It was a night of many gospel songs at the Ghanaian Religious Choral Festival, organised by Salt and Light Ministries on behalf of Ghana @ 50, at the Forecourt of the State house in Accra last Saturday.

The event was well attended as more than half of the premises was filled with choirs from various invited churches as well as people from all walks of life.

The atmosphere was charged with a large section of the crowd dancing as choir after choir took turns to inspire and entertain the crowd with both local and foreign songs backed by a live band.

Almost the entire crowd rose to its feet to dance to songs such as Aseda Ye Onyame Dea by Joshua A. Amuah, Afe Ato Yen by Adu Safo and other gospel songs done in the highlife vein.

The Ghanaian Religious Choral Festival, was also organised in the other nine regional capitals. In Accra, the event underscored about 1,200 singers from 15 church and society choirs whose voices tolled through the open-air sunset setting with musical hymns, patriotic songs and choruses.

Performances were done by choirs from Association of Anglican Church choir, Global Evangelical Church Choir Union, Mass Choir, M.D.C.C Choir, Methodist Church Choir (Accra and Tema Dioceses), Evangelical Presbyterian Church Choir, Tema Youth Choir, Winneba Youth Choir and others.

Especially whenever the song being performed was a familiar chorus, many people joined in, with some of them dancing in single file across the open space in front of the main stage.

The all-Ghanaian repertoire of songs which were vocalised included very popular ones such as Adikanfo Mo by Ephraim Amu, Blow Your Trumpet by James Amaah, Enyigyesem Kese by Sekyi Baidoo, Mebo Me Sanku by D. A. Nkum, Aseda Ye Onyame Dea by Joshua Amuah and Dzin No Ye Nwanwa by Tsemafo Arthur.

MCs Adakabre Frempong Manso of Hot FM and Dela Agutor entertained the crowd with exhortations and jokes. They made the crowd to willingly give offering as ushers passed baskets around in the auditorium.

Ms Joyce Rosalind Aryee, who was the event Manager, and Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministry, said, Ghana was the first country South the Sahara to gain independence and thus will be 50 years old on March 6, 2007. ?It is a cause for thanksgiving to God for His provision, protection and peace?.

According to her, Ghana was a very religious country with 65% Christians and therefore, the Golden Jubilee stands for a year of peace, of debt forgiven, restoration, redemption, reconciliation, and a year of home coming of Ghanaians and indeed Africans in the Diaspora.

She said that the music festival was therefore a harbinger of the joy, the blessings of peace and prosperity that Ghanaians should anticipate from God.