Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs
Posted by: David Bunch
Other groups have re-worked hymns including Jars of Clay. Their record, Redemption Songs, does not stay true to the old melodies, but puts a fresh, artistic spin on timeless lyrics.
And that's just it. A large part of the gravity of these old songs lies in the words and not the melody. For example, Jeremy Riddle took an old poem called "God Moves In a Mysterious Way" by 18th Century writer William Cowper and put it to music. By meshing the ancient text and modern music, Riddle brings a great message to new ears.
The only question remaining is how will my son and his generation perceive these old hymns? I feel like I am on the tail end of the generations who heard these songs in their original format (I heard them as a kid growing up in church). But I have since witnessed the transition away from hymns in much of the Christian movement. Will these new versions be good enough to capture the imagination and worship of my children, even though they are not familiar with the original versions?
I believe that the answer is yes, but at the same time I feel a slight twinge of sadness that the future generation will have no reference point from which to compare the new versions.
"Where did the word 'Ebenezer' come from, Dad?" is the question that I can already hear ringing in my ears.
Ann Ahrens' comment at the Notes blog prompted me to think through my own feelings on the re-working of hymns, and I decided to reply via a post instead of leaving a comment since I'm going to need plenty of room! Ann says:
I have come across some great re-workings of old (and even ancient) hymns and find that they bring me great inspiration and enjoyment. These fresh renderings make the songs more accessible to a postmodern generation who may otherwise never give the old songs a chance and thereby miss out on these great testaments to the Gospel altogether.
Several years ago, I sat in a (non AP) conference and heard the praise band cover David Crowder's re-working of "Come Thou Fount".
As for it bothering me when hymns are intact lyrically, but not melodically, well, yes and no. I think some hymns just have GREAT music. Take for example the rise in the beginning of the chorus of "Blessed Assurance" that just tears me up! On the other hand, withsome hymns, the music is okay, but doesn't make me run laps. One that drives me nuts is 4-Him's re-arrangement of "Great is Thy Faithfulness" - it sounds like the Beatles to me. Not that I'm a Beatles fan - they're before my time. One project I have students do in my Hymnology classhere at Gateway is to have them take an old hymn and rework it, lyrically or musically. I find that mostly, they don't do much to the hymns as a whole. Many students said after they worked and experimented that they found that it tainted the song and changed it too much- took away from it's meaning. You know, I like to hear reworked songs, but don't we always usually go back to the original? I'm not saying this is all my hard and fast opinion, just a thought.
I have come across some great re-workings of old (and even ancient) hymns and find that they bring me great inspiration and enjoyment. These fresh renderings make the songs more accessible to a postmodern generation who may otherwise never give the old songs a chance and thereby miss out on these great testaments to the Gospel altogether.
Several years ago, I sat in a (non AP) conference and heard the praise band cover David Crowder's re-working of "Come Thou Fount".
The lyrics and melody were kept, but the vocals, harmonies, yea even the guitar parts were all modern. I was vaguely aware of the hymn before, but after hearing that version and subsequently going out and obtaining a recording of the Crowder version, I have absolutely fallen in love with the song, and even keep a copy of the lyrics in my Bible. I would not have had that re-action to this great hymn if I'd heard it played on an organ in the finest of 1950's style.Here I raise mine EbenezerHither by thy help I'm comeAnd I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of GodHe, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.
Other groups have re-worked hymns including Jars of Clay. Their record, Redemption Songs, does not stay true to the old melodies, but puts a fresh, artistic spin on timeless lyrics.
And that's just it. A large part of the gravity of these old songs lies in the words and not the melody. For example, Jeremy Riddle took an old poem called "God Moves In a Mysterious Way" by 18th Century writer William Cowper and put it to music. By meshing the ancient text and modern music, Riddle brings a great message to new ears.
His purposes will ripen fast,Perhaps the best group to bring old hymns to modern life is Caedmon's Call, my favorite band (new cd in August woo hoo!). Caedmon's worship albums are primarily composed of new iterations of sometimes rather obscure hymns, liturgies, and the like and they are absolutely incredible. Very worshipful, introspective, and moving. Some of the more familiar songs that they've re-worked are "I Surrender All" and "Draw Me Nearer".
Unfolding every hour
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
The only question remaining is how will my son and his generation perceive these old hymns? I feel like I am on the tail end of the generations who heard these songs in their original format (I heard them as a kid growing up in church). But I have since witnessed the transition away from hymns in much of the Christian movement. Will these new versions be good enough to capture the imagination and worship of my children, even though they are not familiar with the original versions?
I believe that the answer is yes, but at the same time I feel a slight twinge of sadness that the future generation will have no reference point from which to compare the new versions.
"Where did the word 'Ebenezer' come from, Dad?" is the question that I can already hear ringing in my ears.
David,
I really appreciate all the info you provided in this posting! I'm going to look at some of these recordings. One of my favorite old hymns is "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" by Isaac Newton. It says:
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did 'er such love and sorrow meet?
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
What incredible words! "Sorrow and love flow mingled..." "Thorns compose so rich a crown..." I sang this hymn in church on a sunday morning as a solo. Person after person came to me afterwards asking whose CD that was on! I had to laugh - it was written in the 18th century! I loved it.
Ann
Posted by
aahrens |
Fri Jul 13, 04:22:00 PM 2007