Interviu Harlem Gospel Choir: Allen Bailey vrea pantofii Papei
In asteptarea concertului Harlem Gospel Choir (noi nu am mai fost pana acum la un concert de genul si chiar suntem curiosi), nu ne-am putut abtine si am vrut un sneak preview din viata "Ingerilor". Asa ca am pus mana pe telefon si l-am sunat pe tatal lor, fondatorul Allen Bailey. Ne-a vorbit despre eliberarea prin rugaciune, despre pantofii Papei si despre cum au incercat sa reproduca "Moon Walk-ul" lui Michael Jackson.
Ne asteptam sa dam peste un om serios gata care sa vorbeasca numai despre religie; spre fericirea noastra, la capatul celalalt al firului, din camera de hotel, ne-a vorbit un om cu un ras contagios, amuzant si glumet. Asadar, sa radem cu Allen Bailey:
For the english version click here
Va asteptam la noi in tara pe 21 Decembrie si am vrea sa stim cate ceva din istoria Harlem Gospel Choir. Cum v-a venit ideea infiintarii acestui cor?
Am format acest cor in 1986. Am avut o viziune si... stai un pic. Trebuie neaparat sa mentionez ca, in Harlem, duminica, se intampla ceea ce noi numim Harlem Spirituals, cand toate bisericile afro-americane isi deschid usile pentru vizitatori. Oameni din toate colturile lumii vin sa asculte muzica spirituala. De aici mi-a venit si mie ideea; de ce sa nu fac un cor si sa calatorim in jurul lumii la toti oamenii care vin sa ne viziteze de Harlem Spirituals. De aici, a venit o progresie naturala a ceea ce inseamna acum Harlem Gospel Choir.
Stiu ca ati umblat din usa in usa ca sa gasiti membrii corului. Dupa ce criterii au fost selectati acestia?
Toti membrii din cor au venit pe baza unor recomandari de la biserici. Iar preselectiile nu s-au terminat inca. Noi tot mai avem auditii pentru ca sunt atatia oameni care-si doresc sa faca parte din acest cor. Gandeste-te ca am calatorit 2.000.000 de mile in 24 de ani.
Ati avut concerte pentru Papa Ioan Paul al II-lea, Barack Obama si actualul Papa. Ce sentiment e sa canti pentru nume atat de importante?
Ah, e minunat. Prima oara am cantat pentru Papa Ioan Paul al II-lea in 2005. Iubea copiii, ca si noi, si ne-a invitat la Vatican sa cantam si sa ne cunoasca in persoana. Faptul ca era Ajunul Craciunul, a facut ca acea seara sa fie si mai spectaculoasa. In aprilie 2008 am avut concertul pentru actualul Papa. Ne-a invitat sa cantam pe stadionul Yankee cu ocazia primei lui vizite in America; acolo am cantat pentru 75.000 de oameni. A fost coplesitor pentru ca Papa a vrut sa ne auda, ca a vorbit in deschidere si ca a spus ca ceea ce facem noi este mai mult decat un show, este un sentiment.
Cred ca ne vom intoarce la Vatican, avem un fel de invitatie deschisa acolo (rade). Plus ca trebuie sa aflu de unde si-a luat Papa acei pantofi rosii superbi pe care i-a purtat la concertul nostru; erau niste pantofi foarte stylish si vreau si eu o pereche exact ca aia (rade cu pofta).
Metropotam completeaza: Aha, deci aveti nevoie de sfaturi fashion direct de la Papa.
Allen: printre hohote de ras: Da...
Bono a botezat membrii corului "Ingeri". Cum v-ati ales cu aceasta titulatura?
Am facut multe opere de caritate, am ajutat multi copii si am muncit pentru copii, am strans bani pentru ei. De acolo cred ca ni se trage si numele. Oriunde sunt copii cu nevoi speciale, noi mergem acolo pentru a-i ajuta. Nu stiu daca aveti astfel de cazuri si in Romania. (Metropotam a spus cu regret ca si la noi exista copii cu nevoi speciale).
Aveti anumite superstitii sau obiceiuri pe care le faceti inainte de a urca pe scena?
Ne rugam impreuna, exista ceva ce nu-ti pot explica despre puterea rugaciunii. Rugaciunea si meditatia iti elibereaza mintea, invita gandurile bune si gonesc gandurile rele. Noi ne rugam cam 3 minute, ne tinem de mana si ii multumim Domnului pentru toate experientele minunate pe care ne-a permis sa le traim si pentru ca mereu a avut grija de noi in calatoriile noastre. II multumim pentru ca, de fiecare data, ne intoarcem sanatosi la familiile noastre; de asemenea, ne rugam si pentru ceilalti oameni. Cam asta este ritualul nostru.
Ce stiti despre Romania, tara in care veti veni curand?
Ca totul e bine si frumos aici, ca femeile sunt frumoase si ca barbatii sunt instariti. Glumesc. Am auzit ca ne vom simti extrordinar in Romania si ca oamenii de aici sunt minunati. Abia astept sa le aratam romanilor o parte din cultura noastra, ei trebuie sa inteleaga ce inseamna cultura afro-americana. Cred ca stiti ca noi preaslavim intr-o alta forma: noi cantam, dansam si sarim toata ziua in biserica. Nu e asa si la voi in biserica?
Nu, la noi e foarta multa liniste. Nimeni nu vorbeste in afara de preot.
Ei bine, daca veniti la noi in biserica, oamenii o sa creada ca e ceva in neregula cu voi: "hei, de ce nu va miscati, de ce nu sariti?". O fata din Bulgaria mi-a spus odata: "cum de va permite preotul sa aduceti instrumente in biserica?". Noi ii spunem zgomot de bucurie. Slujbele la noi sunt terapeutice; vii trist si pleci fericit. Vii, canti, dansezi, te misti. Oamenii de culoare nu stau niciodata in biserica, noi ne miscam mult.
Asta da exercitiu. Aveti vreo curiozitate despre bisericile din Romania?
Da, chiar am planuit sa vizitam cateva biserici din Bucuresti. Nu avem foarte mult timp la dispozitie, dar vom vizita cateva biserici, nu stiu inca pe care.
Concertul din Bucuresti este in memoria lui Michael Jackson. V-a influentat in vreun fel acest artist?
El era un mare fan al corului si vrem sa-i aducem un omagiu prin acest concert. Ceea ce i s-a intamplat a fost o tragedie. Am incercat si noi sa invatam cateva miscari reprezentative, dar ni s-a parut foarte greu. Ce a iesit o sa vedeti pe scena (rade).
Dati-le romanilor 3 motive pentru care sa vina la concertul vostru.
Daca vor veni vor intelege cultura afro-americana, vor experimenta ceva ce nu au trait pana acum si alaturi de familie vor impartasi cu noi un sentiment minunat, dragostea.
Metropotam: We are expecting you on the 21st of December and we would like to know a little bit about your history. How did Harlem Gospel Choir more precisely appear?
Allen: I founded this choir in 1986. I had this vision… say, the most important thing to remember here is that in Harlem, on Sundays, we have this thing called Harlem Spirituals when all black churches open its doors to visitors, where people from all over the world come to listen to spiritual music. That led to me forming a choir to travel with it around the world, to those people who came to visit us on Harlem Spirituals. From then on, it's a natural progression.
Metropotam: We know that choosing the members was kind of a difficult and elaborate process. How were the members chosen?
Allen: The Choir members have referrals from various churches in the world. And, believe it or not, we still have auditions for the choir. We travelled 2 million miles in 24 years, so imagine.
Metropotam: You held concerts for very important people like the Pope, Barack Obama and Pope John Paul the second. How was that like?
Allen: Wonderful. First time we had a concert for the Pope John Paul the second, in 2005. He just loved children, as we do, so he invited the choir to the Vatican, he wanted to meet the choir personally. The fact that it was Christmas Eve made it even more spectacular. In April 2008, we had a concert for the actual Pope. He invited the choir to sing at the Yankee stadium for his first visit in America; he had a service for 75.000 people. The Pope wanted to hear us, he opened the concert and then he said to us that what we do is much than a show, it’s a feeling.
I think we’ll be going back to the Vatican. I think we have an open invitation there. The Pope wore a beautiful pair of red shoes at our concert and I want the same shoes, they’re very stylish. I have to ask him where he got those shoes (laughs).
Metropotam concludes: So, you want fashion advice from the Pope.
Allen: (Still laughing) Yes.
Metropotam: Bono from U2 called the members Angels. Why did you earn this title?
Allen: It has to be for the work we did for the children, the charity we did; we raised a lot of money for the children, children with special need.
I don’t know if you have that in Romania (we enlightened him, saying that we have). Wherever there are children with needs, we travel there to help them.
Metropotam: Do you have any superstions/traditions before going on stage?
Allen: We pray together, there is something about the power of pray I can’t explain to you. Pray and meditation, they free your mind; allow good thoughts to come in and the bad ones to go away. We have a 3 minute prayer, we hold hands and thank God for the wonderful experiences and for allowing us to travel safely and not to worry, we never have problems on the planes. We thank God we can get back to our families safe, we pray for other people too. That’s basically our ritual.
Metropotam: What do you know about Romania?
Allen: That everything is alright there, that the women are beautiful and the men are wealthy. I’m kidding. I heard I will have a great time because the people are so wonderful. and I’m looking forward to show you a part of our culture. They should understand what the black culture means. You know, we worship in a different form: we sing, we dance, we jump around all day long in church. It’s not like that in your church?
Metropotam: No, we’re very very quiet. Nobody talks in our churches, except the priest.
Allen: If you come in our church, people will think there’s something wrong with you: "hey, you’re not moving, you’re not jumping". A girl from Bulgaria once said to me: how come the priest allows you to bring instruments into the church? It’s called a joyful noise.
Our sermon is therapeutic, you come sad and you leave lifted. You come, you sing, you move, you dance. Black people never sit down in church, we move a lot.
Metropotam: That’s good exercise for you. Are you curious about the churches in Romania?
Allen: Yes. Actually, we’re planning to visit some churches. We don’t have so much time but we will visit 1 or 2 churches from Bucharest, I can’t really tell you which because I don’t know.
Metropotam: This concert is in the loving memory of Michael Jackson. Did this artist influence you somehow?
Allen: He was such a big fan of the choir and we want to pay our respects. It was so tragic what happened to him. We tried to do some of his steps but it was very difficult for us; you will see the result on stage.
Metropotam: Give the Romanian people 3 reasons for which they should come to the concert.
Allen: They’ll get a chance to understand the afro-american culture, they will experience something they never experienced before, along with their family they can share our love.
Ne asteptam sa dam peste un om serios gata care sa vorbeasca numai despre religie; spre fericirea noastra, la capatul celalalt al firului, din camera de hotel, ne-a vorbit un om cu un ras contagios, amuzant si glumet. Asadar, sa radem cu Allen Bailey:
For the english version click here
Va asteptam la noi in tara pe 21 Decembrie si am vrea sa stim cate ceva din istoria Harlem Gospel Choir. Cum v-a venit ideea infiintarii acestui cor?
Am format acest cor in 1986. Am avut o viziune si... stai un pic. Trebuie neaparat sa mentionez ca, in Harlem, duminica, se intampla ceea ce noi numim Harlem Spirituals, cand toate bisericile afro-americane isi deschid usile pentru vizitatori. Oameni din toate colturile lumii vin sa asculte muzica spirituala. De aici mi-a venit si mie ideea; de ce sa nu fac un cor si sa calatorim in jurul lumii la toti oamenii care vin sa ne viziteze de Harlem Spirituals. De aici, a venit o progresie naturala a ceea ce inseamna acum Harlem Gospel Choir.
Stiu ca ati umblat din usa in usa ca sa gasiti membrii corului. Dupa ce criterii au fost selectati acestia?
Toti membrii din cor au venit pe baza unor recomandari de la biserici. Iar preselectiile nu s-au terminat inca. Noi tot mai avem auditii pentru ca sunt atatia oameni care-si doresc sa faca parte din acest cor. Gandeste-te ca am calatorit 2.000.000 de mile in 24 de ani.
Ati avut concerte pentru Papa Ioan Paul al II-lea, Barack Obama si actualul Papa. Ce sentiment e sa canti pentru nume atat de importante?
Ah, e minunat. Prima oara am cantat pentru Papa Ioan Paul al II-lea in 2005. Iubea copiii, ca si noi, si ne-a invitat la Vatican sa cantam si sa ne cunoasca in persoana. Faptul ca era Ajunul Craciunul, a facut ca acea seara sa fie si mai spectaculoasa. In aprilie 2008 am avut concertul pentru actualul Papa. Ne-a invitat sa cantam pe stadionul Yankee cu ocazia primei lui vizite in America; acolo am cantat pentru 75.000 de oameni. A fost coplesitor pentru ca Papa a vrut sa ne auda, ca a vorbit in deschidere si ca a spus ca ceea ce facem noi este mai mult decat un show, este un sentiment.
Cred ca ne vom intoarce la Vatican, avem un fel de invitatie deschisa acolo (rade). Plus ca trebuie sa aflu de unde si-a luat Papa acei pantofi rosii superbi pe care i-a purtat la concertul nostru; erau niste pantofi foarte stylish si vreau si eu o pereche exact ca aia (rade cu pofta).
Metropotam completeaza: Aha, deci aveti nevoie de sfaturi fashion direct de la Papa.
Allen: printre hohote de ras: Da...
Bono a botezat membrii corului "Ingeri". Cum v-ati ales cu aceasta titulatura?
Am facut multe opere de caritate, am ajutat multi copii si am muncit pentru copii, am strans bani pentru ei. De acolo cred ca ni se trage si numele. Oriunde sunt copii cu nevoi speciale, noi mergem acolo pentru a-i ajuta. Nu stiu daca aveti astfel de cazuri si in Romania. (Metropotam a spus cu regret ca si la noi exista copii cu nevoi speciale).
Aveti anumite superstitii sau obiceiuri pe care le faceti inainte de a urca pe scena?
Ne rugam impreuna, exista ceva ce nu-ti pot explica despre puterea rugaciunii. Rugaciunea si meditatia iti elibereaza mintea, invita gandurile bune si gonesc gandurile rele. Noi ne rugam cam 3 minute, ne tinem de mana si ii multumim Domnului pentru toate experientele minunate pe care ne-a permis sa le traim si pentru ca mereu a avut grija de noi in calatoriile noastre. II multumim pentru ca, de fiecare data, ne intoarcem sanatosi la familiile noastre; de asemenea, ne rugam si pentru ceilalti oameni. Cam asta este ritualul nostru.
Ce stiti despre Romania, tara in care veti veni curand?
Ca totul e bine si frumos aici, ca femeile sunt frumoase si ca barbatii sunt instariti. Glumesc. Am auzit ca ne vom simti extrordinar in Romania si ca oamenii de aici sunt minunati. Abia astept sa le aratam romanilor o parte din cultura noastra, ei trebuie sa inteleaga ce inseamna cultura afro-americana. Cred ca stiti ca noi preaslavim intr-o alta forma: noi cantam, dansam si sarim toata ziua in biserica. Nu e asa si la voi in biserica?
Nu, la noi e foarta multa liniste. Nimeni nu vorbeste in afara de preot.
Ei bine, daca veniti la noi in biserica, oamenii o sa creada ca e ceva in neregula cu voi: "hei, de ce nu va miscati, de ce nu sariti?". O fata din Bulgaria mi-a spus odata: "cum de va permite preotul sa aduceti instrumente in biserica?". Noi ii spunem zgomot de bucurie. Slujbele la noi sunt terapeutice; vii trist si pleci fericit. Vii, canti, dansezi, te misti. Oamenii de culoare nu stau niciodata in biserica, noi ne miscam mult.
Asta da exercitiu. Aveti vreo curiozitate despre bisericile din Romania?
Da, chiar am planuit sa vizitam cateva biserici din Bucuresti. Nu avem foarte mult timp la dispozitie, dar vom vizita cateva biserici, nu stiu inca pe care.
Concertul din Bucuresti este in memoria lui Michael Jackson. V-a influentat in vreun fel acest artist?
El era un mare fan al corului si vrem sa-i aducem un omagiu prin acest concert. Ceea ce i s-a intamplat a fost o tragedie. Am incercat si noi sa invatam cateva miscari reprezentative, dar ni s-a parut foarte greu. Ce a iesit o sa vedeti pe scena (rade).
Dati-le romanilor 3 motive pentru care sa vina la concertul vostru.
Daca vor veni vor intelege cultura afro-americana, vor experimenta ceva ce nu au trait pana acum si alaturi de familie vor impartasi cu noi un sentiment minunat, dragostea.
Varianta in engleza:
Metropotam: We are expecting you on the 21st of December and we would like to know a little bit about your history. How did Harlem Gospel Choir more precisely appear?
Allen: I founded this choir in 1986. I had this vision… say, the most important thing to remember here is that in Harlem, on Sundays, we have this thing called Harlem Spirituals when all black churches open its doors to visitors, where people from all over the world come to listen to spiritual music. That led to me forming a choir to travel with it around the world, to those people who came to visit us on Harlem Spirituals. From then on, it's a natural progression.
Metropotam: We know that choosing the members was kind of a difficult and elaborate process. How were the members chosen?
Allen: The Choir members have referrals from various churches in the world. And, believe it or not, we still have auditions for the choir. We travelled 2 million miles in 24 years, so imagine.
Metropotam: You held concerts for very important people like the Pope, Barack Obama and Pope John Paul the second. How was that like?
Allen: Wonderful. First time we had a concert for the Pope John Paul the second, in 2005. He just loved children, as we do, so he invited the choir to the Vatican, he wanted to meet the choir personally. The fact that it was Christmas Eve made it even more spectacular. In April 2008, we had a concert for the actual Pope. He invited the choir to sing at the Yankee stadium for his first visit in America; he had a service for 75.000 people. The Pope wanted to hear us, he opened the concert and then he said to us that what we do is much than a show, it’s a feeling.
I think we’ll be going back to the Vatican. I think we have an open invitation there. The Pope wore a beautiful pair of red shoes at our concert and I want the same shoes, they’re very stylish. I have to ask him where he got those shoes (laughs).
Metropotam concludes: So, you want fashion advice from the Pope.
Allen: (Still laughing) Yes.
Metropotam: Bono from U2 called the members Angels. Why did you earn this title?
Allen: It has to be for the work we did for the children, the charity we did; we raised a lot of money for the children, children with special need.
I don’t know if you have that in Romania (we enlightened him, saying that we have). Wherever there are children with needs, we travel there to help them.
Metropotam: Do you have any superstions/traditions before going on stage?
Allen: We pray together, there is something about the power of pray I can’t explain to you. Pray and meditation, they free your mind; allow good thoughts to come in and the bad ones to go away. We have a 3 minute prayer, we hold hands and thank God for the wonderful experiences and for allowing us to travel safely and not to worry, we never have problems on the planes. We thank God we can get back to our families safe, we pray for other people too. That’s basically our ritual.
Metropotam: What do you know about Romania?
Allen: That everything is alright there, that the women are beautiful and the men are wealthy. I’m kidding. I heard I will have a great time because the people are so wonderful. and I’m looking forward to show you a part of our culture. They should understand what the black culture means. You know, we worship in a different form: we sing, we dance, we jump around all day long in church. It’s not like that in your church?
Metropotam: No, we’re very very quiet. Nobody talks in our churches, except the priest.
Allen: If you come in our church, people will think there’s something wrong with you: "hey, you’re not moving, you’re not jumping". A girl from Bulgaria once said to me: how come the priest allows you to bring instruments into the church? It’s called a joyful noise.
Our sermon is therapeutic, you come sad and you leave lifted. You come, you sing, you move, you dance. Black people never sit down in church, we move a lot.
Metropotam: That’s good exercise for you. Are you curious about the churches in Romania?
Allen: Yes. Actually, we’re planning to visit some churches. We don’t have so much time but we will visit 1 or 2 churches from Bucharest, I can’t really tell you which because I don’t know.
Metropotam: This concert is in the loving memory of Michael Jackson. Did this artist influence you somehow?
Allen: He was such a big fan of the choir and we want to pay our respects. It was so tragic what happened to him. We tried to do some of his steps but it was very difficult for us; you will see the result on stage.
Metropotam: Give the Romanian people 3 reasons for which they should come to the concert.
Allen: They’ll get a chance to understand the afro-american culture, they will experience something they never experienced before, along with their family they can share our love.
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