1. High Street Hymns is first and foremost a ministry. Our goal is touch hearts and minds with the love and grace of God, primarily through the forgotten poetry of the Church. By writing new music for long-forgotten hymn texts, we hope to infuse the Church with songs that are both theologically rich and musically accessible. The words we sing each Sunday matter tremendously. They reach into the deepest places of our souls and form us, preaching the Gospel to us again and again.

2. We want to do more than release CDs. We’ve already begun to expand what we do to include hymnsings, worship leading and now workshops. We’re excited to be developing more resources for worship leaders and churches, like the High Street Hymns Hymnal. In the future, we’ll work to create more written resources, such as white papers, while looking at ways to serve the Church using new media. We also hope to be a connecting point for worship leaders looking to integrate hymns into their services.

3. Charitable donations help cover the costs of touring. Our heart is to be a blessing to the Church and we have the privilege of visiting churches all over the country. Yet, there are many smaller congregations and start-ups that cannot afford to cover our expenses. Donations will allow us to offer our ministry for free or at a heavily reduced rate for these congregations, who often need the most help with their worship services.

4. Remaining independent is critical to our mission. Although much good has come out of the Christian music industry, we recognize that it is an industry, not a ministry. At the end of the day, we hope to make decisions based on the good of the ministry and not the bottom line alone. We will inevitably interact with the Christian industry, but our goal is to not be dependent upon it. Securing our funding from private donations gives us the ability to make records and operate without relying on the Christian music industry, which we believe will make us a healthier, more effective ministry.

In the coming months, we will be recording a new CD and touring throughout the U.S. Along the way, we’d love your support — your prayers especially. There are so many ways to support us, like spreading the word or hosting a hymnsing. And if you’d like, by making a tax deductible donation. We look forward to many years of ministry and service to the Kingdom of God.

Hymn Title:

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

Hymn Credits:

Words by William Cowper (1774), music by Alex Mejias.

Recording Credits:

Produced by Alex Mejias. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Luke Rabin.

Notes:

This song was recommended to me by one of our subscribers from Richmond, VA! I’m so glad he did, because the lyrics are phenomenal. They bring me tremendous hope as I am reminded of God’s goodness in the face of the uncertainties of life. Like so many characters in the Bible, I am more often than not confused about God’s work in my life. Sometimes, I confess that I begin to wonder if He really cares about me, especially when the circumstances are difficult or seemingly impossible to overcome. Abraham surely felt this tension when God promised to make him the father of a nation at the age of 100!

God’s ways are truly not our own, but we can trust in His Grace and goodness. That’s what this song is all about. I tried to bring a sense of hope and anticipation to these lyrics with an upbeat, driving sound. The melody of the verse has some twists and turns, which gives way to a simple and expansive refrain describing the hope we have in Christ. I really hope that this song is a source of encouragement to you and that the words would sink deep into your heart as you listen.

Subscribe to HymnShare: http://www.highstreethymns.com/hymnshare.html

Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat

Hymn Credits:

Words by John Newton (1725-1807). Music by Alex Mejias.

Recording Credits:

Produced by Alex Mejias. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Luke Rabin.

Notes:

This hymn was recommended to me by one of our subscribers. I had a brief encounter with these words once on the RUF website, but had never taken the time to really read them. When I finally got around to open them up in the hymnal, I was blown away. I had known John Newton to be the author of “Amazing Grace”, but did not realize he had written many other hymns, some of which I had heard of and some not. “Approach, My Soul…” was written during his tenure as curate at Olney in Buckinghamshire, England. It was during this time that he met and collaborated with English poet and hymn author William Cowper to produce a historic collection of hymns called Olney Hymns in 1779 (both “Amazing Grace” and “Approach, My Soul…” are part of this collection).  The Olney Hymns were quite significant in their day and remain a cherished reserve of Christian hymnody.

After reading through the lyrics, I wanted to write music that expressed both a posture of penitence and supplication as well as the welcoming, loving invitation of God into His presence. I try to begin with tones and a melody that would bring us low in humility before God. As it stands the first and third stanzas work well in that regard whereas the second, fourth and fifth take on a more confident and joyful melody reflecting the wonder and relief of God’s acceptance and His victory over sin and Satan. I also wanted to keep the instrumentation simple, but with an element of mystery and awe accomplished by ambient sounds and echoey production.

Subscribe to HymnShare: http://www.highstreethymns.com/hymnshare.html

This week I set out to write new music for “Hark! A Thrilling Voice is Sounding”. This hymn is one of the earliest known Advent texts, some date it as far back as the 5th Century. By the 10th Century it was showing up in manuscripts and was ultimately brought into popularity by Edward Caswell in 1849. It’s based on two scriptures, Romans 13:11 and Luke 21:25.  There are actually 24 different translations of this text, with a variety of opening lines. The one that I use here comes out of the Anglican tradition.

I tried to write music that was in keeping with the tone of the lyrics and added a refrain that echoes a cry for help and an expression of hope in Christ. I used a layered vocal on the chorus to try to give it a feeling of a chorus or congregation singing. Hope you enjoy it and take time this Advent to remember the hope we have in Christ’s incarnation.

*This song was released through our HymnShare Series, but you can listen and download it here for free as our gift to you! For more information about HymnShare click here. Throughout this season of Advent and Christmas, we’ll be posting more free music here on the High Street Hymns blog. Hope you enjoy the tune!

Alex (HSH Director)

Download URL: http://www.highstreethymns.com/hark.mp3

Download Lead Sheet: http://www.highstreethymns.com/hark_lead.pdf

GET IT HERE FROM NOISETRADE:

Links to purchase the full CD:

iTUNES

HSH STORE (PHYSICAL CDs)

Here’s the link: http://www.itunes.com/highstreethymns

Now we’re looking for reviewers, if you’re interested please let us know!

Now you can visit HighStreetHymns.com to download chords charts to all the songs from the record. Merry (early) Christmas!

http://www.highstreethymns.com/chords.html

http://worthilymagnify.com

http://www.worshipmatters.com/

- Dayspring
- By Thy Mercy
- Love’s Redeeming Work is Done
- God is Love, Let Heaven Adore Him
- In the Cross of Christ (NEW)
- O Love of God, How Strong and True (NEW)

For more information please contact Alex - alex@highstreethymns.com.

(From John Wesley’s Select Hymns, 1791)

I. Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwords learn as many as you please.

II. Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.

III. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.

IV. Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.

V. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.

VI. Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.

VII. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

Intense, yes. But there are some nuggets of wisdom in this diatribe on hymn protocol. What’s your take on his advice?