Contemplative Music
breathe deeply, rest, and connect with God

As we closed off our first Getaway with God weekend, one of the requests for follow-up was for recommendations of contemplative music. For the retreat I'd pulled various contemplative songs from my cd collection and arranged them in playlists within iTunes. Music played almost constantly in our meeting room, creating an inviting atmosphere in which to reflect and pray.

There aren’t many cds that you can simply pop in and play without being distracted by changes of style and volume, but creating playlists of your own to match different moods can be a very helpful way to enter into God’s presence.

Here are some of the cds I drew from for the reflective Getaway playlists:

Watermark

Christy Nockels has the voice of an angel and the heart to draw near to God's presence. Songs like Captivate Us, You Are, Still, My Heart Your Home and Mended speak from the heart right to the heart of God.

Fernando Ortega

Fernando's voice is the male equivalent of Christy's. A worshiper first and foremost, you can count on beautiful arrangements of hymns on most of Fernando's cds. If you like instrumental music, Beginnings is a strong choice.

Taizé

There are countless Taizé music recordings out there. Before you buy, be sure to listen to check that the style and quality are a fit for your taste. Two from the St. Thomas Group are my favourites.

Chris Tomlin, Passion Worship Band

It's characteristic of these recordings to combine power worship songs with tender songs from the heart, so the playlist is pretty essential to stay in a reflective mood. Mighty is the Power and Unfailing Love are two of my favourites from Chris, while Knees to the Earth is another Christy Nockels must have on Sacred Revolution (though the rest of this cd is mostly power praise.)

Alberto & Kimberly Rivera

Another husband and wife duo who improvize prophetically over their audiences on piano/keys and voices. Remarkably gifted in what they do, their creations are beautiful and varied but almost always contemplative.