Review

I usually wait until the end of the review to disclose whether or not I would recommend adding a CD or a DVD to your collection, but I am going to be generous, seeing that it is Christmas, and tell you that you need to pick this Dual Disc up immediately. Integrity's seasonal addition to the iWORSHIP line of multimedia discs is called "A Christmas Offering." The folks at Integrity music dub it a total worship experience and here's why; the disc is a Dual Disc which means that it is an audio CD on one side of the disc and when you flip it over and reinsert it into your DVD player it has a side with a full compliment of wonderful video with audio accompaniment.

Since I know iWORSHIP as typically a video resource for worship music, I will begin by looking at the videos that are on the DVD side of the disc. Upon inserting the disc into my computer I see the main menu which gives me buttons to choose audio clips or video clips with audio. On the audio button I can play the entire album or choose individual songs. Similarly if I click on the video button I can play all the videos back to back or I can choose individual video tracks. OK enough of the navigating around the disc let's get to the good stuff. The videos are fantastic. There are eight selections on the disc and what I truly appreciate is that there is a really nice blend of traditional Christmas songs, some familiar arrangements and some set to new arrangements; and what I will call special music Christmas songs.

The opening video is a very traditional arrangement of "Good Christian Men Rejoice" sung by a choir and fronted by Bob Fitts. There are many wintry images as well as warm fires and Christmas settings that provide a nice backdrop to this traditional melody. The next song is one of my favorite Paul Baloche songs entitled, "Offering." Paul has taken this song and written a new opening verse to reflect the theme of Christmas. The song then goes into the familiar chorus and then on to the original verse and back to the chorus. Again, the song is set to some wintry scenes that make you feel like you are in a Currier and Ives holiday scene. This song has already become one of our favorite songs to sing at our church and with the cool little twist to make it a Christmas song, we absolutely are going to have to do it for this holiday season.

The next track on the DVD may just be THE best new Christmas song that I have heard in a long time. "He Made A Way In A Manger" has some phenomenal lyrics and the title is a wonderful twist of phrase on the traditional "Away In A Manger". The lyrics are married perfectly to the melody. If you get nothing else from this DVD (which you will), this song would be enough. I don't know about your search for new Christmas music, but suffice it to say, it is always a bit difficult to find those new songs that will really connect and not feel cheesy. We are going to work this song up and use it as a special music piece. The wonderful thing is, that I know it will have sustaining power to make it past this Christmas. I must also say that the video really supports the song very well. The use of the words of song in a beautiful handwritten script, fading in and out of the video, add a sense of elegance to the video.

What Christmas collection would be complete without "Silent Night?" The version on this CD is arranged very simply with piano and strings, a little mandolin with the vocals provided by Kelly Willard gently lilting over the melody. The video is set with muted images and yellowed, weathered text and soft golden light again with some of the key words of the song flying in over the video. The song "Emmanuel" by Rueben Morgan of Hillsongs is another wonderful new Christmas song. Led vocally by Darlene Zschech, this song is such a peaceful, flowing ballad that literally floats along until the chorus kicks in and you can feel the power begin to build. The song is really moving and in my opinion, is destined to be around for a long time. The video background is filled with celestial scenes and nature scenes as well as handwriting fly-ins placed on a dark background. The video stays interesting as the pieces are layered over one another and manages to avoid looking like the hundredth worship video you've seen set to changing nature scenery.

Yet another "shining star" on this DVD is the standard, "Oh Holy Night" by the group Mercy Me. It is the traditional song with a couple of sweet arrangement points that take if from being the typical arrangement that we all are used to, to a song with some new life. Mercy Me has done a wonderful job of breathing life into this song without moving too far off center. Since I am writing from the perspective of a worship leader who will be leading multiple services on Christmas Eve, one of the things that I find consistently year after year, is that people truly want to sing the traditional songs, in a fairly traditional way. That is the beauty of much of this DVD is that it keeps the traditional songs fairly true to form and still brings a freshness to them. This is certainly true with "O Holy Night"

The last two songs that you will find on the DVD are "Gloria" by Michael W. Smith and "Joy To The World" sung by Cheryl Rogers. If you want a Christmas song that has a solid 80's feel, then "Gloria" is for you. "Joy To The World" has a very cool arrangement that is driven by a big fat electric guitar and definitely has a pop song feel to it. Again, it stays pretty true to form, but has a very contemporary feel.

All of the music video songs also appear as audio tracks on the CD side of the Dual Disc. There are a few additional songs on the CD side as well and a couple of songs to note that are really nice songs and very interesting. "When He Came" by Martha Munizzi has a wonderful jazz groove arrangement that opens up with an acoustic guitar driving the arrangement. "Glory To God" sung by Steve McPherson is definitely out of the ordinary as far as Christmas songs go. It has almost a "tribal" feel to the arrangement. Kind of a Phil Collins meets "The Lion King" vibe which as the song progresses breaks into a soaring, very open feel. It doesn't initially have what I look for in an arrangement for a Christmas song, but as you listen to the lyrics and let yourself "sink" into the arrangement, it is really cool and probably the most diverse song on the project. All in all, if you pick up this Dual Disc you will have some great arrangements that will keep your Christmas season services very fresh.

Review by Bryan Bloom