by NoMoreHustle 34 Replies latest jw friends
I remember in the 60's when there were live orchestras at the circuit assemblies with a live chior..................but they was all white folks with no harmonising so didn't sound a patch on this chior.
Then the 12"LP records came along with a recorded orchestra which was ok I suppose, then the plonky piano recordings came along & the demise of enjoying singing to big ole J.
Well I realized after I left they were just like any other religion out there! Here's proof! No difference!
Singing a song makes does not make them any different from what they really are.
It's only 'amazing' if one has never seen the real thing.
Wanna see a real gospel chior? This will have your hairs standing up.
A congregation I was assigned to in the late 60s had a brother who would play piano at the Meetings, only thing was he was self-taught and the only thing he knew was Rag Time jazz, so all of our songs were sung to Rag Time rhythms. Fun though.
I knew elders that freaked when anyone sang harmony, nothing but the melody line allowed even though the old songbooks had all 4 lines of music and even had words for some of the harmony lines.
No live orchestras anymore, just recorded stuff. Why a live chorus, trying to prove they are no different than Babylon the Great? All that time practicing as a group could have been spent going door to door.
Now THAT was classy! And it was more appropriate for a JW place of worship (bearing in mind the past JW mindset about 'entertainment' and music in the KH, etc.).
It's sad in a way: a factor in prompting me to join a 'worldly' choir before fully leaving was the new songbook which ruined many of the older songs and where the pre-recorded piano arrangements had become so bland, so robotic. These Indianapolis guys breathe life and passion into the songs. The sad thing is, this is likely a one-off.
Blondie says she remembers the time many decades ago when the older songbooks had SATB notation to allow bringing more color and depth to the songs. But they cut that out and it has long been one of the deficiencies in JW services - taking a pride in the music, using it creatively and expressively to stir the soul, and having the songs sung well or led by a choir.
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As an aside, there's a recent and interesting article on JW music and its development over the years:
THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES’ CHANGING HYMNODY
by George D. Chryssides, University of Birmingham UK
A paper presented at the CESNUR 2013
Dis-Member: Singing a song makes does not make them any different from what they really are
Let's remember that all of this entertainment is for the International Conventions, a very special event in JW Land that comes around only once every few years. When the conventions are completed it'll be business as usual for JWs, i.e. back to the grind of the boring-as-hell routine that is WT-dom.
Do not look for this summer's 'partay' to become a regular feature in WT activities.
See what happens if a congregation in Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis or Texas attempts to have a concert/dance/choir in the Kingdom Hall that is not sanctioned by the GB after the conventions are over !
They got to do something to take care of peoples social needs
AMAZING!! I have sat in that assembly hall too many times to count, and could never imagine ANYTHING like that going on there!!
BTW: The Assembly Hall in Indianapolis is a very beautiful building. There was a fire there in the mid 80's so they were able to do some remodeling (The Hall is a historical site which prevents them from doing too many changes). There used to be a lot of granite throughout the lobby. It has since been carpeted over, but it is really a beautiful building inside and out. Its for sale too.
Not bad for amateurs. The recording quality is pretty poor so it makes it hard to really hear the quality of the performers, but the person conducting obviously knows what he is doing and the ensemble sounds well rehearsed. In fact, I'd venture to say that 90% of what makes this performance compelling is the result of the conductor's arranging, rehearsing technique and conducting. He is impressive indeed.
Now if only the GB would end disfellowshipping, shunning, the ban on blood transfusions and their 18th century mores on women and homosexuality we'd have a religion that might be worth belonging to.
Sadly, a couple of songs do not change the fact that it's still a cult.
The Church of Latter Day Saints has the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and I won't be joining up with them.
Now if only the GB would end disfellowshipping, shunning, the ban on blood transfusions and their 18th century mores on women and homosexuality we'd have a religion that might be worth belonging to.
Is that all it would really take for you? Does the fact that none of anything they do or say or teach is based on truth not bother you?
