By: The Rise of the Modern Hymn Movement « Fundamentally Reformed

The Rise of the Modern Hymn Movement « Fundamentally Reformed — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 12:22:39 +0000

[...] This article on Getty’s website gives a brief history and description of Getty and Townend’s work. Let me quote a few paragraphs by way of explaining the philosophy and vision behind the work of these men, who have given us such great modern hymns as “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us“, “O, Church Arise“, “Beautiful Savior“, and “The Power of the Cross“. With an endless stream of new worship songs being written, recorded, and sung these days, what is the particular contribution of these new Townend/Getty creations? Keith Getty explains that the hymns provide a worship genre in which the texts are both wide and deep. By this he means that they tell the big story of the Bible—covering many biblical and liturgical themes—and do so at a depth of understanding that draws richly on the full counsel of God as revealed in Scripture. The church sings the faith in a way that not only voices praise and adoration to God, but also feeds the flock with the truth of Scripture. Stuart Townend contends that current worship practices have tended to focus so heavily on subjective experience and personal feelings, that the proclamation of objective, life-changing truths about God and our position in Christ is often ignored. These hymns have been crafted in such a way as to redress that imbalance and provide corporate worship music that faithfully proclaims the great truths about God, the stories of the Bible, the seriousness of sin, and the beauty of the gospel of grace. Another important goal is to find and refine a poetic and musical style that can unite people of diverse traditions and generations. Getty and Townend have chosen an aesthetic “voice” that draws on influences of both folk and classical music as well as contemporary songwriting and standard hymnody. The composers are producing hymns that speak the “heart language” of modern worshipers in a style that is singable and, to some degree, “timeless”—a musical vocabulary that avoids the fickle lure of the ever-changing “popular” sounds of the entertainment industry. Such an experience of sung worship unites people in a comfortable vernacular rather than dividing them out of frustration. [Read the whole article.] [...]

Comments on: "O Church Arise" by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

By: The Rise of the Modern Hymn Movement « Fundamentally Reformed