Though wholly lacking in musical skill, I have a long-lasting appreciation for classical music. I took a music appreciation class in college where we learned about baroque, classical, romantic, and modern styles of music. I thought the first three were terrific. Later, in graduate school, I was a campus representative for the San Francisco Symphony, selling student subscriptions at U.C. Berkeley in exchange for great tickets to six-eight concerts a year. It was a pretty good gig; the SF Symphony (under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas) is widely regarded as one of the finest in the nation.
The musical quality of Ligonier Ministries’ God of Grace and Glory is on par with any concert I heard by the San Francisco symphony. The sound is rich, full, and soothing. Each piece is arranged well and the combination of instruments is delicately balanced. I particularly enjoyed the fact that almost all the songs highlight the combination of the trumpet (one of my favorite instruments) and the organ. If you enjoy classical music, some of the seventeen tunes on this album will be familiar to you. For example, Rondeau from Sinfonies de Fanfares includes the lovely melody that Masterpiece Theater used years ago (and others have used for weddings or other celebrations). The work of Robert Schummann, George Phillipp Telemann, and J.S. Bach are also featured. Though the album includes a few pieces of explicitly sacred music (e.g., God of Grace and Glory by Paul Manz), all of the selections on the album can be played in worship contexts. I heartily recommend this album.