Shekinah Glory MinistrySurrender (DVD)
Kingdom Records
By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog
In director Joel Kapity’s hands, the DVD companion to Shekinah Glory Ministry’s 2012 CD release, Surrender, is not the standard gospel video: it’s a motion picture. Going beyond the typical treatment, Kapity turns the colorful nuances of the Shekinah Glory Ministry live recording session into something that could be considered a music documentary.
And there are many nuances. Those familiar with SGM know it is a kaleidoscopic praise pageant produced by a cast of dozens, including singers, musicians, psalmists, minstrels, banner-wavers, praise dancers, and kara (whirlers). So much of it is captured on Surrender that a non-believer would be excused if he were at first intimidated by the largesse of the ceremony.
What especially distinguishes this DVD from other gospel videos is the camera’s fixation on close ups of audience members as well as the musical performers. From tear-stained faces and bodies pitched forward or bowed down during such dramatic songs as “Champion” and “Broken,” or the joyous holy steppers party that erupted during “By Faith,” Kapity illustrates the multi-faceted impact of the worship experience on both cast and audience.
The dramatic and poignant performance of “Broken” by Chicago gospel singer Kim Stratton is alone worth the price of the DVD. Where Stratton’s single, “Favor Ain’t Fair” was playful, “Broken” is brutally honest, the soul seeking spiritual renewal by exposing its rawness to earth and heaven. By the song’s conclusion, praise dancers lead a handful of emotion-filled participants to the altar where they prostrate themselves.
Although Apostle H. Daniel Wilson is the pastor of Valley Kingdom Ministries in Oak Forest, Illinois, the church SGM calls home and where the live recording took place, music minster Phil Tarver is the omnipresent force propelling the program forward through its emotional highs and lows. Daniel Weatherspoon’s music production is top-notch, as always.
Truth be told, if SGM and Kapity skillfully interspersed some of the behind the scenes bonus footage with the program itself, and edited the entire work from its 2:35 running time to just over two hours, Surrender could well become modern gospel’s equivalent of The Song Remains the Same, Peter Clifton and Joel Massot’s 1976 epic depiction of heavy metal masters Led Zeppelin touring at their peak. This is Shekinah Glory Ministry at its peak and unveiled in all of its radiance.
Five of Five Stars
Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.
Visit Today : 360
This Month : 9181