Style Guide-Gospel & Religious
Gospel, or "religious" a cappella CDs all focus on songs from the Christian faith, but they vary a great deal stylistically.
Early black gospel spawned doo-wop and rock & roll and shares roots with barbershop - it is impassioned, soulful music with relatively simple, mostly aural arrangements that have lots of call and response and basic harmonies.
Southern (white) gospel is a bit more modern but still traditional sounding - and often featuring a very low bass in the most popular groups.
Contemporary Christian music adds pop/rock styling to often evangelical lyrics.
Other types of music based on Christian themes and texts include sacred choral music and African-American spirituals. Both of these tend to be associated with "classical" singers so these CDs can be found in the classical section.
Gospel groups tend to be all-male but a few womens and mixed groups have been recorded.
Popular groups include Acappella, GLAD and Take 6.
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