When I Survey Wondrous Cross

Andrea Sandefur, vocals and piano; Kyle DeWinter and Dennis DeWinter, guitar; David Tollerud, bass; Lauryn Pealatere, percussion

From Dennis: This text was written by Isaac Watts in 1707 and this particular melody is a traditional Scottish folk melody (“The Water Is Wide”). The song was originally written for a communion service. It is the first known English hymn to be written in the first person singular, introducing a personal religious experience rather than limiting itself to doctrine. In Watts’s day, such hymns were termed “hymns of human composure” and stirred up great controversy. But this hymn gave Christians of Watts’s day a way to express a deeply personal act of gratitude to their Savior, an idea that is still relevant to all Christians around the world in this day and age. My arrangement of this wonderful hymn is to hold true to the original lyrics and melody while adding a new intro, bridge and outro for some interest and variety.