TIME TO CELEBRATE: hymns and songs for a new millennium
By Emma Turl
73 texts. ISBN 0 9514915 1 2
£3.00 post-free from 1 Forest Side, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 3QZ
This delightful collection has two special features; since many of the items have new tunes available but not printed here, they may be obtained on CD or cassette. But the words must be worthy in themselves, so this review does not take account of music beyond saying that 35 tunes are by Gill Berry and 30 by John Turl. Second, proceeds from the book benefit Wycliffe Bible Translators' work in Northern Ghana, located by a map on the back cover.
But these texts should also help to put Emma Turl on the map. Her name has already appeared in EN's song slot, and comes nine times in the newly-published 'Praise!', but only one text (the Millennium hymn first published in EN) is reprinted here. Each book should whet the appetite for the other - not to mention a fuller collection one day, since she has written far more. Most of her ' Praise!' texts are Psalm versions, and Psalm 110 is a minor triumph where many have failed.
The booklet alone tells us little about its author (more next time?) but even the Contents pages reveal her spiritual priorities, in 23 sections of 'Time to . . .'. The fourth is 'Time to follow the Shepherd, enjoying his friendship, and delighting in him'. I am often reminded of the Canadian Margaret Clarkson, whose hymn-writing may be over but which illustrates her love of Scripture and her faithfulness to a gospel of redeeming grace.
Emma Turl's aims are modest; some texts here could be paralleled in other collections, and sometimes the language remains rather level. There seems little wrong, for instance, with her version of Psalm 96, but it somehow lacks the flair to rise into the 'special' category. But her best work is both careful and imaginative. She loves to write about Calvary and although even this treasured name can be cheapened by overuse, it certainly works in the simplicity of 'Forsaken, did you cry aloud' - as it does in 'From a life of weariness', no 825 in 'Praise!'.
In this booklet too there are Psalm paraphrases and echoes, Psalms 30 and 51 among the finest; a less familiar chapter is Nahum 1, which provides the basis of no. 43 and its theme, 'The Lord is good'. A different kind of treasure is 'As when Mary pouted the ointment'; here fragrance is the key, as also in 'How good and pleasant it is' (a memorable Psalm 133). 'Shelter me from the wind' uses Isaiah 32, and shows the writer at her happiest, with clear imagery and a distinctive first line. The final item is again millennial, with (as PS) Gill Berry's music for 'Up to the hills', Psalm 121. It is always a good sign to close such a collection wishing for more.
