Monday, December 15, 2008

Holiday CD Giveaway: Steve Sensenig

It's so neat how God orchestrates life. He forges relationships in our lives and He brings acquaintances back into our lives at the appointed time. So it was with some friends I used to attend church with, Steve Sensenig and his lovely wife Christy. After several years, we ran into each other at a local coffee shop where Steve happened to be playing music, then connected online through Blogs and Twitter... or was it the other way around? Well, I can't remember.

Steve is an AMAZING pianist! He sent me all three of his CDs to review, and I was thrilled. I'll tell you a little about each one.

'Tis So Sweet and Ivory Worship

Steve's interperetation of traditional hymns in "Tis So Sweet," and contemporary worship songs in "Ivory Worship" creates the perfect atmosphere for reflection, Bible study, and prayer. The pieces are true to the traditional songs, but as always, Steve adds depth and emotion that make them feel new. Between the worship songs on Ivory Worship, Steve adds improvisational "worship moments" which are perfect for prayer or reflection.

You can sample the songs on each CD here. Each song or the entire CD is available for download as well.

Christmas Solitude

These traditional Christmas pieces bring back all the memories of holidays past, with Steve's unique interpretations of harmony and style. As I listened to this CD in my kitchen, I expected to have some nice background music to listen to. But from the first song, my ear begged me to stop and take in the rich chords, lofty lines and intriguing counter-melodies. I found myself just standing still and feeling the inspiration.

My absolute favorites are the hauntingly hopeful "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and the jazzy version of "What Child Is This."


You can find out all about Steve and his music at his website, www.worshipkeys.com.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely beautiful! I love them all, but if I had to choose, one I'd pick O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

Anonymous said...

I also follow you on Twitter. :)

Mommyto4 said...

I think that I would pick O come Emanuel.