In a nearly 30-year career, the 285-voice Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir has distinguished itself with six Grammys, nine Dove Awards, two No. 1 hits and more than 4 million in album sales. Not resting on its laurels, the esteemed choir, known for songs such as “Praise You” and “Midnight Cry,” is using its latest musical offering to “declare” God’s name globally.
The new collection, Declare Your Name, is the choir’s first CD since 2008’s I’ll Say Yes. It features cameos by Israel Houghton on the upbeat anthem “I’ll Sing of Your Love” and Paul Baloche on the acoustic ballad “Helpless.” Pop star Jonathan Butler shows up for “Coming Back” and the Caribbean-flavored “It All Belongs to You.” Alicia Olatuja’s soprano soars on the lush “Wonderful to Me,” while the set closes with the triumphant hand-clapper “Declare Your Name.”
All 13 songs were composed by choir founder Carol Cymbala and her in-house songwriting team that includes choir director Onaje Jefferson and assistant director Jason Michael Webb.
“One of the objectives that we had was to be able to create—with God’s help—songs that the world could sing,” said Webb, referring to the less complicated songs with easy refrains and moderate vocal modulations. “The basic thing we can understand is that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, and everything we see He created and it all belongs to Him. All of the songs relate to that.”
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