tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post4085428042113797110..comments2024-03-18T16:16:04.584-05:00Comments on The Watchman's Bagpipes: Some Thoughts on HymnsGlenn E. Chatfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04117405535707961903noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post-80081216056940352812010-03-20T01:30:34.450-05:002010-03-20T01:30:34.450-05:00Everything is going down the tubes in the visible ...Everything is going down the tubes in the visible church. Praise God that He knows those who are His.<br />Lin in BCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post-4101529702349783332010-02-02T21:15:24.733-06:002010-02-02T21:15:24.733-06:00It's funny that you posted this, as just last ...It's funny that you posted this, as just last night I blogged about a new CD I'd bought, Hymns: Ancient and Modern.<br /><br />I definitely prefer old hymns with modern musical arrangements to most of CCM's "praise" songs, for the reasons stated here. Chris Tomlin does many of them well....I had forgotten about "The Wondrous Cross", which Michael W. Smith does wonderfully. <br /><br />However, I agree with you about Agnew's "Grace Like Rain". Not just the lyrics - the "melody" is almost impossible for congregational singing. Not only that, but Agnew's voice sounds perpetually hoarse. <br /><br />Nothing is better than "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes. Although I do like Tomlin's "My Chains are Gone". <br /><br />Great post.Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15411152395819469453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post-37709032716185252432010-02-02T08:27:58.343-06:002010-02-02T08:27:58.343-06:00I don't mind new tunes for old hymns, as long ...I don't mind new tunes for old hymns, as long as the tune is congruent with the lyrics.<br /><br />One of my favorite hymns is "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," which I think is wonderful doctrinally. I like it best to the tune "Hamburg," but I tend to hear more often at our church to the tune of "Wally Wally." Both tunes are congruent with the lyrics.<br /><br />A major problem with most Contemporary "hymns" is that they are doctrinally vacuous and trite. And so many of them are all about "me" and how "I" feel.Glenn E. Chatfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04117405535707961903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post-61956516255998663182010-02-02T08:20:19.032-06:002010-02-02T08:20:19.032-06:00I know of hymn remakes that turned out well, so wh...I know of hymn remakes that turned out well, so while I prefer the traditional melody (or melodies as the case may be), the newer tunes are appreciated.<br /><br />On the other hand, as you have stated, many do not work at all being transformed from majestic pieces to little more than ditties or jingles.Steve Brickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809609523737519737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post-4906130694659347632010-02-02T05:49:13.518-06:002010-02-02T05:49:13.518-06:00I realize the modern tune for Amazing Grace is not...I realize the modern tune for Amazing Grace is not the original, however it has indeed been the traditional one for a century.<br /><br />Grace Like Rain, bothers me because of the charismatic subtlety (as noted by drewjustice), but I have heard it many times, the first being at a church I attended in St. Louis years ago. I didn't like it then either. I've listened to it on various internet cuts, and it is still the same dirge-like, no-melody boredom. As I asked, WHY? WHY change it just to add a charismatic chorus?<br /><br />OF course not every tune was meant for the pipes! I doubt if any were. I was just making the point of the different effect you get with a different tune.<br /><br />Oh, and it was John Newton, not Isaac Watts.Glenn E. Chatfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04117405535707961903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post-46169725490514399052010-02-01T22:46:20.554-06:002010-02-01T22:46:20.554-06:00Interesting comments, but one must remember that w...Interesting comments, but one must remember that what we know as the "traditional" tune for "Amazing Grace" was not the original tune attached to the lyrics by Watts. Not every song sung in church is meant to be played on the bagpipes. <br /><br />I have actually heard "Grace Like Rain" done well, and I have also heard "The Love of God" done badly. Try not to judge a song on one experience. It sounds like you experienced a bad interpretation of the song. Too bad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post-40455939260012322432010-02-01T20:30:04.999-06:002010-02-01T20:30:04.999-06:00I think pretty much any time you hear the word &qu...I think pretty much any time you hear the word "rain" in a modern song, it implies Charismatic theology. The "rain" is supposed to be the Holy Spirit, and the "falling down" of the rain is supposed to be a Pentacost-type experience. I guess it's possible that I'm wrong, though.<br /><br />Of course, it isn't the Holy Spirit that washes our sins away. It's the atonement. The Holy Spirit just enables us to believe. Hence, in the Bible the Holy Spirit is described as living water that you *drink* or that waters vegetation, not as rain that washes your sins away. (John 4:10-15; John 7:38-39; Revelation 22:1-2) And equating the Holy Spirit with "grace" just seems like bad theology, even though the Holy Spirit comes as a result of grace.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6043971967398769903.post-72290290344959902982010-02-01T01:06:49.652-06:002010-02-01T01:06:49.652-06:00I had some friends sing a duet of "The Love o...I had some friends sing a duet of "The Love of God" as part of my first wife's memorial service. Very appropriate and very meaningful.Ron Livesayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10685550197231995860noreply@blogger.com