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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

BLACK PIANO KEYS

At Carnegie Hall, gospel singer Wintley Phipps delivered perhaps the most powerful rendition of "Amazing Grace" ever recorded. He said, "A lot of people don't realize that just about all Negro spirituals are written on the black notes of the piano. Probably the most famous on this scale was written by John Newton, who used to be the captain of a slave ship, and many believe he heard this melody coming from the bowels of his ship because it sounds very much like a West African sorrow chant and although it is not technically a spiritual, it has such a haunting, haunting plaintive quality to it that reaches past your arrogance, past your pride, and it speaks to that part of you that's in bondage. And we feel it; we feel it! It's just one of the most amazing melodies in all of human history."

After sharing the noteworthy history of the song, Mr. Phipps delivered a stirring performance that brought the audience to its feet!


Video from KarmaTube

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I didn't know that about black piano keys!