Well [expletives deleted because of the topic], I was writing a longish reply and it took me so long I got logged out. I'll try again over the weekend.
GP - re Adrian Snell - are you thinking of Psalm 139 which is on Father, released in 1990? I checked out my put away CDs yesterday and discoved I have Father , and Kiss the Tears. I must play them later. I also 'discovered' a Taize CD - O Lord Hear My Prayer - that I had forgotten about that I am sure would fit the bill.
@greg, yes, that would be the one. I had just moved to Germany alone as a student, and that was a song that helped me along.
ETA, no, just did a search, it wasn't that one (though it contains one of the same lines, that's why I thought it was at first). It was Psalm 27 from Feed the Hungry Heart. Had it on cassette - no longer. Doesn't seem to be available anywhere. Of course it's also entirely possible the actual music would by now disappoint the memory.
Phil Keaggy is a fantastic guitarist who started out with a great power trio a la Cream and Hendrix but has gone on to do many things acoustic and electric including some Christian music. He doesn't seem narcissistic, sentimental or CCM to me, but check him out if you like and judge for yourself.
Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck both made spiritual albums that were well received.
I know you're not looking for classical music, or there would be endless suggestions, but you might consider some things that are in that tradition but contemporary, like the music of Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, or John Tavener. I don't think of them as being Rutteresque.
Savae. (San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble, but Savae sounds more exotic) is on both emu and Spotify. I got their Native Angels way back in the unlimited days and still like it. It's early Latin American music that blends chant with native instrumentation. It sound like a ghastly mess, but it actually works well. They can also be heard doing their own take on gospel on an Amazon free sampler.
Patty GriffinDowntown Church and Tom Jones--Praise and Blame. Really: Tom Jones. You'd have to hear it.
Don't know if you've had a chance to check out Sandra McCracken, but if you like Jill Phillips kind of music, you may like McCracken.
You can listen to and download for free 4 tracks from her albums, "Feast or Fallow" and "Builder & Architect" here.
Also, you can listen to another track from Feast or Fallow here. The track is "Faith's Review & Expectation," which is a re-work of the old hymn Amazing Grace using the original wording. There's a couple of paragraphs that make for some interesting reading on the history and the recording of that hymn there, too. (At this link, you can also click on the titles to all the songs on the album to hear them in their entirety.)
EDIT// McCracken's husband, Derek Webb, sings backup on Jill Phillips' "Kingdom Come" album.
Thanks, Kez, I'll listen to those too. I would not say of the Jill Phillips that it's entirely my kind of music, but what I appreciate about that album is that the kind of music does not overwhelm the hymns themselves, if you know what I mean. Less ends up more, and it's very pretty but not ostentatious.
@GP - I would heartily rec the Holmes Brothers gospel album Speaking In Tongues which I just got from Guvera this weekend - gospel tunes by a rocking good blues outfit.
Gp, you don't mention language, but given your stated interests in text, I take it you're not looking for religious vocal music in languages you don't understand?
Very nice hymn.
Yes, I've been working on some Russian stuff. Just got the Rachmaninov all night vigil done by the Estonian Philharmonic Choir from Guvera. I've very much enjoyed this one too (from emusic):
My Russian is very very rusty these days, and not always up to following singing, but I get snippets along the way. This sounds interesting too, expensive on emusic though, will have to look around. (Can't access Guvera right now as I am outside the US).
Country/folk, not too sentimental so far. Understated and quite pleasant.
Wilder Adkins was born in Marietta, Georgia where he grew up hearing the old folk songs his dad would play. As a young man, he lived for a short while in a small village in the middle of India, where he learned to sing in the unabashed style of simple people. He now makes his home among the kind people of Birmingham, Alabama. Today he still sings about simple things, like faith and flowers; his courtly-but-witty lyrics evoke a Deep South Shelley or Yeats, riding a joyful guitar dexterity.
Yes, I sometimes think that some of the threads on here could be condensed into really useful blog posts if anyone had the time. Thanks for the suggestions! We have a good Mahalia collection and some Rosette Tharpe. Elvis I generally avoid. We have a lot of Mavis Staples but I don't think that one...must check.
Comments
The Replacements (with Tom Waits, I believe) - Date To Church
"It might not help, but it can't hurt!"
"I was lookin' for that great jazz note..."
ETA, no, just did a search, it wasn't that one (though it contains one of the same lines, that's why I thought it was at first). It was Psalm 27 from Feed the Hungry Heart. Had it on cassette - no longer. Doesn't seem to be available anywhere. Of course it's also entirely possible the actual music would by now disappoint the memory.
Sacred harp music is southern, white, rural and traditional, but it's definitely not country. There is a fair amount of it on eMusic and they had a Spotlight column about it several years ago. There's a lot of it on Spotify, too. At the bottom of the Wikipedia page about it there are links to a few Web sites with Sacred Harp music on them.
Phil Keaggy is a fantastic guitarist who started out with a great power trio a la Cream and Hendrix but has gone on to do many things acoustic and electric including some Christian music. He doesn't seem narcissistic, sentimental or CCM to me, but check him out if you like and judge for yourself.
Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck both made spiritual albums that were well received.
I know you're not looking for classical music, or there would be endless suggestions, but you might consider some things that are in that tradition but contemporary, like the music of Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, or John Tavener. I don't think of them as being Rutteresque.
Savae. (San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble, but Savae sounds more exotic) is on both emu and Spotify. I got their Native Angels way back in the unlimited days and still like it. It's early Latin American music that blends chant with native instrumentation. It sound like a ghastly mess, but it actually works well. They can also be heard doing their own take on gospel on an Amazon free sampler.
Patty GriffinDowntown Church and Tom Jones--Praise and Blame. Really: Tom Jones. You'd have to hear it.
This review is accurate.
Wow, there's still plenty on this thread I need to listen to.
You can listen to and download for free 4 tracks from her albums, "Feast or Fallow" and "Builder & Architect" here.
Also, you can listen to another track from Feast or Fallow here. The track is "Faith's Review & Expectation," which is a re-work of the old hymn Amazing Grace using the original wording. There's a couple of paragraphs that make for some interesting reading on the history and the recording of that hymn there, too. (At this link, you can also click on the titles to all the songs on the album to hear them in their entirety.)
EDIT// McCracken's husband, Derek Webb, sings backup on Jill Phillips' "Kingdom Come" album.
Nevertheless, I'll plug this great Polish album: Kapela Brodow - Piesni Maryjne (Folk songs and hymns to Virgin Mary)
(I'm neither religious nor speak Polish, so perhaps this falls under the intent of your contraindication for "instrumental recordings")
My favorite (having been raised Greek Orthodox) - the Trisagion Hymn.
Yes, I've been working on some Russian stuff. Just got the Rachmaninov all night vigil done by the Estonian Philharmonic Choir from Guvera. I've very much enjoyed this one too (from emusic):
My Russian is very very rusty these days, and not always up to following singing, but I get snippets along the way.
This sounds interesting too, expensive on emusic though, will have to look around. (Can't access Guvera right now as I am outside the US).
Country/folk, not too sentimental so far. Understated and quite pleasant.
This has a delightfully off-kilter rendition of Every Hour I Need Thee as the opening track.
Some additional thoughts:
Elvis Presley - How Great Thou Art
Louis Armstrong - Louis And the Good Book
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Gospel Train
Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone
The Louvin Brothers - Satan is Real
The Staple Singers - Freedom Highway Complete: Recorded Live At Chicago's New Nazareth Church
Mahalia Jackson - The World's Greatest Gospel Singer