Morehouse Glee Club Concert

Music lover that I am I have a deep appreciation for most musical instruments, but am particularly fond of the piano. I have even learned to appreciate the bagpipe, after learning that it was intended to be played outdoors (they had a bagpipe player once in church playing "Amazing Grace" and I almost jumped out of my skin), and even the much-maligned accordian. However, over the years I've come to the conclusion that there is no finer instrument than the human voice.

So I was really looking forward to last Saturday's concert - the Morehouse Glee Club was making another appearance at New Hope Baptist Church. I didn't see them the last time they were here but heard rave reviews from people who had seen them. I got there about 10 minutes before the concert was to start so had to sit in the balcony, because there were 1,200 people there! The concert was a fund raiser for the Alphonse Robinson African American Music Association, so it appeared to be a successful concert for them.

I was talking to the people around me and they came in so quickly and quietly that I was startled - there were about 40 African American young men dressed to the nines in tuxedos - multi-hued, from bald to dreads, and beautiful to behold. But when they opened their mouths and started singing I was floored. The voices were so pure and crisp that it seemed almost fake. Almost every song was sung a capella; some with a piano accompaniment. I felt myself tear up a couple of times, so that's one of my measures of good music - for it me it means I'm actually feeling the music as well as hearing it.

After an intermission the young men came back (quickly and precisely, almost militaristic) in sports coats and ties. The Quartet performed and had the audience in the palm of their hands with their hilarious (and skillful) performance poking fun at the black church. Then the choir reassembled themselves and pulled out bongo and conga drums and tambourines for a rousing performance of "Betehelemu," sung in Yoruba, with precision clapping (in the air) that is hard to describe, but let me just stay that I had to struggle to stay in my seat. Check out the video I found on YouTube of them performing this song at Spellman during the Christmas Holidays:



This song earned them a standing ovation. After another African-inspired song with drums, the rest of the second half was dedicated to traditional spiritual music and we were treated to several breathtaking solos. After their performance each young man stated his name, class and major (quickly and precisely, probably only taking four minutes or so), then all the Morehouse alumni were invited down to sing the Morehouse Song. It made me puff up with pride to see all those unbelievably talented, accomplished and smart young men keeping the tradition of the Morehouse Glee Club alive. So, if you are lucky enough to have them come through your city you owe it to yourself to see their performance. Or go to their webhouse to learn more about them and purchase a CD:

http://www.mcgclub.com/

Also, check out the story on CBS.com today about Morehouse's first white Valedictorian:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/15/national/main4098548.shtml