Faith: A Hymns Collection CD

Award-winning Avalon bring their unique voices to familiar favorites on this fan-requested Brown Bannister-produced album. Includes "Blessed Assurance"; "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"; "It Is Well"; "I'll Fly Away"; "In Christ Alone"; "Amazing Grace"; "How Great Thou Art"; "The Solid Rock"; "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"; the patriotic anthem "For Freedom"; and "Holy, Holy, Holy."

Hymns with Fresh Inspiration

Despite being a project of timeless classics, Avalon’s latest CD will delight your auditory senses with something unexpected. The hymns are familiar, but the music is new and inspired.

When tackling a remake of hymns, most musicians tend to take one of two roads. The first is that of completely redoing the composition with the exception of the lyrics: new melody, new tempo, new instruments, classic words. The other road is to take the original and simply jazz up the instrumentation while keeping the music the same.

Here Avalon takes a third path, a road less traveled, that should please both traditionalists and those seeking something different. The underbelly of the music on this CD is, at most points, completely unrecognizable as a hymn. Some songs sound like a gospel spiritual (“I’ll Fly Away”), some like an epic movie soundtrack (“It Is Well”), and still others like soft rock (“Blessed Assurance”). And, yet, the integrity of the melody and the lyrics are preserved. You can safely sing along with familiarity and still hear something new at the same time.

Only two tracks on the disc have a more traditional approach, the a cappella “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Though beautiful work, they fall short of the fresh perspective the other tracks create. Making up for that, the introspective “For Freedom” alone makes the CD worth having.

As expected, Avalon’s harmonies are smooth—sounding both like an entire choir and one voice. The music is simple, soulful, heartfelt and deep. The instrumentation is full and yet not overly layered, with the acoustic guitar lending an authentic feel and the piano a haunting, soulful vibe.

A wise man once said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” But taking a new approach to what is old but true can be just as refreshing as if it were new.

Meredith Ball - CCMMagazine.com

Average Rating:

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Reviewed by xyz (fairfield, CT), December 18, 2009

I absolutely love this CD. Their voices are beautiful and I am so grateful that all of the lyrics are God honoring and Christ centered - it is so hard to find truly Christian music these days. I would recomend this to anyone and encourage them to really listen to the lyrics. Praise God for such a Christ following group of singers!

Reviewed by Chris Hildebrandt (Morton Grove, IL), September 18, 2009

This is a beautiful uplifting CD. The arrangements add today's sound with traditional hymns, but without losing the flavor of the original arrangements.

Reviewed by Tara (Cambridge, OH), June 06, 2009

This CD has beautiful arrangements of well-known hymns. I would recommend this product to anyone who enjoys listening to hymns performed by small groups.

Reviewed by First Bapt Chu Walnut Valley (Walnut, CA), March 13, 2009

We are thoroughly enjoying our Avalon CD. Our teens are signing and acting out "In Christ Alone" in our service. All numbers bring a new life to the hymns we all love with a contemporary sound performed with sensitivity.

Reviewed by Fred Annis (De Pere, WI), January 06, 2009

The cd was well done. Excellent sound and quality. I have followed Avalon for some time. This is a nice variety of songs.

Reviewed by Leo Mazuera (Tustin CA), December 25, 2008

When you mix the talent of Avalon with the deep and rich lyrics of old hymns, you have an album that is truly a masterpiece! There should be more of these kinds of albums, using all the great hymns of old.

Reviewed by Tanis Schwaninger (Trappe, MD), October 02, 2008

Wonderful CD. The music is magnificent. The blend of voices professional. The messages are uplifting!

Reviewed by Ingrid Creager (Lompoc, CA), November 11, 2007

This beautiful singing and music bring you back to a more joyous time! The voices, and how they harmonize are fantastic! A must have for your music library!

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