The Arresting tunes of Theophilus Ogaga’s Divine Soaking Worship Medley
By Emmanuel Daraloye
Theophilus Ogaga’s “Divine Soaking Worship Medley” performance starts off with strong enthusiasm, with the popular “Spirit of the Living God, Fall Afresh On Me”, Christian hymn kicking off the recording. The song’s atmospheric feel serves as fertile ground for Ogaga’s pacing, with its sombre crescendo providing a cinematic transition and, ultimately, setting the mood for the medley which stretches around a quarter hour.
The second hymn, “Let Your Living Water Flow Over My Soul” showcases Ogaga’s tone-pacing technique. A chunk of the piano-accompanied rendition sparks off repetitive high-pitches, with the overall introspective mood of the melody directing the tune. The chord’s peak, but always bow with a softened tempo around the song’s bridges, ultimately submitting to the overarching erraticness of the chord compositions that add a layer of emotions to the performance.
The third and fourth hymns on the medley, “Jesus Lamb of God, Worthy Is Your Name”, and “You Reign You Ancient Zion’s King” drift along the same tempo, with Ogaga’s seamless transitions opening more breathing spaces for reflection after each song. The choice of accompaniments, like bass drums on following songs like “Okun Gbo Ohun Re”, among others, dilutes the melancholia that directs the composition.
The high stretches on the closing quarter of the masterpiece, “Ko S’agbara To Da Bi Ti Jesu”, pushes the baton on Ogaga’s solemn performance, upholding the attention of the listener with steady double stops and other creative chord progressions. It’s a breezy listen, one that relaxes, lulls one to a sleep, but still gives enough gusto for subconscious activity. It’s a good recipe for activating the brain’s theta state, and, beyond that, it is a riveting showcase of Ogaga’s expert understanding of the composition, giving room for a medley that flatters, ponders and yearns.
Ogaga’s impression on the Divine Soaking Worship Medley, a full length spin of about a dozen compositions across contemporary Christian musicdom, gives off a strong character to the sacred mood of the music; the elevation of most of the most basic notes across the songs into chord compositions that adds the theatrics into the compositions. The medley’s outro, a dramatic finish of thumpy percussion, with a countdown appeal. In the last minute, Ogaga’s arpeggio helps the haunting percussion usher in the trickling urgency of the ambient climax.
A thorough performance and a creative audio engineering artpiece, Ogaga’s Divine Soaking Worship Medley sits as an outstanding addition to the library of Christian gospel ambient recordings/medleys in West Africa, especially adaptations of indigenous Christian folk and gospel songs. It’s a stellar listen, with easy tone pacing, as well creative fusions of piano and bass drum accompaniments, to give a cohesive feel of the entire medley. It feels like an adventure, with love, or philosophical inquiry easily as focal points for reflection, given the humbling supplication and worship embedded in the lyrics. And as far as outros go, it’s a performance that is worth waiting to just re-experience the allure of such a brilliant finish.
Theophilus Oghenewogaga is a classically trained gospel music minister and multi-instrumentalist with a burden to see lives positively affected and transformed through anointed gospel music. He has been privileged to minister alongside many notable gospel artists in the kingdom namely Nathaniel Bassey, Sinach and many others.
He has taken many professional music certifications over the years from the Associate Board Royal Schools of music England for Diploma in violin performance and grade 8 in singing in which he bagged a distinction from all sponsored by His father in the Lord Prof DK Olukoya. He has also led believers all around the world from various tribes and tongues in worship including Israel at “Thy Kingdom Come” hosted by Pastor Nathaniel Bassey in Jerusalem. Theophilus currently serves as the music Director of the MFM Lekki youth church, the largest MFM regional youth church in Africa.
