the sum of the parts - something musically enchanting and spiritually satisfying. Not to be missed.
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