When conductor and IN UNISON Chorus director Kevin McBeth described a particular work that the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra would be performing as part of their annual “Lift Every Voice” Black History Month concert, his description summed up the entire evening’s musical experience.
“In ‘Everytime I Feel the Spirit,’ I feel like [Adolphus] Hailstork decided that he wanted to put everything he possibly could into this arrangement,” McBeth said.
The selection featured a classical orchestral introduction, but as the strings and woodwinds floated, they transitioned to the tempo of a jubilee chorus. There was a booming crescendo, but for the finale of the piece Hailstork opted for an understated homage to the blues.
And in his arrangement of “Kum Ba Yah,” Hailstork – who McBeth refers to as “one of the deans of Black American composers” – he gives the instrumentation of the spiritual a jazzy undertone.
A merging of sounds as homage to the diversity and genius within Black music was a theme of sorts for the performance – which featured Grammy winning gospel artist BeBe Winans – as IN UNISON dives into its 30th anniversary.
“If there is such a thing as a royal family of gospel, I think we have the prince here tonight,” McBeth said of this year’s featured artist. For the past four decades, the Winans name has been synonymous with the genre. When Kirk Franklin was still in elementary school, BeBe’s older brothers Carvin, Marvin, Michael and Ronald – known collectively as The Winans – were blazing trails by blurring the lines between gospel and R&B. The message of the music was rooted in the Word. But contemporary music arrangements with smooth R&B vocals – and collaborations with the likes of Teddy Riley and Anita Baker – had them as likely to be seen on BET’s “Video Soul” as they were on “Bobby Jones Gospel.”
Soon after, BeBe and sister CeCe Winans with their easy listening gospel became a mainstay on the urban adult contemporary charts through hits like “Addictive Love” and “Lost Without You” to name a few. By the mid-1990s, they had both launched successful solo careers.
BeBe’s performance with SLSO and IN UNISON started and ended on an autobiographical note.
“The Winans name might be familiar, but our families are similar,” he sang while performing “Book of Life.” “When you see your name in the lights above, it doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t have love.”
He then jumped into a familiar classic from another gospel music dynasty that made its way to the R&B and pop charts – “Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.
The foot tapping and handclapping typical of a storefront church permeated through the Stifel Theatre.
“Bring it on down. Bring it on down – we don’t want to scare the people,” He said jokingly. “It was a nice day. It was a really, really nice day.”
But then he found himself getting happy.
“It was the kind of day that gets me excited,” BeBe said. “I’m not scared to talk about Jesus.”
The second half of the performance kicked off with a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” in its entirety. It continued with “Oh Freedom,” another Hailstork orchestration. Hearing the string section pay homage to the call and response characteristic often found in Negro spirituals gave a new perspective to the practice and shed light on the musical ingenuity found within the genre’s origins.
IN UNISON tapped into the Diaspora with “Tshotsholoza,” which is considered by some to be the South African equivalent to “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Tenor Johnny Gillings, Jr. gave the intensity and sense of optimism that the song requires during his solo.
“Hallelujah, You’re Worthy to Be Praised” had the audience on its feet. And Jennifer L. Kelley almost had them laid out in the aisles when she sang “It’s Working” with the type of anointing that compels a shout and an accompanying “ugly cry.”
The mood was instantly lightened with IN UNISON’s take on the Bill Withers soul classic “Lovely Day.”
BeBe Winans returned to the stage to close out the show with a trio of his solo hits, including “He’s A Mighty God” and “Teach Me.” On the latter selection he asked the crowd to participate – and they eagerly accepted.
He thanked McBeth for finally getting him to agree to be a featured soloist for the concert that is a highlight of the region’s Black History Month programming – and has featured some of the biggest names in music. By the time he closed the show with “Born For This,” he was asking to be invited back.
“I just love St. Louis,” BeBe said. “Me and my sister CeCe – and the Winans – St. Louis has always put your arms around us and we want to say thank you for that support all through the years.”
