Salvation is Created
By Bifrost Arts
Download the song “Joy Joy!!!”
I love music. But usually this is the time of year that department stores start piping in sickeningly sweet Christmas music presumably designed to work shoppers into a buying frenzy. Which is a shame, given the real beauty and deep mystery of the season.
Which is why I am so excited to recommend the album Salvation is Created by Bifrost Arts, a collection of Christmas songs (though the title worship songs is quite equally appropriate featuring such artists as Derek Webb, Diane Birch, Aimee Wilson and a large number of others.
Those who know me know that I am such an avid supporter of Christianity and the arts, so it gives me great pleasure to hear Bifrost Arts describe themselves as “a sacred music non-profit that exists to enrich the church and engage the world with beauty and truth.”
The songs are swirling, almost Neo-Baroque arrangements featuring a wide variety of instruments, all recorded in a creaky, low-fi quality that is both haunting and resonant. Some of the songs are familiar (“O Little Town of Bethlehem”), though other Christmas songs are taken from old, sixteenth century hymns that should seem fresh and new to most listeners.
The album would almost be creepy were it not describing the miraculous gift of the incarnation. And that is what draws me to the album more than anything else: its uncanny ability to package deep mystery in the layered textures of chord and voice.
You can download the song “Joy Joy!!!” by clicking here. The entire album is currently available for streaming preview at the Reformissionary blog (who, I should mention, writes a far more intelligent and thorough review than mine).
Highly recommended.