EVERY PSALM - Poor Bishop Hooper (album of the year!)

EVERY-PSALM Poor bishop Hooper.

The best album of 2020, goes not to album - but a mission worthy of a life.  Or two. the Every-Psalm Project on Spotify the Every-Psalm Project on Youtube An introduction to the Project (Youtube)

I don’t know when the husband and wife duo of Jesse and Leah Roberts, otherwise known as  Poor Bishop Hooper first envisioned (or started recording) the Every-Psalm project, however, they have been releasing a recording a week, for the all of last year, and don't plan on stopping for almost two more.

Their goal.  Take the canon of Hebrew Psalms, all 150, and create a distilled song from each.  Then dribble out their craftsmanship over150 weeks!

Some years ago my wife and I attended a church that had as its base conviction that the people of God were to use the book of Psalms for their sole “hymnbook” in Christian worship.  While I did not embrace the conviction of “Exclusive Psalmody” I noted something huge.  In singing the Psalms we gave rise to places our pleading, broken, and sometimes forlorn souls, that had never received a proper airing.  The Psalms allow us to express not only joy, but anger, disappointment, and crippling sorrow. 
As for Poor Bishop Hooper’s renditions.  These are not a verse by verse adaptations, though the couple does a fantastic job of getting to the heart of each Psalm and plumbing it for its spiritual and psychological depth.  There is all the welling happiness, and bone crunching lamentation an afflicted soul could long for.
I won’t say a lot about style for the simple reason that you can listen to about three of their adaptations and get the gist. Their sensibilities are spare, airy, and haunting. Psalm one, a modern “Ode to Joy” rolls out with effervescent  Leah solo.  Psalm Two, introduces Jesse’s tender grit, then the twine.    I read in their literature that they come to their craft with guitar and an upright bass. A video shows the couple working a large piano, together. I hear tasteful electronica, echo, and gizmo spice.   (I wonder if the couple do all the music, or if they are friends with a chamber orchestra and mixing chamber guru.)  Some compositions sound like they are singing in a cave with dripping springs.

In addition to all things audio-artistic, Poor Bishop Hooper represents, knows or otherwise lives on top of an art museum.  I have no idea who is responsible for the attending art, but it appears that in addition to each weekly composition, PBH pushes out a new illustration (with the feel of William Blake etching on leather).   The Bishop’s commitment to the visual arts permeates their entire catalogue.
Final synopsis: From top to bottom-- quality, commitment, staggering beauty and depth.   The likes of which our world rarely sees.

Rachel Wilhelm: Songs of Lament

Preface:

I am part of a group on Facebook given to the "glory" years of Jesus Music (1979-1989). I am not sure exactly how the group decided upon those years, however, there is a shared feeling among members that given the homogenization of Christian Praise music, that few people today are creating music that matches the importance, vitality, or skill of our chosen era.

While I sometimes join them in head-shaking as we look at the state of Christian artistry (especially that which hits the airwaves) I am convinced that many in the group are simply not aware of the many profoundly gifted musicians and singers making new music in the Jesus Music tradition. Over the next year, I hope to highlight artists (maybe one a week) that stand out for creating music that is current and sanctified and culturally engaged, and has not succumbed to the homogeneity of the age.  My first pick:

Rachel Wilhelm Songs of Lament - 2017 (Bandcamp link) Sacred/Folk/Adult Contemporary

For as long as I can remember, I have been in love with minor keys. I came out of the womb enveloped in them. I imagine my soul connecting to each tendril, as I lose myself in melancholy.

I have always written my own songs, but when I finally recognized the beauty of God’s Word, I realized that some of those words found their pairing with the minor keys that so inflamed in my heart, seeking to be consoled. God’s Word showed me, in effect, that it was okay to be sad.” (Rachel Wilhelm)

Quick Spin:

Songs of Lament, by Rachel Wilhelm is an album of refreshing clarity and beauty, given to themes of sorrow and God’s mercy in times of pain. Rachel gives voice to sober reflection inside a bed of stylized folk with lite-jazz and celtic underpinnings. I am claiming this for  my “essential listening” file.

Long Play:
I came across Rachel on a lark, while tooling around NoiseTrade. Not only is the music lean, spare, haunting, it chases territory that much in need of chasing.

NoiseTrade, in describing Rachel’s audio ethos, place her in company with Sara Groves, Sandra McCracken, and Audrey Assad.  Of these three, Rachel, probably compares most directly with the rougher-hewn Sandra McCracken, though Rachel sings at a decidedly higher register, making her a more direct vocal compare with the unnamed Jill Phillips. (Both have what I might call a northern quality).  She brings a voice wholly suited for desperate melancholy: feminine, lilting, broken and strong.

Songs of Lament showcases production values that fully match my ear:   Rachel is surrounded by quality musicians who expertly twine electric and acoustic elements. (Piano, cello, upright bass, Wurlitzer, sundry guitars etc.) Production is thicker than “folk” but decidedly restrained. The music fully supports the spirit of lamentation.


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When my bride and I were young in marriage we attended a church given to the practice of Exclusive Psalmody -- the practice of ONLY using lyrical paraphrases of the Psalms in corporate worship. While my wife and I did not embrace the conviction of the assembly, I count that a rich year of worship life, in part, because the Psalms address themes largely hidden from contemporary life.  Look at our modern praise songs and you find the shelves stocked with celebration and “happy” themes. Largely absent are songs that address misery, depression, or the judgements of God. But if Jesus was a man of sorrows it seems part of what it means to follow in his footsteps is to feel the grief of God.

In putting out an offering anchored in lamentation (Sometimes from the very book) Rachel has elevated the music of real experience --  into reality.

Since discovering Rachel’s music I have reached out on Facebook and now, have an ear, not only for Rachel’s music but her opinions as expressed on social media.   Turns out Rachel is a worship leader -- formerly from Minnesota, and now serving Redeemer Anglican Church of Dacula, Georgia. I knew there had to be a liturgical influence!

But her interest in song goes far beyond form or personal expression, she is deeply interested in the whole theology behind worship.   She shows a deep concern for both spirit and truth, and uses social posts to explore what honors God in heart, head and affections.

Beyond that, I have learned Rachel has quite a backstory. Since it is hers to share, I will not repost it here, only to say...Rachel showcases a deep awareness of human fallibility, and God’s extravagant grace.


My recommendation. Start with her music on Bandcamp -- let her music soak into your soul, then if it touches a cord, reach out to her on Facebook and take in her honed insights on a life of living worship.

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For further listening, Enjoy Rachel's first work:

This project started in 2012 in Wendell Kimbrough’s DC apartment. Our common goal was to record hymns with our friends, some new, some old, for our local churches where we led music. This particular project has four old hymns with new tunes, and two new hymns.

The Kindling Glance (EP) 2016 (Bandcamp Link)