Praise & Worship and Contemporary Christian Choral Music
There was no mistaking the true mission of the RCC Choir: it was dedicated to the full spectrum of choral arts, and its main calling was to present a diversified program of all good and praiseworthy music that would be used by God to bless the congregation and Himself. Included in a well-rounded presentation of music is that of contemporary Christian choral, and its subcategory of praise and worship music. Below is a sampling of these modern choral styles:
Instrumentation: Guitar, elec. bass, flute and arrangements, Michael Roy; percussion, Dale Chapel; piano/synth, Diane Maltby
Holy Ground: Diane offers this interesting piano score to the P&W choral piece. Debbie Knaus is on synthesizer. The RCC Choir sings on a Sunday morning.
Praise the Name of Jesus: The answer part device is used to echo the melody (this time led by the tenor) in the 2nd pass.
I Will Enter His Gates: this slightly flawed audio file is nevertheless rare in that regular Sunday service music, esp. P&W,
was seldom recorded. Conversely, the concerts were recorded with regularity.
Great Is the Lord: The full choral treatment is given this praise song, including an unlikely instrumental solo supplied by MR. This
Rock of My Savation: On the 2nd verse, the altos, tenors and basses set up a responsive answer to the soprano lead.
Go Out With Joy / I Will Sing: Two P&W tunes are intertwined in this chart. MR also adds some flute to the mix. This presentation
was on a Sunday morning at RCC...back in the day. Others in the vocal group: Katie Anderson, Becky Spence, Jan, and John Flynt.
Go Out With Joy / I Will Sing: This version was recorded in MRs studio; No one seems to remember this recording, but here it is.
arrangement was specially written for the Rock of Ages Concert.
Easter Sunday Morning, March 31, 1991 -
Redlands Community Church
Sing Hallelujah to the Lord: This praise song starts off in Am, modulates to Bm, then ascends to Em, and Ron Hack takes the high lead solo. MR is singing lead in the lower keys and playing guitar. Diane Maltby is on piano. Ron, by the way, was with MR at the erstwhile West Kendall Presb. Church (PCA) over a year before this date. That church ceased to be on the last day of 1989: MR came to RCC as music director 1 month later.
King of Kings: Full of accelerandos, esp. the last verse.
Worthy Is the Lamb That Was Slain: The choir and congregation sing this well-known anthemic praise song by...?... I forgot; maybe Diane can remember. When I go online it shows me the wrong songs.
Lamb of God: This is John's song, his arrangement, his stellar tenor voice and his piano accompaniment: on this beautiful duet, John Flynt teams up with Becky Spence led the sopranos at the top of the choir for all 11 years at RCC; to have both of these talented soloists able to sing at this high level of excellence was a blessing and a
matchless resource; it virtually allowed the choir to accept any possible challenge. Becky had a three octave range and excelled in the early music idioms: oratorio,16th c. madrigals and medieval music. Here, however, she shows her vast idiomatic range by singing this contemporary Christian duet with John, who, himself, could also sing every idiom from oratorio to cont. Christian. This recording is from the Palm Sunday Concert, 1995.
In His Presence: Katie (Burdick) Anderson sings this contemporary Christian song while accompanying herself on piano, something she did with towering excellence, but also rarely. From Aug. 1999 - Redlands Community Church. Listen to the consummate artist providing the solo and the accompaniment.