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Contemporized Hymns???
Hey group - I'm leading worship this Sunday in a new church as part of the interviewing process for interim Worship Pastor. This church throws 1 hymn into the mix every Sunday. My collection of contemporized hymn is on the light side....does anyone know where I can get more? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Tags: Contemporized, Hymns, Leading, Worship
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Greg Moore on -
I like the Sam Rye illustration. And, if any of us wrote 6,000 hymns, mostly on horseback, limited to a palette of 4 lines in common metre that had to be conveyed to a waiting congregation in the out-of-doors, it's quite likely (musicostatistically) that any of us would come up with a few really special ones, and a lot of them, that, like Wesley's horses, served their purpose and went unnoticed.
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Permalink Reply by Richard J on
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Chris--Somebody else mentioned Indelible Grace Music & Red Mountain Church. May I also suggest Sovereign Grace Music? They have an album of hymns called "Upward" that is really good.
In addition, a group called Page CXVI has 2 great albums of hymns done in a very contemporary style. I've been playing them a lot recently.
Hope that helps!
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Permalink Reply by David Weischedel on -
www.savedalone.com
I love re-doing hymns. check out my chord sheets page and see if there is anything you like or have a question about
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Permalink Reply by Mark B. Briggs on -
Dear Brother Chris,ow that you have this employment, you can gently lead the pastor and the flock towards more theologically and musically excellent congregational singing. I would suggest that you take a look at the Hymn Society of the United States and Canada (www.thehymnsociety.org). They have lots of good resources. Ask about members in your geographic area who can give hands on advice and materials.
We have found in a 500+ member multiple generational congregation that the telling of the stories behind the creation of the hymn adds much to EVERYONE's experience of the hymn without regard to the musical style of the hymn.
Go for hymns of deep theological meaning and good texts. Perhaps even the same hymn-text with various tunes and different styles. Also select all your congregational singing centered on the theme of the day's lesson. Co-ordinate with the pastor and whomever else might be involved in the service. They will appreciate your efforts to reinforce their comments and Scripture readings.
If your congregation can use PowerPoint type of presentations I HIGHLY RECOMMEND "The Paperless Hymnal". If you can not afford the cost they have several FREE downloads of hymns. www.paperlesshymnal.com
I will pray for your efforts to His Glory.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Ortman on -
I love re-doing hymns...it's a way to bring in foundational lyrics, to a modern feel...we just recently found a stellar version of "And Can It Be?" by Charles Wesley...found it on iTunes...Lashey and Joyner are the artists....
Next month when we do a series on "The Means of Grace" we're going to do a bluesy version of "Grace Greater Than All Our Sin".....wicked cool yo....
Tim
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Amico on -
im personally not into contemporizing hymns. i enjoy playing them in the original time signatures, but adding a bit of an indie acoustic rock edge to them. ive played in nursing homes, retirement homes, hospitals and all the old people love the way i play them......and i pound on the strings when i play too. plus more it keeps the congregation in sync instead of forcing the older generations to relearn how to sing the songs they grew up with.
or maybe they cant hear me play and just appreciate it when i come and do worship for them. either way, they are happy. old people are cool.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Letus on -
Many would consider just giving it that indie acoustic rock edge a way to contemporize them compared to the organ they grew up with. It does make it accessable to a younger crowd without turning off the ones who love them as they remember them. And believe me, at least most can hear you play and they soak it up. We play to alzheimers patients and for some it's the rare moment of lucidity they have according to the workers. We've begun to get requests from some that still are able to think it through. Next time out we've agreed to play "In the Garden".
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Amico on
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some may consider playing hymns the way i do, too contemporized. but i havent gotten any complaints from the people who grew up singing hymns. quite the opposite actually. though im only 32, im sure that im eventually going to run into someone who doesnt like it.
but i think the real problem comes from changing the time signature, which changes the way the song is sung. thats when ive noticed people having an issue with changing hymns. its not comfortable anymore for those people who learned to sing the hymns in their original way.
or......whats really funny, is that the person leading the song gets completely messed up because the rest of the church is singing the original way, which forces him to change hows hes playing on the fly......now thats funny.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Letus on
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"whats really funny, is that the person leading the song gets completely messed up because the rest of the church is singing the original way, which forces him to change hows hes playing on the fly."
A few years ago the wl at the time tried to do "Go Tell It On The Mountain" in swing time but the singers at the time started singing in even eighths. The instruments had to switch on the fly. Last year we had a Sunday with the wl's daughter's boyfriend sitting in on drums. He was at the practice for a few of the songs before having to leave and did the rest 'at home'. All was going splendidly until we played "Indescribable" in 6/8ths. During the rehearsal before service he did fine, but during the service he started in 4/4 time while the rest of started in 6/8ths. He stayed in 4/4 throughout the song and the rest of us, including the singers, adjusted. The craziest thing about it is that particular song got numerous compliments that day.
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Amico on
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it seems that the Lord really blesses the congregation on quite a few of band train wrecks. its interesting how He does that. but He does it, and people get blessed on our sour sounding offerings. its a wonderful and mysterious thing.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Letus on
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Yep--it's our regular prayer that the congregation doesn't see or hear us but rather hears and sees Him through us. It's still amazing when it happens this obviously. It seems to be His way of showing us that He will do the work through it all. Remembering times like this makes it a lot easier to not get into pride mode (though it doesn't keep me from slipping into Dorian mode on occasion).
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Permalink Reply by Peter Tan on -
Yes, that strikes a chord. We've done jazzed up versions of 'Be thou my vision' and others before, and the congregation complained about how we've changed things!
We use some Australian versions of hymns. Ruth Buchanan has a new tune to 'Rock of Ages' which I quite like. Others I am a little more dubious of: 'My hope is built on nothing less' by Emu (listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM-lFTJavMs).
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