Up For Glastonbury

Festivalgoers at Glastonbury can take in a varied mix of performances over the weekend. Even if they were to spend the whole two days at the Pyramid Stage, they would experience the thrash metal of Metallica, the country of Dolly Parton and a staging of Akram Khan’s 'Dust' by English National Ballet.

But the festival line-up suggests there’s a whole lot more mixing going on - and not only in the DJ sets. British conductor and composer Charles Hazelwood has recruited members of Goldfrapp, Portishead, Get the Blessing and Loose Tubes for a one-off collective to recreate the music of Barry Gray, writer of the 'Thunderbirds' TV theme. Elsewhere rock and techno fans can take in a performance billed as Steve Hillage Fuses Gong and System 7.

Tomorrow (Sunday 29 June) in the Acoustic Tent, there is more mixing and matching taking place as the newly launched House Gospel Choir visits Glastonbury only a week after making its debut with a show in East London. As the choir prepared for the festival, its founder Natalie Maddix explained the concept to 'The War Cry'.

‘There’s a great tradition in house music of uplifting songs and spiritual songs without mentioning a particular religion or even the word “God”, but they’re all about believing in yourself. For instance, we’re working on a Nineties song by Barbara Tucker, “Beautiful People”, which has been sampled and used in many different ways - but if you go back to the original, you see it’s a great song about looking at the beauty inside people. So we feel there’s a natural link between that and some of the spirituals and gospel songs that we sing. It’s all uplifting.’

As well as ‘Beautiful People’ and Byron Stingily’s ‘Come On, Get Up Everybody’, the choir - made up of professional vocalists combined with enthusiastic singers who work in other jobs - has been singing gospel numbers, new and old. ‘We’re working on Kirk Franklin’s “Up Above My Head”, a great old spiritual called “Ride on, King Jesus” and another spiritual “God is Trying to Tell You Something”, which featured in the film "The Color Purple".’

Natalie says some people have commented that house music is what people hear on a Saturday night before they go to church on a Sunday and listen to gospel, but her view is that they can go together. ‘At the end of the set, we want people to feel uplifted,’ she says.

A positive message in music can uplift a listener when they take it to heart. And messages don’t come any more positive than that of gospel music. ‘Even in those times when I feel all hope is gone,’ goes the Kirk Franklin song that the choir sing, ‘Up above my head I hear joybells ringing… There must be a God somewhere.’

Gospel music reflects the message of the gospel that nothing can pull the plug on God’s love for us. Gospel says that God is trying to tell us something. And it also asks us the question: Will we put him centre stage in our lives?

UK & Ireland War Cry 28 June 2014