Gospel Choir of the Year (2/2) Songs of Praise

Last week, six amateur gospel choirs sang with all their heart and soul

at the Town Hall here in Birmingham.

Today, they perform again, before one of them

wins the very first Songs of Praise Gospel Choir Competition.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I'd like to welcome you to this wonderful venue right in the centre

of Birmingham for this second part of our gospel music competition.

The so-called "Father of Gospel Music," Thomas Dorsey,

once said, "If it doesn't lift you, it's not gospel."

And I'm sure these six amateur choirs will do their very best

to lift you and the trophy.

We have, from London, Faith Works.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From Nottingham, Hope Community Gospel Choir.

From Nottingham, Hope Community Gospel Choir.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From Birmingham, Birmingham Community Gospel Choir.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From Preston, One Voice Community Choir.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From Dagenham, Fountain of Praise.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And also from Birmingham, it's the Town Hall Gospel Choir.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

This week, the choirs will sing a gospel song of their choice.

Watching, and more importantly, listening, will be our expert judges

who are singer and songwriter, the fabulous Ruby Turner.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The founder of the London Community Gospel Choir,

it's the Reverend Bazil Meade.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And TV presenter, vocal coach, MOBO Award winner

and wonderful wife and mother, it's Carrie Grant!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Right, our first choir is about to sing, but before they do,

here's a reminder of how they got on last week.

# This, this is my story... #

We're going to give it our very best.

We've rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed.

Colin has absolutely hammered it into us.

Our song this time is Jesus Paid It All.

There's a bit of a twist in it.

Town Hall Gospel Choir always likes a bit of a twist.

# I hear the Saviour say

# Thy strength indeed is small

# Child of weakness

# Watch and pray, ooh

# Find in Me

# Thine all in all

# Jesus paid it all

# All to Him I owe

# Whoa, whoa

# Sin had left a crimson stain

# Jesus washed me white as snow

# Jesus paid it all

# All to Him I owe

# Whoa, whoa

# Sin had left a crimson stain

# Jesus washed me white as snow

# Whoa, whoa

# He washed me

# Jesus washed me

# He washed me

# I'm so glad He washed me

# He washed me

# Jesus washed me

# He washed me

# I'm so glad He washed me

# Sin had left a crimson stain

# Jesus washed me

# I'm so glad He washed me

# Jesus washed me

# With His blood He washed me

# Jesus washed me

# While He Wash-wash-wash, wash-wash-washed

# Wash-wash, wash-wash-washed

# Wash-washed Jesus washed me

# I'm so glad He washed me

# Jesus washed me

# With His blood He washed me

# Jesus washed me

# White as snow

# Oo-oo-ooh. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Town Hall Gospel Choir!

Ruby, I've got to go first to the vocal gymnastics.

What did you think of that?

Absolute knockout! Absolute knockout!

Dynamic, uplifting, just wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

Thank you so much, that was great!

Bazil, did they sound to you like they meant what they sang?

Absolutely, that performance had everything in it.

The dynamics were beautiful, the vocal control,

moving from the soft palette to the gusto sound was just brilliant.

And once they kicked off into that canon at the end there,

that was just off the hook, as I say.

Carrie, how does this compare with their performance last week?

This is what I wanted to see from you guys.

You have taken it out of the box,

absolutely living in the moment, and it absolutely connected.

It was intelligent, you understand the genre.

Faultless, for me.

Wow. And thank you, Birmingham Town Hall Choir!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

We can run it again. We can do it one more time.

It was purely inspirational.

Town Hall Gospel Choir?

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Time now for our second choir, from Dagenham.

It's Fountain of Praise.

# So I cherish the old ragged cross... #

Well, I think the fact that we are a church choir,

and that we do praise and worship every week, so we've got that

passion and I think that hopefully should stand out.

THEY SING SCALES

This week we're going to sing Blessed Assurance.

Fantastic song, and I believe strongly that's a winning song.

# Blessed assurance

# Jesus is mine

# O what a foretaste

# Of glory divine

# Heir of salvation

# Purchase of God

# Born of His Spirit

# Washed in His blood

# Blessed assurance

# Jesus is mine

# O what a foretaste

# Of glory, glory divine

# I'm an heir of salvation

# Purchase of God

# Born of His Spirit

# Washed in His blood

# This is my story

# This is my song

# Praising my Saviour

# All the day long

# This is my story

# This is my song

# Praising my Saviour

# All the day long

# Oh, what a blessed assurance

# Oh, what a blessed assurance

# Oh, what a blessed assurance

# This is my song # Oh, what a blessed assurance

# This is my story

# This is my story

# This is my song

# Praising my Saviour

# All the day long. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Fountain of Praise!

Carrie, did the song choice work for you?

What I loved most of all was the beginning section,

the unison singing was beautiful.

It was tight, the blending was good, it snapped, it was lovely.

Just the whole sound was beautiful. Wow.

Ruby, they said this was their story.

How well did they tell it for you?

They told that story very, very well. Wonderful presentation.

Joyful singing. You know, very entertaining. Thank you. Great.

As founder of one of Britain's premier gospel choirs,

how far have this choir got to go before they reach that professional standard?

They haven't got far to go at all, Dave.

I think they're showing great discipline in terms of working

with their conductor. And so, yeah, they just keep working at it

and aim to improve on every area of your performance.

Fountain of Praise, thank you.

Another great performance, guys. It was brilliant!

How did you guys find it? Fantastic!

The judges understood we were really telling our story. We're not singing for the sake of it,

we're also spreading a message.

Next up, it's the turn of One Voice Community Choir from Preston.

# Every knee shall bow. #

For me, this is more than just music. It's part of my faith.

This time, we're going to sing Kumbayah - Come By Here.

The song is very powerful because it means that no matter

what you're going through in life,

God is going to be there to help you.

# Kumbayah, oh Lord, kumbayah

# Kumbayah, oh Lord, kumbayah

# Oh, Lord, kumbayah

# Oh, Lord, kumbayah

# Oh, Lord, kumbayah

# Oh, Lo-o-o-o-ord, kumbayah

# Oh, Lord, kumbayah

# Somebody needs you, Lord, kumbayah

# I've been praying for such a long time

# Praying for some peace of mind

# Here I am, Lord, my heart and my soul

# Praying for you to take control

# Come by here, good Lord

# Come by here

# Come by here, good Lord

# Come by here

# Come by here, good Lord

# Come by here

# Oh, Lord, come by here

# Come by here, good Lord

# I'm praying I'm praying

# Come by here

# Praying

# Come by here

# I'm praying I'm praying

# Come by here

# Oh, Lord, come by here

# Come by here, good Lord

# I'm praying I'm praying

# Come by here

# Praying

# Come by here

# I'm praying I'm praying

The One Voice Community Choir!

With Tyndale on lead vocals!

Bazil, really familiar song - what did you make of the interpretation?

I must say, this choir is the surprise of the night.

CHEERING

I just... I love the arrangement. It's one that I recognise.

And looking at the whole group...

I'm looking at some of the individuals up there, and they are so into it.

That is what it's all about.

APPLAUSE Lovely. I enjoyed that very much.

Carrie, One Voice - one song, one chance to get it right. Did they?

This is the choir that I most want to join.

CHEERING I just think you have so much energy.

I was like, "I need to spot a weak one." There's no weak ones!

Every one of you is just giving 100%,

and that energy is so joyful, and so brilliant.

Ruby, does choosing a familiar song like this have its drawbacks?

Well, it can have its drawbacks, but not with this choir.

I don't think anything can hold this choir back. They're fantastic.

It's like it's a Soweto township choir coming through.

Super, absolutely super. Fantastic.

Super, dynamic, the choir they'd most like to join...

One Voice Community Choir!

THEY CHEER AND LAUGH

Finally got together. Really fantastic, yes.

Carrie wishes to join our choir. We have so much fun.

She can if she likes!

So proud of the choir. I felt it and it was awesome.

CHEERING

Three choirs have sung in this final instalment of our gospel choir

competition, and things aren't getting any easier for our judges.

If you have already picked a winner, hang on.

There are three more choirs to go,

and this time, our choir are from here in Birmingham.

It's Birmingham Community Gospel Choir.

To be in the first ever Gospel Choir Of The Year competition

is just already we've reached...

Praise God, he's done very well for us. Thank you very much.

What A Friend We Have In Jesus is a piece that we're doing,

and it means a lot to me, because actually, he is my friend.

He's more than a friend to me, actually.

# What a friend we have in Jesus

# All our sins and griefs to bear

# What a privilege to carry

# Everything to God in prayer

# O, what peace we often forfeit

# O what needless pain we bear

# All because we do not carry

# Everything, everything, everything to God in prayer

# Can we find a friend so faithful

# Who will all our sorrows share?

# Jesus knows our every weakness

# Take everything, everything, everything to God in prayer. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Birmingham Community Gospel Choir!

SHE MOUTHS

Bazil, I'd like to start with you. What did you think?

I was just saying to Ruby that that was, what, old school, traditional,

straight down the throat, straight down the road.

And it came over beautifully.

It was a lovely blend and the group sang together

and the harmonies were just working well for me.

And I felt there was a lot of conviction there

which is very important when singing, particularly this type of song.

Carrie, big choir with some big voices.

Did that work with the sensitivity of the song?

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, that was beautifully executed, really expertly executed.

I think you are possibly the gospel choir with the most potential.

There's some really good voices and real understanding there.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ruby, did you feel an understanding

and a connection with what they were singing about?

Absolutely.

Could you imagine walking past their rehearsal studio one evening

and you hear that sound?

You would have to stop and you would have to go and find out

and that's what gospel's all about.

Bring it to you and let you go and find out. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Thank you, Birmingham Community Gospel Choir.

God was in the house, yeah!

Jolly good singing, you all! Jolly good.

The crowd was absolutely fantastic

and very receptive to what we're singing.

THEY CHEER

The tension is building. There are just two choirs left to sing.

This time, our choir are based in Nottingham.

It's Hope Community Gospel Choir.

# Glory, glory, hallelujah... #

'We're very, very excited and feeling confident.'

We've come a long way in the last month or so.

We're singing Wade In The Water for our second piece.

It's basically about Moses and the parting of the waves

and the struggles people had in those days.

But also the struggles we face today.

# Wade in the water

# Wade in the water, children

# Wade in the water

# God's a-gonna trouble the water

# Oo-oo-ooh

# God's a-gonna trouble the water

# See that band all dressed in red?

# God's a-going to trouble the water

# Well, it looks like the people Moses led

# God's a-going to trouble the water

# Wade in the water

# Wade in the water, children

# Wade in the water

# God's a-going to trouble the water

# Wade in the water

# Wade in the water, children

# Wade in the water

# God's a-going to trouble the water

# Oo-oo-ooh

# God's a-going to trouble the water

# Wade in the water

# Wade in the water

# Wade in the water

# God's a-going to trouble the water. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hope Community Gospel Choir.

Carrie? I love this song so good song choice.

This looks like a choir that really enjoys their time together.

And for that, they are absolutely great.

APPLAUSE Bazil, Wade In The Water is a very old spiritual.

Did it stir your spirit?

It is actually one of my favourite spirituals.

I love to perform it myself and I just felt that the group

probably could have added a little bit more dynamism to it.

I think you could still do it better than you have just done that.

APPLAUSE Ruby?

Can Hope be hopeful?

I thought it was a wonderful interpretation of a great song.

The lead vocals - very unassuming, very quiet but so lovely...

and smiling and that's what's so...

APPLAUSE

..that's so important, I think,

to see that the choirs are enjoying what they are doing.

Great interpretation, thank you.

Hope Community Gospel Choir.

CHEERING

THEY CHEER

It's a really, really fantastic competition

but we don't regard it as a competition,

it's a celebration for everybody to just rejoice and have fun.

Our last choir in the competition are from London. It's Faith Works.

# Pass me not, o gentle Saviour... #

'Gospel music does go on.'

We exaggerate the song quite a bit.

We lengthen it and especially when people are enjoying it,

we tend to go on a bit more, when people say,

"Yeah, go on. Clap, clap!"

For our second piece, Total Praise, we've been given a backing track.

'Yeah, the backing track is quite important.

'It's disciplined us quite a bit'

and it's worked really well.

# Lord, I will lift... # APPLAUSE

# My eyes to the hills

# Knowing my help is coming from you

# Your peace you give me

# In times of the storm

# You are the source of my strength

# You are the strength of my life

# I lift my hands in total praise to you

# You are the source of my strength

# You are the strength of my life

# I lift my hands in total praise to you

# Amen

# Amen. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Thank you very much!

Carrie, did that work for you?

You really upped your game

and it's a soprano song. Sopranos, you were just glorious,

but more than anything, that cost you

and that's made me cry, more than anyone tonight, that's made me cry.

CLAPPING AND CHEERING

Ruby, it made Carrie cry, how about you?

This choir is testifying.

CLAPPING

We're not here to convert anybody,

# Why, he washed, washed, washed, washed, washed, washed... #

# Blessed assurance

# Jesus is mine... #

# Somebody's crying, Lord!

# Kumbayah... #

# Take everything, everything, everything

# To God... #

# Wade in the water, children... #

# Amen! #

All six choirs have joined us on stage,

our judges are back with their decision and Ruby

has the trophy ready and waiting to be received by the winning choir.

Just before Bazil makes the announcement,

Carrie, how difficult was the decision?

First of all, we all sat there and said, "We've been so moved

"and uplifted and impressed tonight,

"it's just a staggering amount of talent here."

We did deliberate a lot

but we have got a winner.

Bazil, will you put us out of our misery and tell us

who the winner is?

The 2013

Songs Of Praise Gospel Choir of the Year is...

..The Town Hall Gospel Choir, Birmingham!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

How does it feel to win?

Wow...wow, this is amazing.

We're just so blessed.

It's been great.

It's been amazing, it's been exciting.

Singing and sharing the whole day with these choirs

has been really fantastic

and just to hold the inaugural

Gospel Choir of the Year for Songs Of Praise

is a blessing, I'm honoured. We're honoured.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, your winner!

That's it from the Town Hall, Birmingham, and this first-ever

gospel choir competition on Songs Of Praise.

If you've enjoyed it, please write and tell us and why not send

us an e-mail at the address on screen.

Our thanks to our judges,

our choirs,

our audience in the hall

and, of course, you for watching.

Goodbye!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd