Reviewed by Ronnie Payne

This is the third recording in Kingsway's 'Hymns' project. On this occasion a Welsh Baptist choir (the Cambrensis Choir) combine with a small orchestra to produce some fairly traditional renderings of well known hymns by such giants as John Newton, Charles Wesley, and...em, well...Gerald Coates(l). There are 12 hymns here; 10 well established and two ("The Servant King" and "Behold The Lamb") whose permanence in church hymn books remains to be seen. The choir perform well enough and not surprisingly (for a choir from the valleys) they sound at their most confident on "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah". Elsewhere, however, they do seem to lack a bit of oomph, especially during some of the more triumphalistic pieces. A pleasant variety of musical arrangements maintain the interest, and yet somehow there is lacking a bit of passion. These shell like auricles found the overall effect to be more soporific than inspirational, heralding good news for insomniacs, but which is sadly unlikely to inspire a younger generation to blow the dust off their Redemption Hymnals.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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