‘How Sweet The Sound’, an international gospel competition that has just landed in Europe, has among its first winners a group from Barcelona.

The group is Vocal Groove, made up of some twenty voices who, accompanied by the band Faith Collective, won the top prize in the ‘Small Choir’ category after the final held at the Royal Albert Hall theatre in London on 20 October.

The competition, in which gospel choirs from various countries participated in three categories, presented the strength of a music style that transcends all borders and continues to conquer hearts.

With a history linked to liberation from slavery and the fusion of life experience with Christian spirituality, gospel is also in vogue in Spain.

Gospel on the rise in Spain

“In Barcelona there are many choirs”, David Suárez, the director of Vocal Groove, told Spanish news website Protestante Digital. He can see how this style has leapt from churches to theatres and platforms all over the world.

“We heard about this music contest and sent a video to participate”, he said in a telephone conversation. A few months ago, they were informed that they had been selected to participate in the grand final in London, along with three other groups from Italy, Poland and the UK.

Participation in the competition was an extra boost for the members of Vocal Groove, who a fortnight ago held a concert in Barcelona, presenting the work of the last few months. In addition, they were able to raise funds to help defray the costs of the trip to London.

Special connection with the audience

In the competition they could only present one live song, no longer than four minutes. Vocal Groove’s performance stood out for its energy and connection with the audience. “

“We will remember those four minutes on stage at the Royal Albert Hall for the rest of our lives, because I think that one of the things that benefited us a lot is that we were by far the group that best connected with the audience”, explained David Suárez.

 

 

 

 

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Vocal Groove presented the song Hosanna by Kirk Franklin, a powerful song that “together with a choreography that we had prepared created a special bond with the audience, just something we had dreamed of, but we were surprised that it happened”.

“When Sammy (Planes), the soloist, came out to encourage the audience to participate, it was a very powerful moment”, recalls David. “There was also something important, and that is that Sammy said a few sentences underlining that we were not doing this for ourselves, but in the name of Jesus, who is the one in whom we have hope, future, and eternal life”. That message “was something that the jury emphasised when they gave us he award”, explains the director.

Using God’s gift for more

Most of the members of Vocal Groove are Christians, something that marks a certain difference with many other choirs in the area that do gospel for the love of the musical style. For David Suárez, in addition to that passion, the message of gospel is still relevant.

This experience has strengthened the group’s morale. “We have all agreed that God has done something special. We have felt His leading, and we all have a sense that it was not just for this moment, but that this has happened for something more. God has given us this gift, but we want to use it to do gospel the way God has taught us, and to make it known as much as possible, to share this music that we love so much and that we love so much”.