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Lovemore Meya Arts Correspondent
The last couple of years have seen the rise of large worship groups that either copy South Africa’s Joyous Celebration or do something slightly different.
These large groups have become popular with music followers and attracted a considerable share of fans beyond the Christian community.The groups get paid to perform at numerous public functions although they were initially established as praise and worship outfits that were confined to church gatherings.
Notable groups in this bracket are Zimpraise, Purple Pride Family and Thousand Voices.
The major question about their evolution is: have they taken praise and worship beyond church or they have been lured by money that they can earn outside church events?
This was a common question at the advent of recording gospel musicians in the country in the 80s. What could have brought the question back to discussions about gospel music is the structure of the large groups.
Most of the groups have more than 50 members, which apparently indicate they were not formed with profit-making intentions.
Leaders of the groups that spoke to The Herald Entertainment concurred their main role was to spread the word of God through music although some said they work with promoters to get some income.
Zimpraise Chief executive Joseph Madziyire said his choir has a mission of uniting nations through worship.
“Our mission is different because we have not commercialised the choir.
“We have the Zimpraise Academy, which majors in grooming musicians from other churches,” he said.
Madziyire, however, said when they sometimes work with promoters for their shows.
“In most cases we can do without promoters because they may offer performance fees that are less than our cost for a show.
“Our live DVD recording last year was a sold-out show and most people were turned away because the venue was full to throttle. With a show of such magnitude, we take into consideration what a promoter offers, if it does not tally with our needs we opt out.”
Zimpraise gave birth the group Thousand Voices led by Mabel Madondo.
The group is on a steady rise and Madondo says they are focusing on preaching the gospel through songs more than commercial gains. Purple Pride Family leader, Albert Mutengwa, said the group focuses more on grooming musicians than having commercial shows.
“We have never had a promoter since we started but I was doing the promoting and marketing part for the group. The aim is to help musicians get a starting point to launch their solo careers,” he said.
“Many artistes are failing to break through in this industry with high competition. It reduces costs to bring all the musicians on one stage so that they market themselves.”
True to Mutengwa’s word, some musicians got recognition after featuring for the large choirs. Many little-known musicians, especially from Zim Praise, have introduced themselves to the music industry in a big way.
However, most of these musicians are still to make an impact as solo artistes.
But it is a different case with Zimbabwe’s Mkhululi Bhebhe, who works with Joyous Celebration in South Africa.
Despite winning talent search competitions back home, Bhebhe did not manage to breakthrough until he joined Joyous Celebration.
The musician is a happy man.
“It is a humbling experience and there is no amount of words that can explain how I feel. I believe it is an honour and privilege for I never thought one day would have this experience my lifetime,” he said.
“In a huge group of extremely talented people it is not easy to get recognition. I did not expect that a simple old gospel song such as “Ichokwadi” can be that popular.
“The secret is to be confident in what you do and never get lost in the fame. A few years ago, it seemed impossible for a Zimbabwean gospel musician to be popular in South African or the continent but God has done well for me.”
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