Facets

Todd Beaney & John M. Dolan

Fifteen imaginative settings, for trumpet and piano, of classic hymns in contemporary styles, ranging from rhythm-and-blues to joyous swing to meditative lyricism to funky jazz. There is something for everyone in this surprising collection!

Hymns don't hold the place in today’s Christian church they once did. Reasons, some legitimate, are not hard

Fifteen imaginative settings, for trumpet and piano, of classic hymns in contemporary styles, ranging from rhythm-and-blues to joyous swing to meditative lyricism to funky jazz. There is something for everyone in this surprising collection!

Hymns don't hold the place in today’s Christian church they once did. Reasons, some legitimate, are not hard to find: dreary renditions, old-fashioned lyrics, lack of a beat, each generation's fascination with novelty. But the greatest hymns are unrivaled among congregational worship music in lyrical and musical craftsmanship, and they have a melodic and harmonic depth and suggestiveness inviting creative reinterpretation. Hymns at their best open the door to joyous, awestruck worship while forging links across generations of worshipers.

This album is a tribute to the multi-faceted, gem-like excellence of the Christian hymn, to its enduring vitality, beauty, expressiveness, and adaptability. May these arrangements help to stimulate or rekindle in you an excitement for hymns as a means of worship and delight.

--John M. Dolan (Aug. 2009)

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