Christian Music Online

Sandi Patty and Larnelle Harris

May 22, 2005 – 3:15 pm

Sandi Patty and Larnelle Harris were in Richmond for two shows Saturday Gospel singer Sandi Patty performs with a community choir at Richmond’s Civic Hall on Saturday. Patty and Larnelle Harris were in town for two performances.

The gospels according to Sandi Patty and Larnelle Harris came through loud and clear on Saturday.

Twice, in fact.

They spread their love for Christ with dozens of hymns and doses of homespun humor to a receptive audience during a pair of concerts at the Civic Hall Performing Arts Center.

Befitting more than two decades of collaborations, they combined naturally with their music, their message and their amens.

Patty and Harris displayed the awe-inspiring range of vocal abilities that won them shared Grammy Awards in 1984 and 1986.

Their other awards tell how tall they stand in the world of Christian music: They both have five Grammys. She has 39 Dove Awards, Harris has 11.

Their newest solo albums center on hymns, so that formed a natural basis for their concert. “Larnelle, you just get better and better,” Patty teased. She offered ample proof that her gifted voice has aged well, too.

Patty and Harris sandwiched duets around a pair of solo sets during the two-hour shows.

The songs included “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” “Shout to the Lord” and “Oh, Happy Day.”

Their voices were enhanced by The Community Choir, which had been practicing for the concert for weeks. The 24-member group, led by Patrick Piper, represented a broad cross-section of local churches.

Recorded background music for some of the songs presented the only negative in the show. At times, it created a noise overload that competed with the live vocals.

Patty spun some down-home Hoosier fun into her set — leading the audience in sing-alongs, tossing candy into the crowd and sitting for a hilarious duet with her piano player.

The resident of Anderson, Ind., also took quiet time to reflect about broken faith, forgiveness and God’s love in relation to her divorce.

Her blended family of eight children offered some humorous insights.

Harris lightly sprinkled loving tales about being a new grandfather with memories of his mother’s stern, no-nanny-needed love. “Someday, you’ll thank me for this,” he remembers being told often.

And he said he is thankful now .

Thankful, too, were the audiences on Saturday afternoon and evening that he and Patty grew up to sing out such powerful messages of love.

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