Michael Roy writes:
This concert, on Nov. 7, 2007, was the last concert by the Immanuel Singers. It was also the end of the choir program and the concert series — and the end of an era.
A short Thanksiving/Christmas season later and it was all over. A new church administration came in on the first day of 2008, and the church was fundamentally
"replanted." The worship ministries, outreach concepts, music philosophies, and mission statement underwent transformations. The church was also renamed. The plans of the new administration and the newly replanted church did not include the Immanuel Singers, the choral arts, or the community concert outreach music ministry. I hasten to say, the church is prospering under their new order.
Jan, Diane and I were phased out of our jobs and the choir was disbanded. This event may well mark the discontinuance of one of the finest choirs ever to be lost in a changeover of church administrations. It also represented the end of an immensely popular and well-attended concert series, and one that brought thousands of concertgoers through the doors of the church. True, lackluster choirs and unattended concert series will doubtless see the end of days, but rarely is a choir such as the Immanuel Singers phased out. To this date, 13 years later, no church-based choir in South Florida has risen to fill the vast vacated space.
All of this, the change of direction in the church's concepts of ministry and music, we had seen coming for over a year. It did not arrive as a surprise but was well-planned, and everyone knew what was to eventually happen. I likened it to the approach of a terminal meteor: we could see the glow of impending extinction growing larger in our sky for many months prior to final impact. It was a surreal experience, but a strangely measured one.
This page has audio files from that final concert. I have chosen to put the last song first. I took the old country gospel song, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" and wrote four new verses for it. Those new verses tell not only the story of our choir, our great four years togther, and our final goodbye, but symbolically it asks the questions we all have in our hearts as we sojourn on earth below. The question that I most wanted an answer for myself, the choir, the congregation, and our always full-house concert crowds was: will the circle be unbroken? That seminal question is broken down into four which map out the journey of life:
That "Amen"
As you listen to this audio file of the final song of our last concert, appreciate the fact that the attendees also knew what was happening. Each member of the audience was aware that this was the last time they would come to the Immanuel Presbyterian Church and hear the Singers in concert. All who were there will attest that the atmosphere during this song was poignantly melancholy, very unusual for a concert of this sort, which was always full of hilarity, hijinks, and giddy surprises.
As the final chord of the song diminished in volume to its hushed resolution, just a mere moment before the applause ensued, a man near the back of the packed church said "amen." It could not have been said any better and at a more appropriate time. You will have to listen closely as the final oo-o's of the choir wind down to pianissimo on that G chord. It wasn't shouted, but was clearly intoned and all heard it. That man deeply understood the pathos of the occasion and the significance of our song of goodbye. He saw it in all of its deeper meaning and was moved to say what everyone in the audience and on stage was thinking. A half-second later the applause broke out. I don't know who the man was. I made some attempts to find out but was unsuccessful. Perhaps it doesn't matter. He was all of us. He was each singer and each concert-goer. He was me.
Will the Circle be Unbroken?
The original song: words, Ada R. Habershon; music by Charles H. Gabriel, 1907
Arranged and new verses composed: Michael Roy
1. Will we go on always singing, heart to heart in one accord,
As we travel ever upward in our journey to the Lord?
Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home a-waitin' in the sky, Lord, in the sky.
2. Will our family gather 'round us when we linger unto death;
Will we hear them by our bedside when we take our final breath?
3. Will our old friends come to find us when we're lying in our rest,
And abide with us a moment and remember all the best?
4. Will our loved ones come rejoicing when we join that blood-washed band;
Will we see them as we know them in that great and glorious land?
Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home a-waitin' in the sky, Lord, in the sky.
Instrumentation for "Will the Circle.." and the following concert selections:
String bass, Karen Richason; 5-string banjo, Mark Richason; electric guitar, Sandy Poltarack;
Acoustic guitar, Michael Roy; piano, Diane. M.; fiddle, Alison Northup; percussion, Dean Vellenga;
Arrangements, MR
CONCERT AUDIO-FILES ARE BELOW
The Last Show
The Country/Bluegrass Concert, 2007, by the Immanuel Singers
The Final Amen
Mountain Music Medley: the four songs are "Mountain Music," "Train to Glory" (words and music, MR); "I Saw the Light" (solos by John Flynt and Beverley Murdock); I'll Fly Away." This ten-minute fast-paced medley began the Country/Bluegrass Concert.
Where the Blacktop Ends - Where the Green Grass Grows: Two country-rock songs glued together for this special medley or country and southern rock - very nice vocals.
Small Town Routine: Michael Roy does an audience-participation skit about small town living, and asks people to pipe up if they were born and/or raised in a town of 2000 or less, then 1000, etc. The laughter is because Jan, who stood right next to MR in these
concerts, kept raising her hand, and he kept looking at her (but, of course, he knew what was going on!) This routine happened between "Green Grass..." and "Gone!" setting up "another theme of country music." Hear what it is in "Gone!"
Gone! The same chorale that sings oratorio choruses and 16th c. motets, now performs country rock and covers the style well. This fun song was still on the local country station's play list in Miami when MR arranged it for choir and instruments. It was part of a 3-song package of popular country songs. Ted Grab takes a turn on the Hammond B-2.
Sweet Home, Alabama: The nature of the Country/Bluegrass was to be a community concert for lovers of all kinds of music. They were not church concerts, and although we had a sanctified purpose in mind, they were concerts in which secular music could be
presented within that purpose. Not many choirs get the chance to sing Handel, and then on another day, Southern rock like this classic. Sandy Poltarack does the great lead guitar licks. Alison shines on fiddle, and Diane rocks out on the piano. As you will hear, the audience appreciated a church choir able to cover this style with grace and verve.
Southern Star: Recorded in 1989 by country music band, Alabama. The song is about a slightly aging blue collar worker who feels he is too young to feel old, yet too old to live the free life of a young adult. John Flynt sings the narrative solo. The lead guitar is deftly handled by Sandy Polterack, joined by Alison Northup on fiddle.
Proud Mary: This recording had been lost since 2007, and was only discovered in MR's vast archives on Jan. 10, 2022. For some reason, it had not been digitalized with the rest of the "Southern Rock Medley." Here it is as a testament to the wide idiomatic range the
Immanuel Singers encompassed: MR made a joke during the concert about "psalm-singin' church ladies"; The Singers were quite able to cover this famous southern rock song. Jan and Mac Cowden play trumpets, and MR plays the baritone sax (hear him in the intro refer to the bari-sax as a piece of church bathroom plumbing): they play the iconic riff that makes the song so recognizable. The vocals are great and the choir kept on rollin'.
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Turn Your Radio On (Alfred E. Brumley, 1937, arr. MR): It used to be that rural folk who lived way up in the mountains had only their RCA console radios to keep in contact with the outside world. This old mountain radio gospel song speaks of that era. This is a vocal group culled from the Immanuel Singers: Beverley Murdock & Claudia Springer sing soprano; Jan is the alto singer & soloist; John Flynt & Chris Moore, the tenors; MR is singing the bass and playing guitar.
The Fishin' Hole: This is the theme song to the Andy Griffith Show, which on TV is only whistled. Here are the seldom heard lyrics to the song. A special feature of the Country/Bluegrass concerts was to choose a well-known theme song to a popular TV
show and perform it. As that theme song is sounding, the "cast members" of the TV show march in impersonated by members of the church in full costume. We had already pulled this caper twice before with the Beverly Hillbillies and Gilligan's Island. During "The Fishin' Hole," two choir members came in as Sheriff Andy (Peter Thompson) and Otis (Chris Moore), the town inebriate. Harry Chadderton channeled Barney Fife with an uncanny accuracy, complete with a gun with no bullets. We had an perfect Opie too: Peter's nephew. The audiences loved these routines and so did the "actors" who played the parts.
Try a Little Kindness: Michael Roy didn't get to sing many duets with his good friend, John Flynt, but here's one that came along. This song, made famous by Glen Campbell, is a good guitar song, but Diane steals it and transforms it into a pi-ana song.
Choral Tour de Force
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Chariots: The evidences of a fine choir can be seen in this performance. MR's complex and harmonically intensive arrangement of this medley of songs about chariots is a huge challenge and likely there was no choir in the city who could have mounted a reasonable
performance of this piece, much less at this level of excellence. MR says: "I sort of over-arranged this medley and it turned out to be almost unsingable! The modulations never stop: more than a dozen of them!.., and the tempo changes and chordal complexity make this thing a choral project. The Immanuel Singers accepted that challenge, and made the chart sound easier than it was!" This medley was written for the guitar as the primary accompanying instrument, but the piano and bass add good interest. The songs are:
"Swing Down, Chariot;" "Ride in the Chariot in the Mornin', Lord; "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot;" "Good News, Chariot's a-Comin;" and "Chariots of Fire." A quodlibet in the finale has all the tunes sounding simultaneously. Also, the finale has at least 3 faux conclusions, as it keeps shifting keys and adding complexity. Soloists are MR, Beverley Murdock, John Flynt, Jan, Claudia Springer, and Chris Moore. There are piano and violin solos by Diane and Alison. The score has been made available for those interested in following the music. This is one score that a look-see helps to make sense of the composite sound.
Dry Bones: Here is the well-known Negro spiritual from Early America, performed to an energetic and provocative arrangement by MR, who also plays guitar; Diane Maltby is at the piano; Karen Richason is on string bass; Dean Vallenga is on percussion.
The Bluegrass String Band
Earl's Breakdown: Written (1951) by the great Earl Scruggs, who was with us until March of 2012: he was one of the pioneers of bluegrass music. A 'breakdown" is a song that features several instruments taking the lead. In this rendition, 5-string banjo player,
Mark Richason, take's the lead exhibiting the on-the-fly "de-tuning" technique invented by Scruggs. In Earl's day, for this unusal effect, he had to reach up and, by ear, de-tune the string manually and re-tune it in one motion. Earl then developed the specially crafted de-tuner, which is what modern banjo players widely use today. Alison Northup then takes the lead on fiddle, which is a violin when she plays Handel and Bach. MR is on guitar, Karen Richason on string bass, and Dean Vellenga is providing percussion.
Orange Blossom Special: This well known bluegrass instrumental is perhaps the one most associated with fiddle solos and banjo interludes. It is known among bluegrass musicians as "the fiddle player's national anthem." Written in 1938 by Ervin T. Rouse,
it extols the glories of the NY to Miami luxury passenger train by the same name.The train started that run in 1925 and took 35 hours to go from NYC to West Palm Beach. In '27, the tracks of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad were extended to Miami. Down at RCC, Michael Roy contacted Rouse's widow, who lived in Homestead, FL, and invited her to a C/B concert where the song was to be performed. Mrs. Rouse was introduced to the audience that fall night in 1998. Alison Northup, a classically trained pianist and violinist, accepted the challenge to get into the world of bluegrass fiddle, and engineered her own extensive changeover in idioms by listening to recordings of various interpretations of the fiddle work on "The Special." MR and Jan provide the vocals, which are rarely a part of the performance. MR is on guitar with Karen and Mark Richason on string bass and banjo. Dean Vellenga hides out on the side of the tracks and provides light percussion. Percussionists are tolerated by bluegrass bands if they are sneaky and mind their durn manners.
Above is a drawing of the Orange Blossom Special as depicted on a 1939 postcard.