In Life And Death by Greg Sykes / THE NEW HYMNS OF FANNY CROSBY
The incomparable Fanny Crosby's gift to the Church shines anew in
Blessed Assurance: The New Hymns Of Fanny Crosby
releasing globally Oct.
9 from Integrity Music. The project features unfinished and
never-before-published Crosby hymns respectfully crafted with help from
Paul Baloche,
Michael Farren,
All
Sons & Daughters,
Jon Egan
(New Life, Desperation Band),
Bart Millard (MercyMe),
Stu
G (Delirious?, One Sonic Society),
Michael W. Smith,
Matt Redman,
Krissy
Nordhoff ("Your Great Name"),
Greg Sykes,
Dustin Smith and more.
Complete with vocal performances from Baloche, Egan, All Sons & Daughters,
Blind Boys of Alabama, Elias
Dummer (The City Harmonic), Ricky Skaggs & The Whites, Darlene Zschech,
Israel Houghton with Seth & Nirva,
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and
Meredith Andrews,among others, Blessed
Assurance: The New Hymns Of Fanny Crosbystands as an original, new-heritage collection from this blind composer that has inspired
generations
of Christians around the world with hymns like "To God Be the Glory,"
"All the Way My Savior Leads Me," "Blessed Assurance" and "Redeemed."
"When
you start looking at her legacy, you begin to understand how
this remarkable woman truly lived her worship," says Integrity's VP of
Song & Artist Development, Adrian Thompson. "She lived a frugal
life, was diligent in writing, a blessing to the poor, didn't build
herself up... And yet, every living president in her lifetime
wanted to meet her. The impact of her life and the influence of her
hymns simply cannot be overstated."
In
celebration of the remarkable legacy of Fanny J. Crosby 100 years
after her death, Integrity Music offered the select gathering of
remarkable worship leaders and songwriters above access to an astounding
2,700 unpublished and unfinished compositions by Crosby. This forgotten
musical treasure that sat hidden for years was
passed from Crosby's publisher to the historic Wheaton College.
Stephen
Kelley, an artist, writer and entrepreneur who collects antique
hymnals, learned of the forgotten cache and tracked them down to
Wheaton. "They wheeled out 20 library carts containing the manuscripts,"
Kelley recalls, "…some lyrics were on scraps of paper and the backs of
envelopes, letterhead, legal paper, all with Fanny's
initials. I couldn't believe it when I saw them."
New life was breathed into 15 of these hidden gems, recorded for Blessed
Assurance to shine a modern light on the remarkable legacy of the woman called "the Queen of Gospel Song Writers."
"There
are so many magical moments on this record," says Bobby Blazier
(The Alternators), who co-produced the album with Christian music
veteran John Hartley. "Fanny Crosby was quite an intellectual, but she
loved different styles of music, so we tried to honor her in that way,
leaning more toward Americana, than just about anything."
For
example, "Where Could We Go," which was completed by multiple
Dove Award nominated Integrity writer Michael Farren, "sounds different
than anything you might consider to be a Crosby hymn," says Blazier.
"The music has a ragtime feel to it, something that Fanny would have
loved. Then, hearing the Blind Boys interpret it
in their bluesy, soulful way, it just turned out great and is so true to
the Americana approach."
Other tracks on Blessed
Assurance: The New Hymns Of Fanny Crosby include
All Sons & Daughters' tender
call to worship "We Are Waiting," Michael W. Smith's interpretation of
"No One Like Jesus," Paul Baloche's take on "Come To The Water," and the
unexpectedly Southern Gospel turn Ernie Haase gives to "I Have Found A
Priceless Treasure."
"There
are a lot of churches that prefer hymns, and there's a new
generation discovering them for the first time as they seek deeper roots
within a fresh, modern context," explains Thompson. "With these two
connections in mind, we've tried to keep as much of the original lyric
as possible, engaging songwriters/leaders in
the modern worship movement to help usher the richness of those lyrics
into the modern era."
The full Blessed
Assurance: The New Hymns Of Fanny Crosby track listing follows:
1. We
Are Waiting - featuring All Sons & Daughters (writers
Leslie Jordan, David Leonard, Alli Rogers, Fanny Crosby)
2. Not
Be Moved - featuring Jon Egan/New Life Worship (writers
Jon Egan, Glenn Packiam, Dustin Smith, Fanny Crosby)
3. Hallelujah
[King of Glory] - featuring Dustin Smith (writers
Dustin Smith, Jennie Lee Riddle, Greg Sykes, Fanny Crosby)
4. In
The Blood - featuring Israel Houghton with Seth & Nirva (writers
Paul Baloche, Rita Baloche, Fanny Crosby)
5.Blessed
Savior, Fount of Grace - featuring Darlene Zschech (writers
Michael Farren, Krissy Nordhoff, Fanny Crosby)
6.No
One Like Jesus - featuring Michael W Smith (writers
Stu G, Michael Farren, Fanny Crosby)
7. Blessed
Assurance - featuring Chris McClarney (Fanny
Crosby's original lyrics)
8.In
Life And Death - featuring Greg Sykes (writers
Greg Sykes, Jennie Lee Riddle, Fanny Crosby)
9. Wholly
Thine - featuring Meredith Andrews (writers
Michael Farren, Stu G, Dustin Smith, Fanny Crosby)
10. The
Savior Of All - featuring Matt Redman (writers
Matt Redman, Fanny Crosby)
11. Come
To The Water - featuring Paul Baloche (writers
Michael Farren, Stu G, Dustin Smith, Fanny Crosby)
12. I
Have Found A Priceless Treasure - featuring Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (writers
Don Poythress, Wayne Haun, Fanny Crosby)
13.All
Is Well - featuring Ricky Skaggs & The Whites (writers
Don Poythress, Tony Wood, Fanny Crosby)
14.I
Never, No Never - featuring Elias Dummer (writers
Stu G, Bart Millard, Fanny Crosby)
15.Where
Could We Go - featuring Blind Boys Of Alabama with Michael Farren (writers
Michael Farren, Jessica Campbell, Fanny Crosby)
About Integrity Music:
Integrity
Music is part of the David C Cook family, a nonprofit global
resource provider serving the Church with life-transforming materials.
Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and with offices in
Tennessee and the United Kingdom, Integrity is committed to taking songs
of substance to the local church and its leaders
around the world. Integrity publishes many of the top songs in the
Church, including the No. 1 radio hit "We Believe" (Newsboys) as well as
church standards "Revelation Song," "Open The Eyes Of My Heart," "Your
Great Name" and "I Am Free." Additional information
can be found at
www.integritymusic.com.