Violinist, violist, pianist, composer and music educator Henry Haffner originally arranged his gentle string band interpretations inspired by the Psalms for the congregation of Parish Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, where he serves as music director, and has since made his collection of Southern Psalms available digitally or on CD.
This collection of the worshipful blessings from the ancient Hebrew hymn book of Psalms remains tender and smooth throughout and reflects an encouraging sense of “abundant peace” and “strength and righteousness . . . a shelter in distress.”
Haffner delivers the vocals in a straightforward, pleasing way, not oversinging or embellishing the vocal line too heavily, letting the power of the words and the melody flow like a steady, gentle creek through the Tennessee woods. Often, vocalists can deliver “worship” music in a breathy or forced way, but Haffner’s vocal delivery comes across as natural and genuine.
Southern Psalms blends a nice variety of vibes throughout the collection of tracks, although it remains fairly calm and reverent. Haffner’s works draw a bit from the string-band-on-a-porch tradition, formal hymn structure, Irish folk sounds, soft piano music and a little classic Nashville country to create its peaceful, serene and comforting presentation.
Haffner, who says he counts Antonin Dvorak and Hank Williams among his musical influences, also serves as the principal violist in the Lexington Philharmonic in Kentucky.
Southern Psalms features primarily acoustic strings, but also some dashes of electric guitar, piano and percussion, and even some touches of pedal steel. Each track also carries a parenthetical name after a Southern location, many in Tennessee. The interpretation of Psalm 68, which reminds the listener that the Lord a father is unto the fatherless, bears the name of Murfreesboro.
A quick, lively fiddle line brings to mind traditional Celtic style on “Psalm 144 (Polk County)” as Haffner sings “a glad new song” of victory and praise as God has heard the Psalmist’s prayer.
“Because the righteous Lord delights in righteousness, and with his gracious countenance the upright he will bless,” the lyrics continue, as banjo plucks along smoothly in the interpretation of “Psalm 11 (Gainesboro).”
“Psalm 128 (Owl Hollow)” displays a country music feel with its pedal steel and light percussion, and Haffner also performs some nice piano passages on the album.
Vocalist Lizzie Snipes, who accompanies Haffner on various tracks, sounds absolutely angelic and provides a lovely contrast, harmony and richness. There are a few points when the higher register of her vocal parts seems to push the boundary of her range, but otherwise her delivery is pure and effortless, only rarely departing from the overall gentleness of the selections on which she is featured.
Overall, Southern Psalms and its musical sounds “inspired by life in rural Tennessee” carries the message of “Be glad my heart, rejoice my tongue.” A comforting concept displaying very nice violin and viola work and creative melodies, Southern Psalms is available at henryhaffner.bandcamp.com.
