Hymns Ancient And Modern Liv [Enhanced]

To explain why I like this CD, I have to give some of my background: I grew up in a hymn-singing church (organ, piano and maybe a trumpet or two on Easter) and have spent the last four years at college going to a church where they sing only psalms with no instruments (As a side note, as shocking as such a church may sound to some, I've never seen a congregation who loved singing and loved *what* they were singing more than that group of people. I have really grown in my knowledge and appreciation of the worship of God and the psalms, not to mention the improvement in my singing skills).

In any case, as I move on to another part of the country, I'm faced with the decision of where to worship, and as a result, HOW to worship. I guess I'm a "not-so-old fogey" because I really like the old stuff and have trouble appreciating/liking new music, Christian or otherwise, whatever I may think of the theology behind it (the theology of worship, that is), which, by the way, I'm still working on understanding.

All this is to say that this CD is great for anyone who's grown up on the great hymns of the past but is interested in giving the new styles a chance. The words and (for the most part) tunes in this CD are familiar favorites from the past with all their lyrical beauty and depth, but with the musical and vocal stylings of the present. For someone like myself who struggles with a knee-jerk reaction of dislike to the bulk of contemporary praise and worship music, and wonders how much of the reaction is simply personal preference and what I'm used to, and how much of it is justified, this CD is a nice bridge because I can learn to appreciate the music as I listen to my old favorite lyrics which, whether themselves justified or not, at least do not produce a knee-jerk reaction. It's also great to be able to listen to them in the setting of my living room instead of wondering about all these issues while trying to worship at church. And in the meantime, work on my theological study. :)

This CD is the product of what seems to be an encouraging trend of trying to understand Christianity in today's "postmodern" world by looking to the classic foundations, beliefs, practices, and products (such as creeds and hymns) of the historical church, instead of just adapting to whatever the pop culture of the day is. By the way, if you're interested in learning more about that, one book I'm reading now that seems to have a lot of interesting insight into this trend is "Ancient-Future Faith" by Robert Webber. I don't agree with all of it, but I have learned a lot so far, and have been challenged in many areas.

Looking from the perspective of the "modern" worshipper (which I realize is probably the majority of people reading this), this CD would also be a nice bridge for those who have grown up with the contemporary style and have a knee-jerk reaction to anything old. Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and the other artists are all top-notch singers and writers who have written many other popular worship songs of their own, and they do a great job with this CD. I do agree with others who are a little disappointed by "How Great Thou Art". A lot of the power of that hymn is lost by upping the beat and giving it a poppy feel.

In conclusion, although my quest of finding out how to really worship in spirit and in truth is far from over, this CD has at least been a part of helping me get started by showing me that old and new are not necessarily incompatible and by encouraging me that the past has not been forgotten.

I have especially enjoyed the discovery of "Here Is Love," probably the coolest musical track on the CD and a hymn I had not heard until Matt Redman's introduction. Beautiful! And like many of the hymns on this disc, a simple bridge/chorus section has been added that makes the Hymn sing more like a chorus, while remaining steeped in rich lyrical content.

Charlie Hall brings great versions of "How Great Thou Art" (simple, yet with a really nice groove), "Christ The Solid Rock," (one of the CD's best) and "Joyful, Joyful."

Tomlin, Crowder and Nathan and Christy Nockels (Watermark) add track after track of excellence, merging incredible lyrical depth with arrangements that are infectious and powerful. Christy's version of "Praise To The Lord" has stayed on repeat in my CD player for many long stretches, yet it moves me every time.

This is one of Passion's best, and I, for one, am hoping for a Hymns Volume 2!