Page 4 - The Wondrous Cross - CD Booklet

Secondly, they are choral in nature. Most hymns were composed to be sung
congregationally and edify the body of believers. However, choirs have often
been a great source of encouragement to the church as they sing in harmony and
one can sit back and listen and let the words come to you in a different way. This is
still very true today. It is always a special experience to be in a cathedral and hear
the choir singing anthems and psalms. Such an approach is not to take away the
congregational aspect but again allows us to enjoy the words afresh.
Thirdly, they have a number of different accompaniments. Traditional hymns
would either be sung without instruments or an organ. Nowadays, we have band
arrangements of traditional hymns with guitars and drums. This is great. We
don’t want to lose the old hymns in the more contemporary type churches. The
choral pieces here have also an array of different accompaniments to express the
diversity we have in music.

So which hymn writers have I chosen to include? Again, variety is key here too.
Many of the writers you will recognise like Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts. I
try also to emphasise the different seasons of the Christian year like Easter
and Christmas so have chosen writers where carols are their speciality such as
Timothy Dudley-Smith. You may also notice a few more contemporary hymns
and one even by myself!

I hope you enjoy listening to this CD and that, as you do so, will catch a glimpse
of the wondrous cross that is so significant for many of us.

- Peter Burton 2020