Great to hear from you, jimmy!!!!! And to hear good news, to boot.
On the harmony front, Ken, the bass and leader of the doo wop group was quick to comment when he heard the Messengers CD that there are places when two of us are singing the same note. Well, excuuuuuuse me! In doo wop, that is punished by having to listen to Pat Boone sing Tutti Fruity fifty times, strapped into a chrome and vinyl kitchen chair. It's not considered abberant in black gospel. 'Smatter of fact, many of the songs in the hymnal are written with harmonies merging for a note half way through a line, and ending on the same note. In the Men's Chorus that Joe, Frankie and I sing in, the bass and the baritones often share a note, here and there. For the most part, the harmonies are separate, but that's hardly a cardinal rule. Or a Cardinal sin if they aren't for an occasional note.

This is going to be an interesting merger of the two styles, as the message is of primary importance in gospel, and the arrangement supports the message. When the message is tutti fruity aw rootie, it's more important to make sure that the harmonies never share a note, I guess..

I'll have to think for a minute about folk harmonies. I know there are folks on here that sing sea chanties. If two harmony lines merge on a note, are the singers keel-hauled?

Jerry