Saints and singers
'Mr. & Mrs. Carl Dean.” The black-and-white picture of the…
Voices Only: ‘Soul’s Anthem (It Is Well)’
‘Every time there’s hope, it seems to die. And the voices all around me feed that lie. Everything I see tells me to let go. Yet it is well with my soul.”
Wow. Those are some powerful lyrics delivered by singer/songwriter Tori Kelly.
Welcome to Voices Only, your weekly dose of dazzling a cappella.
This week we bring you “Soul’s Anthem (It Is Well),” a 2018 recording that features Kelly, a former “American Idol” contestant, singing along with a chorus conducted by Grammy-winning gospel artist Kirk Franklin.
With those noteworthy names at the helm, this video got a lot of traffic from outside faith-based a cappella circles. It’s really cool to look at the comments on YouTube about this video. (How often can you say that?)
“I just realized there is no music … just straight vocals,” one commenter said.
“This literally brought me to tears,” said another commenter. “The Spirit of the Lord is more than powerful.”
The song borrows its chorus from the classic 1873 hymn “When Peace, Like a River” by Horatio Gates Spafford. You’re probably aware of the Job-like story behind that song.
And if you came here hoping to find the classic version of that song, I’ve got you covered:
This version is from a 2009 gospel meeting for Churches of Christ held in Springfield, Mo.
I also love the comments on this video.
One says, “Man, those Church of Christ folks can sing.”
What’s your favorite a cappella song? Send us a video link and a short description of what the song means to you. We might use your selection in a future Voices Only.
