Twila Paris - House of Worship

Sounds like … Twila's classic contemporary pop worship style, reminiscent of Amy Grant, with occasional ethereal touches similar to Michelle Tumes and Enya.

At a Glance … House of Worship is the refined contemporary praise album listeners have been expecting from Twila for years.

Those who know her name are all too aware that Twila Paris is a worship music pioneer. Not all Christian songwriters are gifted at composing worship music, and there are many who will only be remembered for writing one particular song in your church's collection of music. Of course, one's enough for most songwriters when it comes to writing a church standard. Twila has written at least five church standards, which are still sung by congregations today – "He Is Exalted," "We Bow Down," "We Will Glorify," "Lamb of God," and "How Beautiful." A repertoire like that implies that this is a prolific songwriter of worship music, but the truth is that this "modern day hymn writer" hasn't recorded a praise & worship album since 1991's Sanctuary. With something of a worship music renaissance in the last five years, Twila's absence has been deeply felt. While many of her albums in the last decade have included a few worship songs sprinkled in with the inspirational pop, writer's block and newfound motherhood have slowed Twila's outpouring of praise offerings.

House of Worship, Twila's eighteenth album, makes up for lost time with twelve all-new worship recordings. Two of them are familiar favorites, re-recorded for this project to demonstrate their timelessness while making them more relevant to a modern setting. Purists need not worry. Twila, with the help of producer Brown Bannister (Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Avalon), remains faithful to the original sound while actually improving on them. "We Bow Down" sounds more vibrant and driving with its rhythmic acoustic guitar pulse. "We Will Glorify" especially benefits from an update, because the quick ¾ time of the original restricted congregations to performing it as a fast keyboard-led hymn (or a head-banging punk-ska tune, as heard on The Insyderz' Skalleuia album). This new rendition is slower and more flowing, resonating with power and ambience....

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