Festival Of Hymns

The singing of hymns and psalms in worship pre-dates Christianity. It is something that Jesus himself would have been familiar with in the temple, and he certainly sang at the Last Supper; 'and after psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives', writes Matthew. Although none of the hymns on this recording can be dated from the time of our Lord, we do start at the 7th century, and the listener will hear many of the hymns most loved by today's Christians. Some of the hymns are sung in the traditional manner; others have been newly arranged in a strikingly original way, by Colin Mawby, while the remainder are prefaced or followed by a short improvisation by Malcolm Archer. We feel that the recording amply demonstrates that hymn-singing is not just alive and well, but flourishing beyond all measure.

Malcolm Archer and Colin Mawby made the arrangements for this recording, a fact that speaks for itself! Plenty of style.