Cardiphonia has produced a feast for the ears to strengthen the Feast of Christ in the modern church’s worship. Not long ago, Justin Taylor, when posting about our song, “Lord, I Believe,” commented: “I’m not aware of many hymns that are specifically designed for celebrating the Lord’s Supper.” This observation is typical and appropriate for those of us (myself included) reared in the modern evangelical church. Our tradition, by and large, has downplayed Communion. We speak of its importance. Some of us even believe it’s more than mere symbol and memorial. However, the importance of the Eucharist, for many of us, is not necessarily displayed in the frequency of our observance of it, and it is certainly not a large part of the body of literature of modern church music.
The irony of all of this is that many of our (Protestant) forefathers and mothers just a handful of generations ago were committed to writing songs for the Lord’s Supper. Cardiphonia has unearthed many of these old hymns and has encouraged new ones to be written. This is Cardiphonia’s most robust, most polished project to date: Songs for the Supper. And, as always, this record is FREE. But, if you do contribute something to the project, all the proceeds go to Stop Hunger Now. In celebrating the Meal, let’s give others a meal.
Some notable artists on this record: The Welcome Wagon, the old Red Mountain Music gang (Brian T. Murphy, Clint Wells), and The Ironsides (Matt Boswell‘s outfit). The songs by these folks are great, but they are by no means the only good tracks. (I especially love the first track by Bobby Krier and Justin Ruddy.) With this being the third “flash recording project” of Cardiphonia, we’re watching each of these artists improve in their songwriting and production. There are many great, great songs on this album.
I had the privilege of contributing a few songs to the record: (1) a folky remix of “Bread of the World in Mercy Broken,” from our album The Glad Sound; (2) a new tune for a forgotten hymn by Charles Wesley, entitled, “All Glory and Praise.” I’ll post my musings on this second song in a few days.
So go get this free record!
5 Comments on “Songs for the Supper: Great New and Old Communion Songs – FOR FREE”
zac, thanks for the great thoughts and for the sweet plug! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the new song. It is one of the most triumphant and celebrative Lord's Supper songs I have ever heard. So siked to have it as the capstone of the compilation!
Downloaded this yesterday. I have listened to it a few times so far. I gotta say the highlights are your new take of "Bread Of The World", as well as Clint Wells rendition of the same. My absolute favorite track has to be "The Lamb Has Overcome" by Luke Merton. WOW. I will be introducing that one for sure at Epiphany.
Sadly, and this is merely my limited opinion, the rest of the album was mostly unremarkable. There is a shift in style amidst most newer "hymn movement" arrangements to a somewhat pedestrian adult contemporary feel.
Again, I am a weirdo so take that with a grain of salt that has been trampled underfoot.
Peace.
Downloaded it already! The melody calms my spirit and the lyrics invites me to draw closer to God! Thanks bro!
Am listening to the tracks now. I love "The Lamb has Overcome". The lyrics and tune are very solemn and meaningful. Two thumbs up for this album.
Mark/Tyrone,
I, too, am really liking "The Lamb Has Overcome." It's surprisingly unconventional, surprisingly appropriate. Great, simple, accessible text, yet rich in meaning and symbolism.
Mark,
Hmm…I'm not sure I hear the same "pedestrian adult contemporary" sound you're talking about. Even if that were an accurate description, isn't part of our job as selectors of congregational music to "listen past" recorded arrangements to the fundamentals of the song? At least in the instances where I have heard and incorporated songs which have what I would consider an adult contemporary sound (e.g. the Getty's recordings), there's an integrity to the melody and song-structure that allows me to tweak rhythm, instrumentation, and even chord progressions…the three components that often make something feel or not feel "adult contemporary." This album tends to have more of those quirky, Sufjan-style songs that may be a little too flighty for congregational material. Personally, I still hear a lot of things that are quite usable. Perhaps, though, it's contextual.
In any regard, I'm just grateful that attention is being given to the topic of Communion in congregational song. Evangelicals need a better sung vocabulary for this practice.
Finally, I encourage you the way the legend goes with Isaac Watts' dad on the way home from church when young Isaac was complaining about the lifeless worship he experienced: "Write something better, then!" You've got the skills. Do it. 🙂