Spring Harvest Hymns Box Set - 3 CD Collection of Worship Songs for Church Services, Bible Studies & Christian Devotionals

I am a lover of hymns. They are rich, full of meaning and (most of them, at least) are written to glorify God by expressing what often times seems inexpressible. I don't know if it's because of the degradation of language or if it's because songwriters today are not encountering God the same way and with the same depth men did even 100 years ago, but it seems almost unbelievable that we have gone from "Crown Him with Many Crowns" to "Our God is an Awesome God". God is certainly "awesome". But singing the same shallow line over and over again doesn't do much but work up the emotions without engaging the understanding. We are commanded to praise with the spirit AND with understanding (as, I am only too happy to point out, is clearly referred to in a relatively modern praise song - though the scripture itself says "pray" and not "praise"). And I'm not singling out the popular chorus as being uniquely shallow. It is shallow in that the word "awesome" has no clear meaning other than evoking a "wow" or even a gasp. It is purely emotional and does not give the listener any greater understanding of God. Whereas the hymns tend to couch their message in clear, unmistakable language that is still often poetic. And there is no loss of emotion! How can we not sing with the hymnist of our great lack in expressing God and His greatness when we vocalize "O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing"? The emotion that is in that sentiment is far deeper, far purer than just saying (in essence) "Wow, God!". It utters a longing clearly understood and one only found if in the presence of God. So why should we cater to the baser nature and simply look for some emotional high that may or may not be related (in the singer's and/or hearer's mind and heart) to the ACTUAL glory of God? Why should we leave any doubt? Why should we try to make praising God appealing to the flesh when it is to go well beyond that realm? Don't get me wrong, I do agree that there are some modern hymns and/or choruses worth observing, but when it comes to sound theology, depth of feeling and fullness of expression there are few (if any) modern hymns that qualify. And so when a CD (or set of CD's) comes out that gathers many of the good old works into one, I'm all ears. Now a word in the other direction. I am constantly disappointed that the classics always seem to sound so joyless. Mass choirs and other "classical" recordings have isolated the hymns from the common man to such a degree that I despair of ever finding a recording that (rightly) pairs the old hymns with robust singing - even of a congregation that sounds half decent (and why is it hard to find that?). The thought seems to have been that we need to honor the hymns and the message by not singing with depth of feeling or emotion when it is plain as day (as I've already alluded to) that the original hymn writers wrote of things that should overwhelm the emotions of any listening believer. "To God be the Glory, great things He hath done, so loved He the world that He gave us His son" is so full of the truth of God's love and how it was shown - and it is uttered in a single line - why should we restrain ourselves when declaring such a glorious truth? So on the one hand, modern praise and worship music seems so inherently without the soul of the old hymns but the presentation of the old hymns has been so dry and lifeless that one might be forgiven for abandoning them and finding something new and different. Finally, when a song is played - especially a hymn - it is vital that the spirit of the song is maintained. You don't play "Here comes the bride" in a heavy metal style (at least not seriously) just as "O Happy Day" played in a slow, bluesy manner would defeat the meaning of the song. So, too, should the hymns be played triumphantly, gloriously, with feeling, but not like they were just released by Eddie Money or Billy Joel. And there is my entry into the problem with this set. I love the hymns chosen and, by enlarge, the lyrics are preserved as they should be and sung with feeling and not without reverence. But the musical accompaniment and vocal additions in between verses are often so out of character with the hymn that the contrast is almost too much to bear at times (jazz stylings in the middle of an otherwise decent rendition of "Crown Him with Many Crowns" is, at best, distracting). Saxophones, in general, don't belong in hymns. Sorry...that's just got to be understood. Saxophones play jazz very well. They do NOT convey majesty. And there seem to be more hymns WITH saxes than without in this set. And the tempo of some of these songs is just too fast. Again, majesty and glory is not often associated with high speed singing. But I will end on a positive note. The lyrics themselves were certainly sung clearly and without jazzing THEM up. Yes, the accompaniment and mid-verse additions were often hard to take, but for the one wanting to sing along with "Holy, Holy, Holy" and not be overly discouraged by the folk/rock stylings, this collection is adequate. In summary : Musical Accompaniment : 2/5 Lyrical faithfulness : 4.5/5 Instrument selection : 3/5 "Sing-along-ability" : 3.5/5------------------------------- OVERALL : 3/5(Advance apologies for the format of this review. I hadn't expected to review the item and it was done by memory and free-form.)