On this video of Persuaded, Richard Smallwood’s eleventh project, the continuity of excellence remains.

The stage for the live recording (at Jericho City of Praise in Landover, Maryland in April 2001) was expansive, and no surprise, the church was absolutely packed.

Smallwood’s natural collaboration of classical and Gospel influences come together visually, as the presentation marries music to imagery.

Beginning with the Middle Eastern tinged classical introduction punctuated by the sweeping gestures of the praise dancers, expressions are vivid. From the set up of the musicians to the beautifully uniformed interpreters for the hearing impaired, no detail was left uncrafted.

Minister Stephen Ford, Conductor Darin Atwater and MOHORNS are among the musical geniuses Smallwood surrounds himself with to help create the splendor of sound he is noted for (see album review).

Apart from the great music that is featured on the project, the video also features vignettes with Smallwood talking about some of the special times he experienced during this recording. The viewer gets an inside look at what was going on during the recording, as reflected by Smallwood himself.

VIDEO CLIP

Click on the above image to download a clip from the video.

The video affords Smallwood a little more time to minister in between songs, as the visual medium lends itself more to length. This also grants more time to share in the worship experience of the recording.

Perhaps the most memorable, is the beautifully excruciating visual of Smallwood’s mother as he makes his way through his piano solo of “It Is Well With My Soul”. You can feel it.

Much was preserved on the compact disc version, but there’s nothing like viewing the faces of the people when the glory comes in. Director Lamar Ware makes sure you catch that.

Consider this an extension of the beautiful musical picture that was painted by Persuaded, the sound recording. If you can imagine, it becomes more vivid and more brilliant.