Gospel music

Last Saturday the pianist and I went to a performance of Chor Leoni. They are a noted Canadian men's choir from "Olympic City" and usually sing classical music, what ever that is. The pianist says "Common practice period". I like that term better since my tastes are more eclectic, or maybe more vulgar, I'm not sure which. Whatever! We often get good musical performances at Lotus Island since our theatre is excellent and they are well attended. Chor Leoni gave a program of Gospel music that was outstanding.It got me thinking widely about Harriet Beecher Stowe and Stephen Foster, the compelling nature of Gospel music and that genre of thinking, and the ovum that is buried in Everyman that seeks to be penetrated by a chord of truth and beauty! I went away from the performance thinking that there is little or no distinction between the secular and the religious in many ways. Classical or not, Stephen Foster in his short and desperate life provided soul music that lifted his nation and struck a chord in Everyman. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a story that shocked and revolutionized an attitude that cracked barriers forever.Technically, they may not have produced so-called great literature or music but they touched the spirit. Both were criticized mightily in their life time, and Uncle Tom's Cabin was shunned, up to modern times. How would these two have known the influence they provided has lasted up to this time? When you walk away from a performance with a warm glow in your heart, and resolve for the umpteenth time, to crank up your "anima", you can celebrate both classical and classy! Religious is, as religious does!