Page CXVI

In recent years there's been a renewed interest in old hymns, particularly in rewriting or rearranging them or putting them to new, more contemporary instruments. Now, if you're like me, this is a great thing, not only because you like music, but because you also really love hymns.

See, in my opinion, hymns are some of the most beautiful songs in the world. To me, that matters. I hear a lot of songs these days that I'd consider corny (not necessarily bad, just corny). But what makes hymns even better is how rich they are in Biblical truth.

Page CXVI agrees, and they've been doing something about it.

About the Band

Page CXVI gets its name from page 116 (i.e.: the Roman numerals) of C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew, the page (in their copy, as they say) where Aslan sings Narnia into existence.

Page CXVI has been working on rewriting old hymns and bringing them back into the public mind again because, in their own words, "they are some of the richest, most meaningful, and moving pieces of music ever written." So far they've released four albums (the aptly named Hymns 1, Hymns 2, Hymns 3, and Hymns 4) and, as far as I can tell, they don't plan on stopping there. I have alsmot all of their albums now (I'm only missing a couple songs off the last one) and would heartily recommend them to you, at least if you don't mind a few changes here and there.

About the Music

Musically, I'm not entirely sure how to classify the band. I think they're along the lines of "indie pop" and "singer/songwriter" (both admittedly vague genres). You can expect to hear a lot of piano and voice backed up by bass guitar, electric guitar, and drums. Not that that really helps, as a lot of genres and musicians use those instruments, but Page CXVI has a unique way of going about it that's hard to describe. You can kind of just tell it's their music.

I think two of my favorite of their renditions are "Nothing But the Blood" (Hymns 1) and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (Hymns 2). The first one may just be because I really love "Nothing But the Blood," but they've done a really good job of it. As for "Battle Hymn of the Republic," the band took a few liberties with it (like switching it from the original major key to the minor key and adding a few repetitions of words here and there), but I still really enjoy it. I just get the picture of an Army platoon marching off to battle, which sort of fits the song in my opinion.

Some changes, though, are kind of jarring. On Hymns 2, they did their rendition of "How Great Thou Art." For those of you used to the very familiar chorus of this song, be warned: the band changed it. Here's the original:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee
How great thou art, how great thou art

Now here's the Page CXVI version:

Then sings my soul to my Savior God
How great thou art, how great thou art

Now, it has the exact same meaning, and there's a lot of good to be said about that fact. But if you listen to this and expect the original words and melody, this will catch you off guard a bit. Maybe I'm just too clingy to old ways, but I prefer the original melody and words. But that's just personal preference. I do think the new version translates the meaning of the old one quite well; do we honestly think of the real meaning of all those old words? I think the band succeeded in bringing out the intention of the lyrics.

Lastly, their version of "Joy" (Hymns 1) is very, very different from the old kids song. You may know the bouncy original: "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart." Well, this version is much more somber. Its idea is more along the lines of finding joy in God in all circumstances, good and bad, no matter how difficult it may be. It took me some time to get used to, but I like it now. They also merged it with a line from "It Is Well with My Soul" (written by Horatio Spafford after several traumatic events in his life), which gets the message across clearly and effectively. So, while it was definitely an artistic decision I didn't anticipate, it was well executed.

So, would I recommend Page CXVI to someone looking for good worship music? Absolutely. I'd probably warn them to expect the results of a few artistic liberties, but those don't really detract from the songs. While you're at it, you should also know that Page CXVI is another band: The Autumn Film. It's comprised of the same people, but it's a different project with original songs (not Christian songs, mind you, but most definitely not bad either). They've got some really beautiful music too, so check them out!