At the time it was installed in 1978, the organ was the largest mechanical action organ in the United States.  It was a massive instrument that thundered and whispered with power and beauty.

In 1998 after water and neglect had damaged the organ, there was a move to repair it and then:

“On December 2, 1998, twelve years of silence ended as the organ sounded once again during chapel amidst cheers from the student body. (Mr.) Tracy Russell, the new organist, accompanied the singing of the hymn that morning: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

“I’m very thrilled to see it and hear it being used again,” Celestino said. “From the beginning,” when plans to make repairs were announced, “the reaction from the students has been very positive,” he said. In talking with students, he added, “some thought (the organ) was for visual benefit only, because they’d never heard it. It never dawned on them that it made music.” (Story Link)

Never dawned on them that it made music?  University, right?

Nine years later in 2007, pictures showed the organ hidden behind banners and a massive video projection screen. When I was there last February it was no where to be seen. Blue curtains and bland panels covered the space and the grand organ was said to have been dismantled, put into storage and put on sale.

Bill McConnell was chapel organist for the 1999-2000 school year while he was full-time Minister of Music at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Tulsa and teaching part-time at ORU. He says:

I don’t know that the instrument has been dismantled (it might have been, I just don’t know for sure). It just makes me very sad that funds were spent to build this magnificent instrument, it was allowed to deteriorate once and then restored, and then was allowed to deteriorate again. It is an incredibly poor example of stewardship to use funds for a project of this size and complexity that you haven’t made any plans to sustain.

Shame.

Such a stunning work both visually and acoustically traded in for what? Bands playing the song of the week.

The video below is a nice piece on a young man who discovered what an organ could offer and plays regularly at his church.

It occurs to me as I’m listening to One Redemption, Tree Hill Collective’s new offering, that this is what frustrates me about many of the current worship offerings. It’s not that they aren’t made by talented people who love God and write great songs, it’s that you can’t seem to come up for air often enough. No white space. The feature that seems to show up in worship music routinely is the effects laden wall of sound – avalanches of guitars and loops encased in driving rhythms that seem more relentless than inviting. That’s why One Redemption is so refreshing and effective. This group appreciates musical white space. They provide room for the instruments to really be heard, the lyrics to be clear and the listener to explore the songs with curiosity rather than the anxiety of feeling over powered.

The treatment of O For A Thousand Tongues is outstanding; rising and falling in perfect cycles that keep the listener engaged and motivated to praise.  He Has Engraved You is a beautiful Hosea like song calling wandering lambs back to the fold.

Can you hear the ones He’s gathered?
All the lambs that He has found
All the angels will sing, every sinner He frees
They are met will joyful sound
They are met will joyful sound

I Stand is my favorite in the collection. Even though it’s written in the common first person perspective, it’s a gospel drenched call to the church to worship and has a really lovely spontaneous spot that you wish went on for some time.

I stand before His mercy seat – His holy throne of grace
I stand in freedom granted me from sin’s oppressive chains
So unrighteous, so unworthy guilty outcast, born to shame
I stand – this pardon covers me, my sentence He forgave

Saints arise – and bring your offering
Sanctified – no more in sin
Saints arise – and praise your Savior King
Magnify – and honor Him

Jeff McCullough is the “visionary behind the sound and production of each Tree Hill Collective song. Jeff owns and operates Tree Hill Media in Escondido, California.” Along with song writing partners Mark Snyder, Tim Hageland and Wisdom Moon, they create and produce the Tree Hill Collective music. Graciously, they provide the chord charts for all their songs. Follow then on Twitter and Facebook

The One Redemption collection is available on itunes and Noisetrade

Happy Easter!

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful

When we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful…

This is from Mike Cosper’s blog on the Gospel Coalition website.  Well worth a listen.

“I had the privilege of sitting down with Isaac Wardell and Kevin Twit to talk a bit about the effect of hymns on the life of our congregations. Wardell is the worship director at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, and one of the founders of Bifrost Arts, through which he’s recorded a number of traditional and retuned hymns. Twit is a pastor with Reformed University Fellowship at Bellmont University in Nashville, and the founder of Indelible Grace, a collection of musicians who have been writing retuned hymns for many years.

In this conversation, we talk about why we’ve returned to hymns and some of the reasons for retuning hymns with new melodies.”

Now Why This Fear from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

Now Why This Fear

Verse 1
Now why this fear and unbelief?
Has not the Father put to grief
His spotless Son for us?
And will the righteous Judge of men,
Condemn me for that debt of sin,
Now cancelled at the cross?

Chorus
Jesus, all my trust
Is in Your blood
Jesus, You’ve rescued us
Through Your great love!

Verse 2
Complete atonement You have made,
And by Your death completely paid
The debt Your people owed
No wrath remains for us to face
We’re sheltered by Your saving grace,
And sprinkled with Your blood.

Verse 3
Be still, my soul, and know this peace
The merits of your Great High Priest
Have bought your liberty
Rely then on His precious blood,
Don’t fear your banishment from God
Since Jesus sets you free

Tag
How sweet the sound of saving grace
How sweet the sound of saving grace
Christ died for me

Music and alt. and additional words by Doug Plank, original verses by Augustus Toplady (1772).
© 2011 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

In 1970, Elton had released two albums in the US; the self-titled debut with the hit “Your Song” and Tumbleweed Connection which included the outstanding “Burn Down the Mission.”  The film score for the movie “Friends” was also floating around though it’s official release wouldn’t be until ’71. On November 17th of 1970, Elton with bassist  Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson entered the recording studio of A&R in New York, for a live radio broadcast. There was a small, but very enthusiastic audience on hand for the 13 song performance.  It was never intended to be released as a LP but the circulation of poor quality bootlegs prompted an official release. Unfortunately, the entire concert didn’t make it onto vinyl. Of the 13 songs, only 6 would be released with a seventh, Amoreena, added to a ’96 reissue.
 

Elton himself has said that this is his best recorded live performance. I agree. It’s also the best opportunity to hear the amazing talents of  Murray and Olsson who just shine. This is also the only live recorded performance of the band as a three piece. A year later Davey Johnstone would join the band as a guitarist.

There are three covers on the LP, a full version of  Honky Tonk Women by the Stones and a nod to Get Back (Lennon-McCartney) and My Baby Left Me (Arthur Crudup) which appear as a medley in the extended (18:20) Burn Down the Mission.  The rest of the tracks are Elton and collaborator Bernie Taupin’s works: Take Me To the Pilot, Sixty Years On, Can I Put You On, Bad Side of the Moon and Burn Down the Mission.

Throughout the show the songs are performed with an energy and an urgency that highlights a band hitting its stride and full of promise. As the story goes, according to announcer Dave Herman who opens and closes the LP, Elton cut his hand at some point in his vigorous playing and by the concert’s end the keyboard was covered with blood. Appropriate. I can’t think of another live recording where the band so completely put all their cards on the table. No overdubs, no strings, no horns, nothing but a grand piano, bass and drums played with more gripping intensity than I have ever heard.