CD Review: Great Hymns of the Faith

Volume 1  by the St. Olaf Choir.

I’ve always liked hymns sung by choirs, but I haven’t had much success finding recordings of choir-sung hymns that met my standards. They were either boring (You know, all done in four parts, straight out of a hymnal with organ accompaniment), or bad (Bad singing, bad recording, you name it.). But this CD done by the St. Olaf Choir measures up in every way.

The 75 voice St. Olaf Choir, according to their information page, is  

the premier choral ensemble of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. St. Olaf College is a four-year, co-educational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)…. [This choir] is the pioneer a cappella choir in the United States. For more than three-quarters of a century, the choir has set a standard of choral excellence and remained at the forefront of choral artistry. 

And the singing the St. Olaf Choir does is excellent. As you’ll see, I have a few complaints about the selections and the arrangements, but never about the performance of the choir.

On Great Hymns of the Faith Volume 1, you’ll hear

1. Holy God We Praise Thy Name. Otherwise known as Te Deum. Gregorian chant-like for the first verse, then full parts with organ accompaniment, and back to chant-like for the end. I liked this one a lot.
   
2. Great is Thy Faithfulness. Unadorned arrangement: four parts with organ, then a cappella, and back to organ again. Very nicely done, but also very Lutheran.
   
3. Praise to the Lord.  An interesting and very pretty a cappella arrangement, but lacking the “oomph” that this glorious hymn warrants.
4. Rise Up, O Men of God. Men’s voices only, appropriately enough, sung a cappella. Straight forward, strong, just right.
   
5. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. This hymn is the highlight of this CD, I’d say. Lutherans singing Luther’s anthem with a whole orchestra and lots of percussion, and a third verse that sounds like battle. You can’t get more exciting than that.
   
6. Children of the Heavenly Father. A hymn from the Scandinavian Lutheran heritage. If A Mighty Fortress weren’t the top one for me, this would be, since this is one of my own top-ten hymns. A cappella and like a lullaby. You can hear this one for yourself here, although it sounds much better on the CD.
7. We Praise You, O God.  Another unadorned arrangement, but never boring.
8. From Heaven Above. Another of Luther’s hymns, a Christmas hymn. (“O Lord, you have created all. How did you come to be so small…?”) Party pooper Rebecca did not like this one: Way too much loud organ and, worst of all, talking crowd sounds.
9. O Day Full of Grace. Another Christmas hymn with Lutheran roots. I’m not crazy about having a few Christmas songs plopped into the middle of a CD of hymns, but I do like this arrangement of this hymn. I’ll be listening to it more when Christmas rolls around.
10. Thy Little Ones, Dear Lord. A Scandinavian Lutheran Christmas song again. Simply done, just as it should be.
11. Beautiful Savior. This is a signature piece of the St. Olaf Choir, arranged by the choir’s founder, F. Melius Christiansen. It has an alto solo that seemed too straight and a little lifeless because of it.
12. Blessed Assurance. Sung right out, exactly as a gospel hymn should be, accompanied by a swingy, clangy piano. 
13. Abide With Me. I’d like to say this one is very Lutheran, but I already used that phrase, didn’t I?
14. What a Friend We Have in Jesus. A plain, a cappella rendition of my least favorite hymn. Ho-hummish.
    
15. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. Another of my favorite hymns and another highlight of the CD. Reverently soft to start and full-voiced to finish with organ accompaniment.
    
16. Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ. Folk dancy or Jamaicanish or something. A nice change from all the organ.
    
17. Praise His Holy Name. They’re going for black gospel on this one. I’m not sure they quite make it, but it’s fun, anyway.
    
18. Here I Am, Lord. Very pleasing song,  pretty piano, and exceptional singing.
19. Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. Ending with full orchestra and full voice. Perfect choice.

I ordered Great Hymns of the Faith, Volume 1 from Singers.com. It came within a week and there were no extra charges for duty, etc.