The Context
Liturgical Folk was born in the collaboration of songwriter Ryan Flanigan and poet Nelson Koscheski. “Crumbs” is the third album released in 2 years, with most songs written on this album attributed to Flanigan. Flanigan serves at All Saints Dallas, an Anglican church in the Dallas, Texas area. The Anglican Mission in America has come alongside Liturgical Folk to help produce these intentionally folk-inspired songs for the local church, and Isaac Wardell of Bifrost Arts has produced each album. The band/collective’s name is an indication of what you’ll get—language rooted in liturgy and folk musical styles, or as they self-describe, “historic church language and modern folk sounds.”
The Content
“Crumbs” is the most produced album in the Liturgical Folk discography, boasting a large string ensemble and horn players, yet it maintains much of the intimacy and raw simplicity of the previous albums. Songs are still built upon rich piano and strummed or finger-picked acoustic guitars. Occasionally, a Hammond B3 undergirds a song and evokes a more soulful version of the folk genre in which these songs reside. Melodies are unique without being overly complex, and harmonies are layered well in order to demonstrate the intentionally collaborative work of singing the liturgy together. Worshipers familiar with the language of the Book of Common Prayer will recognize much of what is sung. Of particular note on this album are the songs that draw directly from the language of the Book of Common Prayer, like “Agnus Dei,” “Lord, Lord, Lord,” and “May the Peace.” The album continues themes from the previous release, “Table Settings,” considering the implications of worshipers’ response to the Table. This anthem is expressed in the bridge of “Hardwood of the Cross,” in which they sing, “For the honor of Your name, we’re reaching out” because of the “arms of love” who reached for us.
The Conclusion
The production of this record makes it clear that Flanigan is a leader of congregational singing. There is no pretense or musical choice that distracts from the clear singing of the lyrical content. There are only a few moments of unique instrumentation or ambient sounds that may not be replicable by smaller churches. The songs are pitched well and the melodies are easy to follow, so if the folk genre would fit in a local church context, then “Crumbs” contains ready-made songs to help the church sing biblical truth.
Spotify Playlist
iTunes
Review provided by David Calvert, who is the Creative Arts Director for Grace Community Church in rural North Carolina and a PhD graduate in Theology and Worship from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
One Friday in late July my wife Melissa and I, along with our three young kids, got in the minivan and, as we do every Friday summer morning, headed to the coffee shop. The coffee shop is the epicenter of our neighborhood life. Without compromising the aesthetic of craft coffee culture, the owner, who also has young kids, built his coffee shop with the whole neighborhood in mind, not only hipster Millennials. He did not necessarily design it to be family-friendly; he just built a very good and pleasant place to gather. Sure enough, people of all ages flock there. For a couple hours that Friday morning we engaged naturally in conversation after conversation with neighbors coming and going, babies being passed around, and kids circling us playfully. It is always a truly unmanufactured intergenerational experience.
I am part of a liturgical church. Liturgy simply means “service of the people.” Paul uses it in Romans 12 to describe the spiritual “service” of offering our bodies as living sacrifices to God. Liturgical practices offer tangible means by which the generations are united in worship. One of my favorite moments of our liturgy is when my children run up to the communion rail to join me in receiving the body and blood of Christ. One Sunday my son knelt down, extended his hands to receive, and said, “Look dad, I’m making a manger.” The old woman to my left started chuckling, and I was inspired by the incarnation illustration my son had just unknowingly given us.
Life is a bell curve of simplicity and complexity. The most unifying songs and rhythms noticeably engage the youngest and oldest among us. If we aim for the people in the middle, those whose lives are most cluttered and noisy, they may connect with the music, but it will be hard for everyone else to participate. Familiarity is the way to go with liturgical music. Familiar doesn’t mean that we need to dumb it down; it means we’re bringing it down to earth, making the music more accessible and the work of the people more doable.
Our music, which we call Liturgical Folk, is a truly intergenerational project. You can read all about it in the Dallas Morning News article, “
