Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 October 2005 12:59:35
I can't get anywhere near a tune in church and as discussions about "praise" / "musical style of worship" (or however you want to term it) tend to end up in disagreement I tend to steer clear, although I have clear opinions (i.e. I like a mix of the old and new & I like meaningful new rather than bad theology wrapped up in emotion and given a v.contempory tune - so everybody ignores the words).
Anyway today at some point in the service we sang a really cool "old" hymn:
And I know whom I have believed
And am pursuaded that He is able
To keep that which I've committed
Unto Him against that day.
That was what got me thinking, it is a good hymn, with sound lyrics, but because it is so old skool it is likely to die out, if it hasn't basically done so already. This made me really sad & got me thinking I wish that more of our old hyms were being rediscovered and made accessible to modern audiences / instruments, rather than more and more stuff being churned out with naff lyrics & dodgy theology, but with the good tunes.
I know there is some rearrangement going on, but what I've come across tends to be with performance in mind, rather than reimagining communal singing. That's not to say we don't need new stuff & that modern songwriting isn't to be encouraged, rather I just don't want to see the good old skool stuff die if it is the tune rather than the lyrics which are past the sell by date.