So We Would Know - Treva Blomquist

Treva Blomquist adapts ancient verse to make them sound like folk anthems.

So We Would Know

Artist: Treva Blomquist (www.trevamusic.com)

Label: Independent

Length: 11 tracks/36 minutes

The words in hymns often register a responsive chord. They communicate in language that is not as common. Though this makes them less intelligible to some, for me it’s like finding the pearl of great price. It is worth any sacrifice in initial comprehension to discover the treasure hidden in the field. Their sublime truths are like majestic mountains, often elevating the character of God and the work of Christ.

On So We Would Know Treva Blomquist adapts ancient verse to make them sound like folk anthems. Grace and grit make them more than a little accessible. There are a minimum of players, production and percussion, which is fine by me. It’s little more than Blomquist’s crystalline voice and mostly stringed instruments, giving this a decidedly Americana feel.

Just when I feel like she more than finds her niche on the rousing “Ain’t No Grave” and “Run to Meet My Lord,” both strongly bluegrass, she follows with a beautifully subdued ballad, singing ever so gently. This is the grace following the grit.

“Pass Me Not” is a stunning revelation along the lines of the former. It’s like hearing it for the first time. It’s not just a new arrangement, which she makes use of at times. The serene setting highlights eloquent singing.

These songs are rich in theology that comforts. They provide glimpses of God’s attributes. They give voice to those now dead, who speak again across the divide of years of “Thou Who was Rich” but for our sake became poor that we might experience His riches. The affirmation of who God is reassures that “My Anchor Holds”; it is not tenuous. Christ is “All that I Need.” Oh, “Take Me Savior” to the place “Where Freedom Speaks.”