Monday, August 31, 2020

"The Storm Is Passing Over", "Beams Of Heaven" And Three Other YouTube Videos Of Gospel Songs Composed By Rev. Charles Albert Tindley

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - January 1, 2022

This pancocojams post provides one video each of  five hymns composed by African American composer Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley (July 7, 1851 – July 26, 1933).The embedded videos showcase the following songs that were composed by Charles Albert Tindley: The Storm Is Passing Over", "Beams 
Of Heaven", "I'll Over Come", "Stand By Me", and "We'll Understand It Better By And By".

The lyrics for these examples are different than the lyrics that Charles Albert Tindley composed and their arrangements are also different from Tindley's original arrangement.

The composition dates and some other information about these songs are included in this post along with links to the most widely used contemporary lyrics for these songs.

I consider most of these contemporary versions of the songs showcased in this post to be "gospelized hymns", a term I coined for hymns that are performed in a (usually) African American Gospel style.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/08/excerpts-about-rev-charles-albert.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Online Excerpts About Rev. Charles Albert Tindley, Pastor, Social Activist, & Composer Who Is Known As "The Grandfather Of African American Gospel" American".


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The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All coyprights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Charles Albert Tinley for his religious and cultural legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS 

Video #1: Detroit Mass Choir - The Storm Is Passing Over



Detroit Mass Choir sings the Donald Vails classic The Storm Is Passing Over
-snip-

From https://hymnary.org/text/courage_my_soul_and_let_us_journey_on?sort=date
"The storm is passing over" was originally published as a hymn in Charles Tindley's Soul Echoes (1905). It did not gain significant popularity until it was adapted as a gospel choir arrangement by Donald Vails, as recorded on his albums In Deep Water (1976) and Yesterday, Today, and Forever (1985). This arrangement has largely superceded Tindley's original hymn in terms of usage and performance."

-snip-
"The Storm Is Passing Over" is also known as "Encourage My Soul".Click https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/storm-is-passing-over for the information about this song, including its original lyrics. Here's an excerpt from that article: 
..." Origins. This hymn by Charles Albert Tindley (1851–1933) was first published in his collection Soul Echoes (1905 | 2nd ed. shown in Fig. 1). Like many classic hymns, including Tindley’s “We’ll understand it better by and by” or Horatio Spafford’s “It is well with my soul,” this text draws on the imagery of storm and sea, especially the biblical account of Jesus calming the sea in Matthew 8:23-27. The musical arrangement in the original printing was by one of Tindley’s close collaborators, Francis A. Clark, otherwise known at the time as Professor F.A. Clark. The fourth stanza appeals to a heavenly rest from all storms.

Adaptation. This hymn is known to modern worshipers in a very different form, an adaptation by Donald Vails for the Donald Vails Choraleers, published on his album In Deep Water (Savoy Records SL-14421, 1976 | Fig 2). The song was also included on his album Yesterday, Today, and Forever (Sound of Gospel, 1985 | Fig. 2). For his arrangement, Vails only used the words of the first stanza and the refrain, and he rewrote the melody. This is the version of the hymn which is most often performed by choirs and appears in modern hymnals, such as the African American Heritage Hymnal (2001). "
-snip-
Notice that the choir sings "Encourage my soul". In my experience that is how that line is usually sung nowadays by African Americans. However, Charles Albert Tindley wrote "O courage my soul" and I've also read that some people sing "Take courage my soul."


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Video #2: 
Beams Of Heaven [sound file]


Clara Ward - TopicJan 11, 2019


[...]

1980 Universal Music Enterprises, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
-snip-
Charles Albert Tindley composed "Beams Of Heaven" in 1905.
Click https://hymnary.org/text/beams_of_heaven_as_i_go for Tindley's original lyrics and additional information about this song.


Also, click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPRQcVWIts0 for a sound file of "Beams Of Heaven" that showcases an choral arrangement of this song by Rev. James Cleveland.  

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Video #3: 
I'll Overcome


Annie Pvageau, June 30, 2015

Annie Pavageau and the Morning Star Choir ℗ 1995 Southland Records

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Video #4: 
(When the storms of life are raging) Lord Stand By Me



INneedofablessing, Jue 30, 2015-snip-
"Stand By Me" was composed by Charles Albert Tindley in 1905. Click 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_by_Me_(Charles_Albert_Tindley_songfor the original lyrics for that song and more information about that song, including this quote "The song of the same name by Ben E. King draws on Tindley's song. The song has been sung in Tindley's original gospel form by various artists including Bob Dylan"... 


Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTd2ylacYNU for a remastered 1961 video of Ben E. King singing his version of the R&B song "Stand By Me".

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Video #5: 
We'll Understand It Better By And By - The Famous Davis Sisters



CTPannell Traditional Gospel Music, May 16, 2009

 How Sweet It Was: The Sights and Sounds of Gospel's Golden Age
(CD + DVD) Combo Original Release Date: April 20, 2010 A best of the best compilation covering a span of over 40 years. Compiled by Gospel music expert Anthony Heilbut, this exciting multi-facted package offers great film of Gospel icons as well as many all-time classic music tracks. The 26 track CD covers the period of the 1940s through the 1960s and features many all time greats such as: Mahalia Jackson, Rosetta Tharpe, Marion Williams, Swan Silvertones, Clara Ward, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, Soul Stirrers, Dixie Hummingbirds and much more including 9 previusly unissued performances. The DVD, also 26 tracks, features a comparable all-star lineup (filmed in the early 1960s) including: James Cleveland, Alex Bradford, Rosetta Tharpe, Marion Williams, Soul Stirrers, Sensational Nightingales and many more. A 32-page booklet includes biographical notes, a Gospel music history overview (both written by Anthony Heilbut) and many rare period photos.
-snip- "We'll Understand It Better By And By" was composed by Charles Albert Tindley in 1905. Click https://hymnary.org/text/we_are_often_tossed_and_driven_on_the for the original lyrics for this song. ****
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1 comment:

  1. I presented the song "The Storm Is Passing Over" first in this post only because this is one of my favorite Gospel songs.

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