Bishop Larry D. Trotter & Sweet Holy Spirit Combined Choirs: I Still Believe (DVD)

Bishop Larry D. Trotter & the Sweet Holy Spirit Combined Choirs
I Still Believe
Utopia Music Group/Tyscot Records 2009
www.tyscot.com

Bishop Larry D. Trotter’s Sweet Holy Spirit Church on Chicago’s southeast side has a warehouse-sized sanctuary, ideal for big gospel programs and recordings, such as the Bishop’s cathartic recent release, I Still Believe, produced by the effervescent VaShawn Mitchell and Rick Robinson.

The dozens who form the intergenerational combined choir look splendid in their dapper dark suits and boutonnières as they bounce with the music and sing full-throated Chicago-style. The audience is intergenerational as well, with young children and seniors enjoying the taping equally.

The contrast between the spacious worship room and the thin, diminutive Bishop Trotter is striking on video, but the angel of the house is as energetic as he is fragile, especially during the extended “Praise Break,” when he holy dances with the same intensity as the choir and congregation. Incidentally, the cameras focus on the feet of some praise breakers whose movements are nearly as complex as those of the Nicholas Brothers.

Most, but not all, of the songs from the companion CD are featured on the DVD. Big numbers, such as “When You Praise,” “Oh Taste and See” and the title track are included, as is Bishop Trotter’s angst-filled personal testimony. He chronicles foreclosures, separation and divorce, and illness as among the travails he has endured recently. Comparisons to the Biblical figure of Job are appropriate.

Bonus features include a sermon by Bishop Trotter and an interview conducted by Stellar Award-winning artist Donald Lawrence, though the interview suffers from hollow-sounding audio; the listener has to strain to hear the conversation, a dramatic difference from the DVD’s otherwise crystal-clear production.

What also would have made the DVD even better was if it included all of the songs from the CD and posted song titles during the introduction to each vignette. Identification of the soloists who played a significant role in the performance would have been equally helpful. Still, the videography and audio are high-quality and make for an enjoyable experience.

Three of Five Stars