God’s Troubadours

IN MANY WAYS they are quite similar to those romantic knights of yore who travelled from court to court singing the praises of their beloved Ladies, only that nowadays few people take notice of them. However, those fortunate enough to listen to their music will not fail to be impressed.

They are called “Christian artists,” and are the musicians behind an international movement called “Christian or Inspirational music”. They are singers, song-writers, or bands who, in stark contrast to their worldly colleagues, use their musical skills for the greater glory of God.

Most pop or rock singers won’t hesitate to trample over anything or anyone to achieve success, and the tabloids are full of their stories. They are almost always flirting or changing boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse. They are always embracing some new religion or philosophy, and spending the rest of the time going in and out of rehab clinics. ‘Christian artists’, on the other hand, are of an altogether different mettle. Cherishing the ideal of self-sacrifice, constancy and altruism enjoined in the Gospels, these artists dedicate their lives to evangelising and worshipping God through their music. Worldly success means little to them, and they know perfectly well that their genre is being systematically ostracised by mainstream media. But this is not a problem for them, for their rewards are purely spiritual in nature, and they follow their vocation with great joy and enthusiasm.

Roberto Bignoli

“We are a wonderful and very active militia,” says Roberto Bignoli, an Italian singer, song-writer and active member of the movement for the past 20 years. “There are thousands of us throughout the world, and we belong to different denominations. We are present in parishes, we sing during Mass and liturgies, and enliven Christian events, yet the media, even the Christian one, ignores us”.

“I have sung practically everywhere,” says Bignoli with a hint of satisfaction in his face. “I have held concerts in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, Spain, Malta, Canada, the United States and Central and Latin America”.

Roberto Bignoli is more an international representative of Christian music than an Italian singer. He has participated in three World Youth Days, and has met Pope John Paul II on four separate occasions, dedicating to the former pontiff an increasingly popular song called Don’t Be Afraid. His Ballad for Mary has long been the jingle used by Radio Maria, the radio station network which broadcasts daily not only in Italy, but in Canada, the United States and Latin America as well. That jingle has made him into a familiar voice to thousands of households throughout the world. Bignoli has issued six albums so far, and is now working on a new one.

As an art director he has contributed to four international compilations of Christian artists, two of which ecumenical, and organised symposiums and concerts of international Christian music. In December 2001 he received in Washington the Unity Awards prize as the best international Christian artist. In December 2003 he received in Rome the Golden Graal, the Oscar of Christian music for his commitment in evangelisation and social life.

Like many Christian artists, Roberto Bignoli’s roots lie in secular music. He learned to play the guitar in his boyhood, and dreamed of becoming a famous singer. “I participated in concerts and festivals and actually succeeded in winning a number of prizes. I had embarked on a successful career, yet I was not happy. I became involved in extreme left-wing politics, and my ideals were clearly subversive and revolutionary. However, my inner loneliness was becoming increasingly oppressive. The turning point came suddenly in 1984 – it was a complete and radical break from the past”.

Bignoli’s face bears the marks of his past inner conflicts, yet his radiant eyes reveal great hope in the future. His life story would be a worthy-subject for a biography, for he is a man of great courage and faith.

Born into a poor family of farmers, he contracted polio at the age of one, which left him paralysed in his legs, compelling him to use crutches.

“I spent many years in various institutes where I was physically cured, but not ‘healed’, because these sufferings had embittered my soul. However, I bear no grudge against destiny for, had it not been for these trials, I would probably never have received the gift of faith”.

How did your conversion actually take place?

A group of young people belonging to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement were admirers of my songs. One day they told me, “Jesus loves you”. I remember that the comment made me laugh at the time. Despite its simplicity, the sentence struck a chord in my heart, so I ended up hanging round with them. One day I decided to go with them on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje. I was impressed by the place, and that’s were the great change took place. It’s not easy to describe these experiences because there is something intimate and holy about them. I found myself in a huge crowd of young people from all over the world. Medjugorje has a truly numinous feel about it, and a sense of great inner peace pervaded me there. Despite my ignorance in religious matters, I started to pray as best I could. In the end I asked for a grace from the Virgin Mary. Not the grace of physical healing, I wasn’t even thinking of that, but the grace of finding meaning in life – my life.

I returned a changed man. My love for music had grown, and with it the desire to convey to others what I had experienced at Medjugorje through my music. My way of communicating with the world is through music, and I gradually understood that my destiny was to use my skills to witness to the gift of faith I had received. So I began writing religious songs. The first one celebrated Medjugorje, Regina della pace (Queen of Peace).

Since then I’ve been incessantly touring the world, testifying to the fact that only through God can we find strength, peace and happiness.

After 20 years in this field you must have in-depth knowledge of the Christian music genre. What bearing does this movement have on contemporary society?

Our movement is a blessing from on high. It is fulfilling a great mission, especially among the young. Music is the most effective means of reaching human hearts, and Christian music aims to convey all those positive values and life giving impulses contained in the Gospels.

In the main, pop and rock music sends out frivolous, trivial messages. These artists are in bondage to the blind workings of market forces, and must produce a certain number of songs at a fixed schedule of timelines, thus depriving their music of true spiritual content, for artistic inspiration cannot be hemmed into a definite time frame. Christian music, on the other hand, is free of these limits, and is thus open to inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Even though our songs are not advertised anyone who hears them can feel spiritually enriched.

What are the historical roots of this music?

This music started from the Protestant tradition of choral singing. Its roots are in Gospel music, the inspirational music that originated from African Americans in the 19th century. So this genre is very popular in America. After Vatican II the Catholic Church became more receptive to this influence, and our movement has now become a significant force within the Church. A Catholic like myself will use inspirational music to infuse the same values that a Protestant would, but with a Catholic twist to it. Thus in a sense we are like Catholic missionaries; our vocation is our mission.

Does this movement include famous names?

You must remember that we do not seek fame. We are just humble workers in the Lord’s vineyard. However, some of us do actually reach stardom.

Most of those who have become celebrities are in North America, where there is a strong market for this type of music. One of the best-known Catholic musicians is Sal Solo. Sal was born Chris Stevens in England in 1959. He was the lead vocalist of the New Romantic group Classix Nouveaux, and also was the singer for the French group Roketz.

However, in 1983 he experienced a powerful conversion, and since then he has been touring the world witnessing to his Catholic faith and love for God. His music is a true ministry of evangelisation. His ideal is to “use music and the video to testify to Jesus’ presence among us.”

In 2000 Solo was in Rome during the Jubilee, and there presented his Anno Domini CD, an attempt to enliven the Catholic Mass with the aid of computer technology.

Another great name in Catholic inspirational music is Father Stan Fortuna, a Franciscan friar from South Bronx, New York. With a style typical of the rappers, he spreads the Gospel among the young. But he is also one of the finest jazzers in the US.

One cannot fail to mention John Michael Talbot. This 53-year-old singer and guitarist uses his talent to put Psalms and Christian hymns to music. At the heart of contemporary Christian music since its beginning, Talbot has proclaimed the message of Christ to many millions worldwide. He founded and still remains the Spiritual Father and Minister General of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage, an integrated monastic community in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. This unique religious community encompasses celibates, singles, and families, and is the only community of its type in the United States to be granted canonical status in the Catholic Church. In addition to releasing 45 albums, no other artist in Christian music has spanned so many different styles and genres so successfully.

Another important figure is Donna Lee, a Californian woman who writes sweet melodies with her guitar. Her music ministry focuses on Pro-Life, Reconciliation, the Eucharist, and Divine Mercy. She also has a special devotion to the Blessed Mother, whom she says played a big part in her conversion back to the Catholic Church. Donna is also one of the founding members of the Catholic Association of Musicians, which was started by John Michael Talbot in 1996.

Yet another noteworthy figure is Sara Torres, who was born in Nicaragua but emigrated to Florida as a child. She is a fine performer and composer of Latin American devotional music.

Finally, one should not fail to mention the child-prodigy Angelina Davis, a 17-year-old from Mississippi called the “Singing Angel,” and the 22-year-old Rachel Lampa.

What’s the situation outside of the US?

Inspirational music is very popular in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Argentina and Canada, where Denis Grady, a 50-year-old Roman Catholic from Calgary lives and works. He specialises in Gospel music.

Born in Peterborough, ON, Grady grew up in a musical household. There was always a guitar lying around the house, and Grady spent endless hours alone in his room practising chords, emulating the likes of Bob Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot.

In 1980 he was invited to participate in a Billy Graham crusade in Calgary. There he met two prominent American evangelical Christian musicians, Dennis and Danny Agajanian, renowned for their phenomenal guitar and banjo picking abilities. The California-based brothers invited Grady to join them in San Diego to record some of his songs. The Agajanians, who are unabashed and unapologetic evangelists of the Christian faith, left an indelible mark on Grady’s heart. “I was amazed at how boldly and creatively these guys presented the Gospel in their music, and the way people responded,” he says. But it would be 18 years before Grady would release his first CD. God had some work to do on Grady. In 1984, after staring into suicide’s unforgiving face, he entered a treatment centre for drug and alcohol addiction and, in 1989, went through a painful divorce.

A regular performer on the concert circuit in Canada, the United States and Europe (Holland, Italy, Ireland, Germany) since the 1990s, Grady is just as often found playing in prisons, soup kitchens, nursing homes and Alzheimer’s wards.

In Mexico Irene Valeska Coronado is very popular. A primary school teacher and lay missionary of the Catholic Church, for the last 20 years she has been dedicating her life to evangelising through music. She has so far produced about 10 cassettes and a number of CDs. Her latest is called Recordando, but she has also performed in the US and elsewhere.

What is the situation in the Old Continent?

Lately, and especially since the 2000 Jubilee, inspirational music is experiencing a great revival.

Dana Rosemary Scallon, also known as Dana, born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1951, is a successful contemporary Catholic Christian singer.

Her real name was Rosemary Brown, but was called “Dana” by her parents, which in Gaelic means ‘naughty’. She has been very active in politics, and is at the forefront in the fight for pro-life values.

Dana started to sing at the age of 6, when she won her first contest in her home city. A highly gifted singer, she soon became a celebrity. Her prize was to represent Ireland in the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest in Amsterdam. The last to perform that night, she sang All Kinds Of Everything while sitting on a stool, and was flabbergasted when she was voted the winner. It was her country’s first of many victories in the contest.

In that period she met a young man, Damien Scallon, her future husband. Damien was a member of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and Dana was won over by this movement and decided to dedicate her talents to further Christian values.

Another important personality is the Spaniard Luis Alfredo Diaz. Born in Uruguay in 1951, Diaz started out as a painter. At 17 he emigrated to Finland, then moved to Britain and finally to Barcellona, Spain, where he currently resides.

He was always sensitive to Christian values in his art. However, for many years, he performed his ministry within the Evangelical Church. During the 80s he decided to embrace the Catholic faith. He has numerous albums and awards to his credit, and is the founder of Multifestival David, Spain’s most important inspirational music event.

I’ve travelled a great deal, and I can tell you that I’ve never seen greater sensitivity to inspirational music as in Eastern Europe, with Poland leading the field. This country stages about 200 Christian music events a year, the most conspicuous of which is Song of Songs, held in Torun, a large city on the banks of the Vistula river.

However, another festival held at Belozem, Bulgaria, is becoming increasingly popular. It was founded by Father Kristoph Kurzok, a Polish Capuchin. I was struck by the material poverty of the Bulgarians and, conversely, by their great spiritual wealth and enthusiasm.

Of course, Christian music is a growing influence in my country as well. Of the hundreds of Italian artists engaged in this field, I would particularly like to mention Claudio Chieffo, who gave the initial impetus to this music many years ago. It is extraordinary how in all these years he has remained faithful to his original calling.