Charleston singers keep spiritual, oral traditions alive

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, South Carolina | Sun Oct 2, 2011 8:22pm EDT

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - At an historic African American Episcopal Church in Charleston, the Mt. Zion Spiritual Singers keep alive a century-old tradition -- singing unpublished Negro spirituals passed down orally and accompanied only by hand clapping and foot stomping.

"We call it the Charleston clap," Alphonso Brown, leader of the 18-member group, told an audience during a recent performance for a festival of African American culture. "It's an art form."

Brown said he formed the group more than a decade ago after hearing a performance by the local, mostly white, Society for the Preservation of Spirituals.

"They were so good, it made me mad," he said with a grin. A music educator and organist, he also owns and operates Gullah Tours, a tour company focusing on the history of black Charleston residents.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/03/us-spirituals-idUSTRE79202020111003

Some Gullah Gospel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OlIIGfzvbw

Thanks for posting, and may I just say--Hallelujah! Seems appropriate somehow.

Blessings