Gospel music is a wonder of the world, a combination of authentic Spirit-filled praise, artistic greatness and sheer musical emotion. Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir is committed to creating contemporary gospel of the highest standard and performing it as widely as possible, especially in the places where gospel’s power to raise the human spirit is most needed. For more information, visit soulsanctuarygospel.com.
With Gospel Evensong our aim is to fill the beautiful liturgy of evensong, the Anglican church’s “warm bath after a tiring day”, with the best of contemporary gospel music. The hymns and anthems are replaced with contemporary gospel classics. Psalms are sung using our own “gospel psalm tones”, and as for scripture, over a band underlay a solo singer speaks and sings the readings of the day, whose meaning and message is unpacked in a new and powerful way. The prayers, responses and canticles always sung in evensong have been replaced with original choral gospel settings by our band leader Peter Yarde Martin.
Concerts are ticketed events in which the best of mass-appeal gospel music is offered to the widest possible audience, usually with a theme. Our Christmas concert at St Martin’s is a family favourite and a seasonal fixture of joy and good cheer – our most recent, in December 2023, featured Mel Giedroyc in her 1960’s Blue Peter persona, building Advent crowns from tinsel and coat hangers with audience members. Another regular is our “History of Gospel” concert in which, with music and spoken word, we take the audience from Afro-American Spirituals to 21st Century Urban in one hour.
Finally, our Creative events, the best example of which happened in January this year: “The Love That Moves The Stars”, a musical dramatisation of the Epiphany with script written and read by Frank Cottrell Boyce, and featuring original “sung/spoken scripture” and song settings alongside “standards” from the contemporary gospel canon. This piece is the third of a three-part Christmas Trilogy, all parts of which were premiered at St Martin’s, and all of which will performed together sometime soon!
