Gospel music

Gospel music is a time-honored subgenre of the Christian music canon and a fundamental component of the Christian media landscape. The production of gospel music, how it is performed, the importance of it, and even the definition of it may vary greatly depending on the culture and the social setting. Gospel music may be produced and played for a variety of reasons, including the satisfaction of an aesthetic desire, the performance of a religious or ceremonial function, or the production of an entertainment good for sale. Gospel music is distinguished by its use of dominating voices, extensive harmony, and lyrics that express Christian beliefs. The origins of gospel music may be traced back to the beginning of the 17th century.

During services, hymns and other religious music were often performed in a call-and-response format. Clapping one's hands and stamping one's feet provided the rhythmic accompaniment in the majority of the churches. The vast majority of the singing was done without any accompaniment. It is estimated that the word "gospel song" had its first appearance in print in the year 1874.

Authors such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane, and Fanny Crosby were responsible for the writing and composition of the gospel songs that were first published. There was a rise in the number of gospel music publishing firms. The introduction of radio in the 1920s led to a significant growth in the number of people listening to evangelical music. After the end of World War II, prominent auditoriums began to host gospel music, and the performances of gospel musicians grew more complex.

The continuous presence of gospel in current Christian music may be attributed, in large part, to black and southern gospel music. However, soul music is by far the most well-known popular music variety associated with gospel. The styles originated from the traditions of African-American music and American folk music, and they have developed in a variety of ways over the course of time. Despite these changes, they continue to serve as the foundation of black church worship even in modern times. It has also grown to be employed in churches that adhere to a variety of different cultural traditions (particularly within Pentecostalism), and with the phenomenon of gospel choirs that was pioneered by Thomas Dorsey, it has evolved into a style of musical devotion practised all over the globe. Southern made use of all-male tenor-lead-baritone-bass quartets in their musical performances. Over the course of the previous number of decades, progressive Southern gospel has developed out of traditional Southern gospel. Christian country music is a form of gospel music that has a more country-influenced sound. This kind of music is sometimes referred to as country gospel music. The middle of the 1990s was the height of its popularity. Mountain music from the United States served as the inspiration for bluegrass gospel music. The term "Celtic gospel music" refers to a kind of music that combines elements of gospel music with a distinctively Celtic flavour and is highly popular in places such as Ireland. Music of the African diaspora that was created in the United Kingdom is referred to as "British black gospel."