This film is part of Lentekabinet Cinema, a collaboration between De Uitkijk en Lentekabinet Festival.
In 1972 nam Aretha Franklin Amazing Grace, het meest succesvolle gospel album aller tijden, op in de New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Voorafgaand aan de release van deze documentaire waren de filmopnamen van deze legendarische avonden nooit eerder vertoond aan het publiek. Slordig en amateuristisch camerawerk hadden de synchronisatie van beeld en geluid namelijk nagenoeg onmogelijk gemaakt. Bijna vijftig jaar na dato heeft Alan Elliot het na een complexe technische strijd uiteindelijk toch laten lukken, en het resultaat is groots en betoverend als de muziek zelf.
Curated by Arp Frique & Rocq-E Harrell
Arp Frique joins forces with Rocq-E Harrell to curate this evening with Lentekabinet and De Uitkijk. During the festival, they will perform under their moniker Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers: an intergalactic odyssey where cosmic funk meets gospel-disco. Amongst other incredible singers, the choir includes none other than Rocq-E Harrell. Harrell has sung with some of the greatest artists of all time in her decades-spanning career, and has worked together with Aretha Franklin. It is no surprise that Arp Frique & Rocq-E Harrell are taking us on a sonic journey by showcasing Aretha Franklin’s legacy this evening.
Rocq-E Harrell: “We (group called Papa’s Results) were introduced to Aretha by her sister Carolyn, who we met when she saw my group performing in Los Angeles, after the show she came backstage and introduced herself and told us how much she loved our show and said she would like for her sister to meet us, and after doing this, Aretha said she wanted to manage us with Carolyn and the first thing we did was sing at her wedding reception with the Four Tops and the Love Unlimited Orchestra. For me, Aretha Franklin is what going viral or trending means to us today, because when she came on the music scene with Gospel, Soul and R&B music, her voice was a revolution that changed how we listened to female vocals in popular music, and I personally studied her voice as if l wanted to receive my Masters degree in the world of Arts. The privilege of working with her and getting to know her personally has been one of the biggest highlights in my music career. When I saw my name listed with all the other singers where Aretha did a tribute page in her own autobiography, I truly felt as if I'd been knighted by the Queen of soul. For me there will never be a greater honor.”