Page 3 - The Wondrous Cross - CD Booklet

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride.

This is the first verse of the well-known hymn by Isaac Watts. What a gift he
had in communicating the basics of the Christian faith in ways people could
understand and identify with! That is the art of a good hymn-writer. The cross
is at the centre of that faith and, bearing in mind the limitations of the English
language to describe things, the word ‘wondrous’ does a pretty good job! Like
the solar eclipse that blows our mind when it happens, so the cross is wondrous
especially to those who hold to the faith.
This collection of choral pieces is a tribute to those hymn-writers. Of course,
there are other hymn anthologies that churches and other organisations have
produced over the years. Are the pieces in this album any different? Well, I would
say, "Yes", and for the following reasons.

Firstly, all the hymns have been set to new tunes. The words then will be familiar
to you being the original with sensitive modernisation in some cases. However,
the tune won’t be familiar at least not to start with! I realise that the link between
the words and tune is strong in some hymns. If I said “Amazing Grace, how sweet
the sound”, you would probably start singing a particular tune. But this is not
always the case and, over the years, new tunes have come to give hymn texts a
more contemporary feel. This is not to do away with the original tune but to give
an opportunity for the hymn to be seen in a new light. That has to be a good thing.