Reviews

Hymnody, named one of the "ten best albums of 2005"
by Dan Maher (Inland Folk - Northwest Public Radio)


A review of Hymnody by Bill Wagner
April 2006 issue of "Bluegrass Unlimited"

This has to rank among the most interesting CDs I've reviewed for Bluegass Unlimited. Certainly it is least like anything I've been sent. As explained in the liner notes, the intent of guitarist Rolf Vegdahl and resonator guitarist Mike Lundstrom (both residing in the state of Washington) was to record hymns ranging from the fifth century Gaelic "Slane" to Martin Luther's sixteenth century "Ein feste burg" to the eighteenth century's "Duke Street" and to the "Sacred Harp" tune "Beech Spring," and, when appropriate, infuse them with "impressions of country blues, swing, and jazz."

As it appears, any use of those forms on these hymns is limited to just a few of the 19 tunes included here. I do hear a modest country blues lilt on a couple, most overtly on "Erie" (a tune we would better recognize as the melody to "What A Friend We Have In Jesus") and on the medley "Farther Along"/"I Am A Pilgrim." There is some jazz approach to the melodic lines and fills of "Just A Closer Walk With Thee." Any other such colorings are just that, colorings—a brief hint here or there. All the better. It is not that they shouldn't add outside ideas to these hymns—others have done far more—or that they don't do it well, it is just that they do so well at these tunes in a more classical vein as to make it unnecessary.

Lundstrom has a calm dignified approach to the resonator guitar. His ornamentation is always spare, appropriate, and stately, and his tone, best shown on his brief offering of "Old Hundredth," is very clear. A similar excellence is echoed in Vegdahl's blend of classical and folk guitar. By using an OO-model guitar, he gets a bright, ringing tone and at times manages to sound almost like a harpsichord.

As I said, this is one of of the most interesting albums I've reviewed, a pleasure to play again and again.

A review of Hymnody by Kathe Davis:
February 2006 issue of “Victory Review”

Now I’m no expert, but how many CDs are out there of hymn arrangements for guitar and resophonic guitar? If this is typical, I want to start a collection. Rolf is a guitar player from Manson, Washington. Hailing from Brewster, Washington, Mike handles the resophonics in the form of a tricone lap guitar, a maple bodied Dobro and a Manzanita HR resophonic built in Germany.

I love non-angry music as a background to my daily routine at work and at home. This CD is one that I would not soon grow tired of. Don’t let the genre scare you off, if you’re not the religious type. With no lyrics to preach at the listener, these songs could be categorized as anything but hymns. There is a flavor of different musical genres throughout the recording. If I had not read the cover before listening, I would never have guessed it was a collection of hymns dating back as early as the 13th century. Bordering on classical with a hint of blues, jazz, swing and even folk, this recording soothes my spirit and is a welcome addition to my day during those times when I want to calm or mellow out. Not so cerebral that it will distract me from my work, this is one that I will play at the office or at the end of the day when I’m wearing down.

A review of Hymnody by Mary Koch:
May 2006 edition of "Episcopal Life" and the
January 2006 edition of “Inland Episcopalian”

Add new voices to old hymn tunes and you get a sound that is sometimes startling, occasionally funny and always refreshing.

The “new” voices are steel-stringed and resophonic guitars, played by North Central Washington musicians Rolf Vegdahl and Mike Lundstrom, who have ventured into territory once the exclusive venue of church organists.

In their new CD, “Hymnody,” the duo present a sound similar to their earlier CD, a collection of Christmas carols, “Christmas Gifts.” The new CD offers an eclectic assortment of hymn tunes, pretty much standard favorites.

Hearing some of the staid old German chorales like Schmucke dich (“Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness”) or Ein’ feste burg (“A mighty fortress”) performed with the bluesy, country sound of the dobro may not be everybody’s cup of tea.

I caught myself mid-gasp, thinking, “This must have been what it was like for those poor Catholics when their beloved Latin Mass got translated into English.”
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Some of the other tunes are more comfortably adapted – Simple Gifts, Slane (“Be thou my vision”), and St. Columba (“The king of love my shepherd is.”) The jazzy spirit of “Just a closer walk with Thee” does indeed feel close, as close as listening to Rolf and Mike jam on the back porch in summer. Equally as rollicking is “What a friend we have in Jesus,” with a smile of an ending.

The guitarists apply an insistent, forward-moving rhythm to the ancient but generally unsung carol, Personet Hodie, zipping that tune right out of the mothballs. That’s a favor they do for several of these old tunes, making them fresh and relevant for contemporary listeners.

Lundstrom says they start with hymn book arrangements and then each comes up with a different interpretation. What follows is compromise made possible with laughter.

“We laugh a lot during this process – maybe the laughter is the catalyst," said Lundstrom.

The men’s spirituality also rings true in their music, right down to the solemn “amen” at the end of the disc – Lundstrom’s 37-second rendition of Old Hundredth.

Vegdahl was the musical director at Holden Village and is currently the church musician at Lake Chelan Lutheran Church in Chelan, Washington. Lundstrom is a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Brewster, Washington.

The two have performed at various churches around the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane and at the Diocese of Spokane’s Paulsen House. They also perform extensively in the secular music arena.


A review of Christmas Gifts by James Rodgers
December 2001 issue of "Victory Magazine"

I must admit I have always been a fan of good instrumental guitar Christmas albums. The warmth of the acoustic strum and the focus on the music puts me in the holiday mood. Washington's own Rolf Vegdahl and Mike Lundstrom's Christmas CD leans towards the hymns and religious tunes and away from the secular, more commercial fare, and that is good. Nearly half of the seventeen tracks are songs you won't see on your average recording. They've recorded fairly straight ahead arrangements of these songs, working smaller nuances and shadings over radical rearrangements. This is especially true in the disc's first half. While these are nice and comfortable, I didn't feel I was hearing anything very new. This changed though in the second half, starting with "Good King Wenceslaus" and continuing through to the "Swedish Children's Christmas Medley" at the end. Here, they adapted the arrangements more, breathing fresh air and new textures into traditional tunes, allowing us to hear what Rolf and Mike can truly do with their guitars. Rolf's acoustic and Mike's resophonic and Weissenborn style guitars blend well together and the simple production keeps the focus on their great finger work. Each man takes a stab at a vocal on one track and while their vocals were servicable, it distracted and detracted from the overall mood and feel of the rest of the disc. So, if you're a fan of John Fahey's or Tuck Andress' or any of the other great acoustic guitarists' instrumental Christmas releases, give these local gentlemen a listen. They'll warm your holidays.