Colours of Gospel is a German
gospel choir
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
that performs throughout Germany and other European countries. Established in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
in 1998, the choir is currently conducted by Collins Nyandeje.
The choir been a non-profit, non-denominational association since 2004.
Choir
The choir consists of about 70 male and female singers in four-part line-up
SATB
SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass.
Choral music
Four-part harm ...
(
Soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
, Alto,
Tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
, Bass). The members come primarily from the
Rhine-Main
The Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, often simply referred to as Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area or Rhine-Main area (German: ''Rhein-Main-Gebiet'' or ''Frankfurt/Rhein-Main'', abbreviated FRM), is the second-largest metropolitan re ...
area.
When performing, the choir optically builds a rainbow with their scarves which represents the international variety of gospel songs . The choir encourages the audiences to sing and dancing with the music.
Repertoire
Some songs are supported by
soloists from the choir. When performing, the choir is accompanied by the band "Fools of Rhythm" which consists of keyboard, guitar, bass and drums. Sometimes they are also completed by a brass ensemble. The lyrics are usually in English.
The repertoire includes traditional American gospel, Black gospel, White gospel and
Negro Spirituals
Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the e ...
that are arranged by Collins Nyandeje . The repertoire also includes Latin Gospel. This music includes the soundtrack of the movie "
The Gospel
The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...
" with songs like "He Reigns" (
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...
), "Glorious" and "Because of who you are" (
Martha Munizzi
Martha Denise Munizzi (born February 26, 1968) is an American Christian music singer, songwriter, author, and pastor.
Early years
A native of central Florida, Martha Munizzi was born into a Christian musical family. The daughter of evangelists ...
), "Friend of God" (
Israel Houghton
Israel Houghton (; born May 19, 1971) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, producer and worship leader. He is usually credited as Israel & New Breed.
Musical career
Houghton produced an album by Michael Gungor, ''Big ...
) and "You are good" (Kirk Franklin). he choir also sings European Christian choir music, called "Lobpreis (praise) and Anbetung (adoration)" ,
Highlights
* Choir tours to
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, Dijon,
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...
, Saarlouis
* Supporting act for the Jackson Singers in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
in 1998
* Active participation in the international Jazz festival "Bingen swingt"
* Television appearance in the Christmas edition of "Der fröhliche Weinberg" (The Merry Vineyard) on SWR in 2002
* Participation in the live show "''Kikania''" on the children's channel
KIKA
KiKA (contraction of ''Der KinderKAnal von ARD und ZDF'' ARD and ZDF">ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF]) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is man ...
where gospel was introduced and explained to the young audience
* Concerts in
Nierstein
Nierstein is a town belonging to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Rhein-Selz in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
Nierstein lies in Rhenish Hesse on the Rhine between Mainz and Worms. In Nierstein the F ...
/Oppenheim during "Rheinland-Pfalz-Tag" and in
Heppenheim
Heppenheim (Bergstraße) is the seat of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Bergstraße on the edge of the Odenwald. It is best known for being the birthplace of 4-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
Geography ...
during "Hessentag" 2004
* Active participation in the final ceremony on the occasion of 25 years of
ZDF television church service
* Active participation in the ecumenical opening worship of the
2006 FIFA soccer world championship in Frankfurt
* Gospel concert as contribution of
Diocese of Mainz
The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metrop ...
for "Hessentag" 2007
* 4th International Gospel Church Days in
Hannover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
2008
* Anniversary concert with
Edwin Hawkins
Edwin Reuben Hawkins (August 19, 1943 – January 15, 2018) was an American gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. He (as leader of the Edwin Hawkins S ...
in 2008
* 5th International Gospel Church Days in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
2010
* 6th International Gospel Church Days in
Dortmund
Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
2012
* 7th International Gospel Church Days in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
2014
* Support act for Stefan Gwildis on his concert tour "Alles dreht sich" in the "Alte Oper" in Frankfurt in 2016
* 8th International Gospel Church Days in
Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
2016
* 9th International Gospel Church Days in Karlsruhe 2018
* 17 years of "Mainzer Gospelnacht" in the pre-Christmas season in the
Christuskirche in Mainz
[Katharina Petermeier, ''Oh happy day''. In: ''Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz''. VRM, 10. December 2018]
Discography
* 1998: ''Precious Light''
* 2000: Studio CD: ''People get ready there's a train it's coming''
* 2003: Live recording of the anniversary concert on 8 November 2003 in the Christuskirche in Mainz: ''Gospels, Spirituals and more''
* 2009: Studio CD: ''All 4 You''
* 2013/14: Contribution to the samplers of ''Gospel - Songs Against Poverty'' (2013) und ''Hessen Gospelt!'' (2014)
References
External links
Works from and about Colours of Gospelin the catalog of "Deutsche Nationalbibliothek"
* Colours of Gospel on the website of diocese Mainz
Mainz onlineEKHN trailer as promotion for the Gospel Church Days
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colours of Gospel
German choirs
Gospel music groups
Mainz
Musical groups established in 1998