In this chapter, I have outlined the motivations for the dissertation. Using a recollection from the mid-2000s, I argue that the music that emerged from the Black British gospel industry played a critical role in crossing spatial and ideological borders. This thesis sets out to explore whether similar border crossing elements can be observed in the congregational singing of the BMC churches under discussion. Following a presentation of the research objectives and rationale for the choice of churches, I then go on to discuss the use of terms such as BMC, African Pentecostalism, Praise and Worship, musical discourse and multimodal analysis in order to set out the theoretical framework and the concepts that I am working with. I also point out the two fields of literature to which this thesis is making a unique contribution.
Chapter Two is the literature review chapter where I demonstrate the contribution made by the thesis to the literature on BMCs. In this chapter I discuss the centrality of the oral to the Pentecostal experience, characterised as it is by the initial evidence of speaking in tongues (glossolalia), lively and exuberant congregation singing. I argue that although the link between music, worship and cultural expression is uncontested in the literature on BMCs in the UK and also in Pentecostalism, there is little systematic exploration or detailed analysis on how this is played out in congregational settings. I explore literature on African Pentecostalism and identify what we know about the role of music in these settings. Research on visual media and African Pentecostalism (Meyer 2006a & 2008, Mitchell & Marriage 2003, de Witte 2009) is interrogated. This work highlights the centrality of the visual connections in a Pentecostal setting. I argue, however, that the focus on the visual is partial as the element of the oral is intrinsic to the Pentecostal experience and attention to the sounds of the environment are necessary in order to fully
42
understand and engage with this dynamic scene. Finally, the second half of the chapter explores the challenges and opportunities as they relate to a globalised Christian music industry.
Chapter Three is the methodology where I discuss the theoretical underpinnings that have influenced and informed the research. I argue that the use of a multimodal analysis provides a unique framework with which to analyse congregational music in BMCs. Here I also use musical terminology to further emphasise the sonic arena and present my own reflexivity and positionality through the project.
In Chapter Four, I outline the geographical and theological context for the thesis. I present the primary case study New Wine Church (NWC) as an African Pentecostal mega church that situate themselves locally, nationally and globally in the context of the Royal London Borough of Greenwich and the wider international church circuit. In the second half of the chapter I discuss the church's emphasis on a prosperity gospel. This theological context is important in understanding how these ideas are embedded in the musical discourse.
Chapter Five is the first of my fieldwork analysis chapters. Here I use ethnographic vignettes to explore the location, external and internal fabric, alongside the images, text and the worship session of my primary case study. This provides the first stage of the multimodal analysis inspired by Machin (2010) in my case study on NWC to establish the continuities, connections and contradictions between the opulent internal and external fabric of the building, musical discourse and the theological underpinnings. In order to understand the significance of the sounds, I contend that they have to be explored in the context of the wider environment. This chapter also explores the esthesic elements as described above.
43
Chapter Six, using material from one service, assesses the immanent elements, that is the melody, harmony, rhythm and lyrics as the key elements for a musicological analysis and relates this to a theology, values and motivation of a neo-Pentecostal church that maintains a belief in a prosperity gospel.
In Chapter Seven I continue the analysis of the music in NWC by providing some background to the complexities of prosperity gospel and relate this to the changing musical sounds of the church by examining the poietic in the musical discourse. Using the words of the key players in the narrative, members of the Praise and Worship team, l then analyse how the musical discourse provides a framework within which the complexities and contradictions of the theology can be made operational.
In Chapter Eight, I widen the sample of the fieldwork to three other BMCs in the Woolwich area to ascertain whether the findings at NWC can be accounted for in other environments. In a similar way to the previous chapter I assess the esthesic element by categorising the songs and relating to their position in the CCLI chart as a means of assessing popularity in congregational singing globally. I am interested in whether there are different ways in which we might rethink the notions of local and global which simultaneously are complementary and contradictory.
The final chapter addresses the research questions, summarises the findings, and makes recommendations for future research. I summarise the similarities and differences between the musical discourse under question and suggest that in the case of the congregations included in this research, despite the many border crossing dynamics outlined in this chapter in regard to the Black British gospel industry, there appears to be
44
little in the way of a legacy from this period.
Using a range of methodological tools this dissertation will explore the negotiation of the local and the global through the musical lenses of four BMC congregations, and provide key insights as to how established and newly arrived faith groups comply with, resist and transform normative structures.
45