|
CatholicMom.com
Recommends:
Click on the titles for
more information |
|
|
|
Cool
Tunes for Catholic Kids
Catholic Music for Catholic Children
By Lisa M. Hendey
Your ten year old wants an iPod for her birthday, the baby’s
crying in the bedroom next door and you’re stressed out
about the lack of time you’ve given lately to the faith
formation of your family. What’s a Catholic parent to do?
Don’t worry, thanks to several talented and faith filled
Catholic musicians, there are now outstanding musical options
that are guaranteed to please both the young and the young
at heart.
In today’s music industry,
the sale of children’s selections has risen dramatically
in the past ten years. Music groups like The Wiggles release
CDs and sell out tours internationally. Catholic musicians,
recognizing trends and an opportunity to catechize in a
way that is sure to grab kids’ attention, are following
suit with tremendous results.
New Releases
Of the great Catholic
music CDs that I’ve reviewed in the past six months, two
were specifically created for the Catholic children’s market.
Your Grace is
Enough is the debut project by Catholic
Kids Worship and the non-profit Catholic music ministry
Christ Music. Executive Producer Natalie Burt teamed with
talented musician Martin Doman with the vision of creating
“upbeat rockin’ worship songs for today’s modern youth”.
Guest artists Doman, Chris Padgett, Sarah Bauer and Katie
Rose lend great renditions of favorite worship tunes, but
the true stars of this CD are the kids. Catholic Kids Worship,
a group comprised of ten to fourteen year old musicians
from two parishes in South Carolina, really give heart to
the twelve tracks featured on Your Grace is Enough.
Soloist Emma Dudek gets things rolling with her heart-filled
rendition of the title track. This song, for me, typifies
what draws me to the CD. The songs are largely sung by the
kids themselves, except for those where they accompany guest
artists. Your children will hear child-like (but never childish)
versions of classic worship songs with a distinctly Catholic
flavor. I found it incredibly hard not to sing along with
the CD, and most times I listened I found myself belting
out the tunes right along with the kids. The selections
range from the rockin’ flavor of songs like “Salt and Light”
and the anthem “Open Up the Gates” (featuring Chris Padgett)
to stirring ballads such as “Heal Our Nation” and my personal
favorite “Oh How You Love Me” featuring incredible vocals
by Katie Rose. “Bread of Life” and “Queen of Peace, Pray
for Us” underscore the Catholocity which is at the core
of Your Grace is Enough. Don’t be fooled
by the fact that Your Grace is Enough is
targeted at the youth audience. This is music your entire
family will love and be inspired by. I’d say that both the
creators and the Catholic Kids Worship artists have created
real magic with this project. I can’t wait to hear their
next CD!
Also recently released
is the incredible Standin’ On The Rock
by Mike Harrison. Of the thirteen tracks on this project,
twelve are Harrison originals. Harrison gets talented Catholic
kids in on the act, as well as guest performances by Greg
Walton, Crossed Hearts, Sal Solo, Joy Curry, and Annie Waugh.
The flavors of Standin’ On The Rock are
many and varied, but always appealing. In one moment, the
Sal Solo leads the kids in singing “I Will Exalt”, with
its great Hebrew flavor, including a touching recitation
of a traditional Jewish blessing. In the next, we hear voices
uplifted and accompanied by tin whistle and bodhran on “Jesus
Come Soon”. Kids will love singing along with Greg Walton
on the fun opening track “Great God” and with Annie Waugh
on the sing-along “Jesus is a Knockin’” with it’s down-home
country flavor.
I predict that most
of the boys listening to Standin’ On The Rock
will love "St. Michael" with Sal Solo’s entrancing
take on the classic prayer to St. Michael. This is an example
of the virtue of Catholic kids music – your children will
be entertained, and will learn a vital prayer in the process.
Greg Walton and the kids’ take on the title track “Standin’
On The Rock” reminded me of the wonderful scene at the conclusion
of the movie School of Rock when Jack Black is jamming with
the kids at the after school program – great music, kids
rocking out, and just pure fun. You’ll note the big departure
from that scene, however, when you suddenly hear your kids,
and perhaps yourself, chanting loudly “One, Holy, Catholic,
Apostolic!”. There’s so much more to Standin’ On
The Rock, including “Blessed Be”, a rap based on
Daniel 3, the techno-ish “We Believe in Jesus”, and Joy
Curry’s beautiful ballad True Love inspired by God’s gift
of love to us in the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
An ending bonus is “New Creation”, a smooth jazz featuring
The production quality
and musicality of Standin’ On The Rock
makes this a CD that adults can truly enjoy along with their
children. Beyond this, and probably more importantly, your
kids have a blast rockin’ out with Mike Harrison and his
buddies and will want to hear the CD time and again – giving
the added benefit of faith lessons with each listening.
Tried and True
For the past several
years, Catholic musicians have been at work creating great
songs for Catholic children.
Sharmane Adams’ Prayerful
Hearts is an eleven track collection of traditional
Catholic prayers, written in song. I especially loved this
CD when my children were at the age of preparing to receive
the Sacraments, as it was a special way to aid in their
faith formation. Sharmane’s vocals on this project are truly
beautiful.
Catholic artist and
mother of four Joanne Oberreuter created the CD Dandelions
to help parents teach their children the truths of the Catholic
faith in the home setting. Oberreuter manages, through songs
such as “Mary, Woman of Faith” and “Jesus, Life Water, to
convey profound concepts with great simplicity and purity
of hearts.
Though they are growing
up more and more, Catholic recording artists Angelina
and Cousins
in Christ have created projects
that will appeal to both children and their parents. From
Cousins in Christ’s Tiny Feet, Precious Hands filled with
precious lullabies to Angelina’s wonderful project Songs
of the Faithful, there’s something for everyone from these
talented Catholic youths.
Moving beyond just songs,
there are great catechetical audio options for Catholic
families. Two of the best are Cat.Chat
and Glory Stories. I love Cat.Chat for
its smart sense of humor and the incredible tunes. The series
is dogmatically sound, creative, entertaining and fun. The
target demographic for Cat.Chat is children between the
ages of 3 and eleven but parents will also learn from and
love Moses the talking cat and his family of friends.
Finally, new out this
summer is a great CD from the “Growing
with the Saints” Catholic Vacation Bible School.
Your children will love singing along with the St. Patrick
and the Holy Trinity CD, which encourages young ones to
be the “BEST they can be”.
So go ahead, Mom and
Dad, invest in that MP3 player for your child and know that
you will be able to fill it with great age appropriate music
that will inform and inspire your child on his or her faith
journey. You’ll find that you love the music as much as
your kids and that you will all learn and grow with this
great new trend in Catholic music.
Lisa M. Hendey is webmaster of
www.CatholicMom.com , a wife and mother of two and a
Catholic music fan and supporter. Visit her at
www.LisaHendey.com for more information.
|
Catholic
Mom Music
Spotlight
