The Religious Affairs Office

The next session in the “Trànsits, les músiques de l’esperit” programme (Museu de la Música de Barcelona with the collaboration of #OarBCN) was a discussion entitled “The music of the evangelical churches” which took place on 23 February at the Museu de la Música de Barcelona. Taking part were Paul Ogabor, of Nigerian origin and a member of the New Covenant Church, and Didier Likeng, originally from Cameroon, a Gospel musician who grew up in the Presbyterian church and is a specialist in Negro Spirituals and a lecturer at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC). The moderator was Maria del Mar Griera, director of the Investigacions en Sociologia de la Religió (ISOR) group. On Sunday 26 February, the New Covenant Church of Barcelona opened its doors to share its music and lively Sunday service more broadly. The Church, which originated in Nigeria, is made up of a community of people of different nationalities who all want to transform their lives in line with the teachings and the word of Jesus.

On 23 February, the discussion focused on the Gospel music that would be heard at the service on Sunday 26 February at Paul Ogabor’s church, where Gospel music has a prominent role to play, but the hymns that are so important in traditional Catalan evangelical churches are never forgotten.

The discussion began with a look back at the childhood of each if the two speakers. Both Didier and Paul recalled that they had been interested in music from an early age. Paul said “as an African, you carry something inside you”.  Both come from Christian backgrounds, and related their childhood experiences with music and with the sacred. “Qualifying the style of Gospel music makes sense in Europe, but not in Africa, because there it’s linked to sonority, rhythm, and other non-European influences”, said Didier. Evangelical and Protestant churches use music to celebrate the divine. Paul went on to say that for him, as a member of the New Covenant Church, “music is food for the soul; it allows us to connect our spirit with God”.

Maria del Mar Griera continued the discussion, adding that “music creates community”. Didier agreed that this was absolutely true, affirming that “music creates a bond”, giving the example of the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, when communities of neighbours, friends and friends were united at moments where music was central. However, he pointed out that the hymns must be “sung with conviction”, as if not, they lose all meaning. Paul said “Christian music is full of hope, an expression of joy that motivates and strengthens the presence of God” within the community. It’s vital, and what’s more, “this music brings out different feelings and impacts the members of the church community in a different way”.

Returning to look at Gospel from a more historical perspective, Maria del Mar Griera, who specialises in the field, addressed this with Didier: “Gospel music was inspired by Protestantism, more specifically by Anglicanism”. It dates back to the 17th century, a time when many British slave traders preached the Protestant Christian faith in a hundred different ways, just to keep their captives submissive (“the meek shall inherit the earth”).  The slaves sang Negro Spirituals, which are popular adaptations of Gospel hymns. She then added: “Slavery was abolished in 1865, but it cannot be forgotten that people were subjected to such misery for around 200 years”. Consequently, Negro Spirituals were no longer sung, and this is where “Gospel and the praise of God appear on the scene”. “Gospel is not a musical style”, according to Didier, “it’s a timeless form of music that has always been influenced by the music of the times”. In Gospel music, styles have evolved in different ways, and different sub-genres have been created over the years, but within evangelical or Protestant Christianity (especially in the Pentecostal branch) it’s an extremely important part of the worship of God and Jesus Christ for all communities. Didier stressed that despite the influences, “the text and the messages remain unchanged”. It’s “something sacred at the service of religion”, and Gospel is now sung with a message of joy, unlike Negro Spirituals. María del Mar Griera then asked if Gospel music had continuity, if there was a common thread running through the different churches. A question that Paul answered in the same way as Didier had earlier on: “Gospel is influenced by the surrounding culture”. Despite the revival of this form of music in the 19th and 20th centuries, in all evangelical churches Gospel “conveys the same message, the same feeling, and the same joy”.

Today, evangelical churches are spaces of musical innovation and creativity. María del Mar Griera then asked: “What role does Gospel music have in such a secularised world, for example here in Catalonia?” According to Didier, “it depends on the type of church, as there are many denominations”, but it all comes down to the fact that “Christian music is one of communion, which creates community”. With his background as an expert in this kind of music, he said that “the best singer or the strongest heart is the one who has something to say”, as the church “must become a place for expressing faith; it must be a space, a community, that must move towards others”. Paul added that, despite the differences between churches, “they all have the capacity to move, and to teach”. In this secularised world, Gospel, like many other forms of music with roots in religion, can be seen as both religious and secular, and it appears that this is a relationship that can become complex and tense. According to Didier, “it’s clear that there are differences within evangelical churches”, just as there are differences within the Catholic Church, and within other religious traditions and in the way that they are expressed. As an expert musician, he commented that “you have to know what the music is for, and not so much where it comes from”. Didier said that for him, this debate between religious and secular music “is a false debate” in Gospel music. María del Mar Griera asked him, “can you sing Gospel without believing in God?”. “Yes, absolutely”, he answered, adding that he considers that “if Jesus Christ is a faithful friend for Christians, Gospel is a way of saying ‘thank you’ to a faithful friend, always with respect”. Even if you are not a believer, Gospel music “is a call to people to come together in a spirit of fraternity”.

Unlike other forms of music, the role of the body is important in Gospel, and following the abolition of slavery, Paul said that “it was a return to singing with African rhythms and movements”. Equally, heart is important for backing singers; so “if the heart is sick, the church is sick” because the church is the people, not the physical space of the building. So although the New Covenant Church now has a place of worship, its roots are in the community of people. Paul explained that the formation of this church was not planned, it was ‘born’ “by chance in 2001”, when he and his wife were visiting Barcelona. At that time they saw that there were people in need and decided to stay, because in line with their faith they felt that they should “Give hope to the hopeless, help the needy, and guide those who need guidance”. In relation to community, which is key in evangelical churches, the New Covenant Church was formed by a group of people who used to meet at a friend’s hairdresser’s. Gradually, the number of followers grew and, after moving from one place to another, they settled in their current premises in Barcelona’s Sant Andreu district. From the very beginning, there has been a group of believers who were not church professionals, a group that has remained in place receiving classes within the organisation. They don’t yet have a professional teacher, but hope that in the long run this may change. In the meantime, they are trying to ensure that members can have professional classes outside the church.

After the discussion, the traditional New Covenant Church service took place on Sunday 26 February. The church was filled to overflowing with people following the sermons and Gospel songs, the rhythms of the music, voices and the enthusiasm of the faithful.

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