Triumphantly Bridging the Old and New
It takes great skill to write music in a specific style that is not as common as it once was. The old hymns have a sophisticated vernacular, uncommon time signatures, a plethora of sharps and flats, making for difficult melodies to follow, and often poly rhythms. Opening an old dusty hymnal and peering into the pages, one will find exactly what we’re laying out here. Fortunately many of the older hymns can be played by simplifying rhythms and chord progressions without losing the depth or message of the author. In recent years, many churches have seen a resurgence and call from the congregations for a lyrical depth that is found in many hymns. How does one bridge the gap between the yearning for the old, yet abide by the scriptures that admonish us to “Sing a new song to the Lord!” (Psalm 96:1, 98:1, 40:3, 33:1-22, 95:1-11, Isaiah 42:10, Revelation 5:9)?
Exodus Music is making a strong attempt at bridging the divide between the theological integrity and creating music that is both familiar and new. With their extended EP Christ Has Triumphed, there are many songs that sound like they jumped from the pages of hymnals of another era. The lyrics are rich with strong theological teachings and rife with scripture! Musically, the melodies are reminiscent of traditional Celtic leanings, as in ‘Forever Changed’ and hints of Israeli folk tunes, like the old Christmas tune ‘Emmanuel,’ in the tune ‘Psalm 90.’ There’s even a dip into the Eastern European folk tunes with ‘Song of Deliverance.’ Lyrically and musically, this album is an exciting and excellent venture into folk music and elevating it to the glorification of God!
Christ Has Triumphed is excellently recorded, the musicians play with skill and excellence. These are not difficult to sing, and would work well in a congregation who desires more theological depth than the standard fare of simple love songs to Jesus.
If you are a worship leader, there are chord sheets and you can download the album for free and teach them to your church to sing and be blessed by!
It’s also a great album for your own private worship time! If you are blessed, be sure to bless their ministry to create more enriching music for the body of Christ!
Exodus Music is located in Belmont, North Carolina.
All links to their ministry, chord charts, can be found here: https://theexoduschurch.org/music/