Congregational CDs are usually recorded using large ensembles and high production values, which leaves the small church musician wondering if the songs will work in their situation. The people at Emu have addressed this issue with their latest release, Songs for Little Rooms. They have taken a mixture of old and new songs, and recorded them live in front of a small congregation, using just acoustic guitar, piano and basic percussion. The results are excellent, and really prove the point they are trying to make - that you can have good music with a simple ensemble.

Three lessons I took from the CD -

* A good tune will work equally well with large and small congregations.

* Strong leading from the vocalists is essential.

* Percussion is vital. Many churches struggle to find drummers, but simpler percussion (such as congas, shakers or a snare and brushes) can be extremely effective.

Songs for Little Rooms comes with a DVD containing interviews with a couple of the songwriters, and some vision of the live recordings. The DVD is well-produced, but I thought they could have beefed up the content a bit. For example, they could have had the musos demonstrate what they were doing in each song, and discuss ideas for making music work with smaller ensembles. On the up side, the DVD was recorded in my home church, so if you watch, you get to see where I hang out on a Sunday morning.

All up, this is a very good idea that has been well executed, and you should certainly grab a copy. Given their target market, you could almost argue that all Emu CDs should be produced this way.

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St Paul’s Castle Hill, producers of the excellent City Alight CD, have made some welcome changes to their album website. Extended excerpts from each song are now available, and they are also offering a complete song (the wonderful “Holy”) for free. Lyrics, sheet music and chord charts are also available for free download. I really like what these guys are doing - please go and check them out.