Music Notes 3-8-26

The Brooklyn Tabernacle is a non-denominational, multi-cultural church in the heart of

downtown Brooklyn that began as a small congregation worshiping in a rundown building, and

has grown into a congregation of over 16,000. The husband and wife team of Pastor Jim

Cymbala and music director Carol Cymbala took over leadership of the 30 member congregation

in 1971. By the 1980’s, the church had grown enough to purchase the 1383-seat Carlton Theatre

and convert it into their sanctuary. By 2002, they had outgrown that facility and purchased

Loew’s Metropolitan Theatre, a former vaudeville theatre, and renovated it into a state-of-the-art,

3,200-seat worship facility. The choir began with just 9 members in 1971 and grew with the

church. Carol Cymbala began writing music for the choir, and they recorded their first album in

the 1980’s. Now numbering over 280 members, their music is sung all over the world, and they

sang at the 2013 inauguration of President Obama. The song Revival In The Land was written in

1983 by Renee Morris and was recorded for the 1989 album Live…Again.

Bridge Over Troubled Water was composed by Paul Simon in 1969 and came to him so quickly

that he frequently asked himself “Where did that come from?” Simon told his partner, Art

Garfunkel, that he should sing it alone “in a white, choir-boy style”, but added a harmony later

on in the piece. Despite rumors that the 3 rd verse “Sail on, silvergirl” referred to a drug user’s

hypodermic needle, it was actually about Simon’s then-wife, Peggy Harper, discovering her first

grey hairs. It was ultimately one of the last things they ever recorded together, and as their

relationship was unraveling, Simon often regretted giving the solo to Art. “He felt I should have

done it, and many times on a stage, though, when I'd be sitting off to the side and Larry Knechtel

would be playing the piano and Artie would be singing "Bridge", people would stomp and cheer

when it was over, and I would think, "That's my song, man..."

Dan Schutte is one of the most renowned of the contemporary composers in the Catholic world

and is one of the founding members of the St. Louis Jesuits, who popularized a contemporary

style of church music set to sacred texts sung in English. This was a result of the Second Vatican

Council of the early 1960’s (also known as Vatican II), which revamped and reformed the

Catholic liturgy in an effort to bring it closer to the people (before that, the mass was sung in

Latin and the priest kept his back to the congregation throughout). He is based in San Francisco,

has written over 120 popular hymns and mass settings, and continues to be one of the most

influential figures in the world of contemporary Catholic liturgical music. His most famous

composition is Here I Am, Lord, based on texts from Isaiah and Samuel. Despite its Catholic

origins, it is found in most Protestant hymnals and has been translated into over 20 different

languages. In 2008, a survey conducted by the United Methodist Church found it to be 2 nd

favorite after Amazing Grace.

Hailing from Marietta, Georgia, Third Day is a Christian rock band formed at YMCA Camp

High Harbour in 1991 by high-schoolers Mac Powell and Mark Lee. The name Third Day is a

reference to Jesus’ resurrection on the third day after crucifixion. Over the years, like most

bands, they had several different musicians playing with them and released their first

independent album, Long Time Forgotten, in 1994. In 1995, they signed a contract with Reunion

Records and released their second album Third Day in 1996. That year they were nominated for

a Dove Award for New Artist of the Year and their video Consuming Fire won a Billboard Music

Award for Best Christian Video. In 2004, they released their seventh album Wire, toured the U.S.

and Europe, collaborated on Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ, played at the

Republican National Convention and were featured on 60 Minutes. Their hit single, Soul On

Fire, is from their album Soul On Fire of 2014, and spent 19 weeks on the Billboard charts,

peaking at No. 2 on Hot Christian Songs and No. 3 on Christian Digital Songs.

Andraé Edward Crouch, a Los Angeles native, has been referred to as “the father of modern

gospel music” by contemporary Christian and gospel music professionals. Known for his

compositions The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power, My Tribute (To God Be the Glory) - which he

told me had been recorded 2500 times - and this week’s closing song, Soon and Very Soon, he

was also known for his collaborative work during the 1980s and 1990s with Stevie Wonder,

Elton John and Quincy Jones, as well as conducting choirs that sang on the Michael Jackson hit

"Man in the Mirror" and Madonna's "Like a Prayer". Crouch was noted for his talent of

incorporating contemporary secular music styles into the gospel music he grew up with. His

efforts in this area helped pave the way for early American contemporary Christian music during

the 1960s and 1970s. His original musical arrangements were heard in the movies The Color

Purple and The Lion King, and in the NBC television show Amen. His awards and honors

include 7 Grammy Awards, induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1998 and a star on

the Hollywood Walk of Fame. After his father's death in 1994, Crouch and his twin sister Sandra

took over the shared duty of senior pastor at the church his parents founded, Christ Memorial

Church of God in Christ in Pacoima. I first met Andraé when we performed on the 1993

Grammy Awards ceremonies together. He was part of the team that had produced The Messiah,

a Soulful Celebration (a gospel adaptation of 16 of the pieces from the Messiah), which was up

for a Grammy for best gospel album. We were both singing with the choir that performed a

hybrid version of the Hallelujah Chorus for the show, and during rehearsals we talked at length

about the piece. He asked, “I wonder what Handel would have thought about what we did to his

music?” I told him “I think he would have loved it. He was always ripping off his own music

for other uses, but I think he would have loved the idea that someone could have taken his music

and made it relevant and meaningful to a whole new generation, culture and race of people.” I

still think that. Sadly, we lost him in January of 2015.