Stuart Townend
Stuart Townend
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About
Stuart is known and respected around the world as one of the leading worship songwriters of his generation. The depth of lyrical and theological content in songs such as In Christ alone, How deep the Father’s love, The power of the cross and Beautiful Saviour have caused some to draw comparisons with the greats of previous generations such as Watts and Wesley; while the marriage of great lyrics with wonderfully accessible melodies (largely through his successful writing partnership with Keith Getty) means his songs bridge different musical and cultural genres, and reach into every corner of the globe.
Stuart is also a gifted worship leader, musician, recording artist and seminar speaker, and spends a good part of his year leading worship at major Christian events, doing solo concerts, recording studio albums, and training emerging worship leaders and songwriters. He has featured on numerous live worship albums down the years, in addition to his solo albums - Say the Word (1997), Personal Worship (1999), Lord of Every Heart (2002), Monument to Mercy (2006), The Best of Stuart Townend - Live (2007), and There is a Hope CD & DVD (2008). His latest album, Creation Sings, was released in May 2009.
Stuart was born in 1963, and grew up as the youngest of four children in a Christian family in West Yorkshire where his father was a Church of England vicar. From an early age Stuart played music with his brothers (one brother, Ian, went on to become a member of the group Heartbeat), beginning to play the piano at the age of 7, and teaching himself the guitar as a teenager
It was while living in West Yorkshire that at the age of 13 he made his Christian commitment. Then at 18 he moved to Brighton to study literature at the University of Sussex. It is here he met Caroline, whom he married in 1988, and they now have three children; Joseph, Emma, and Eden. Stuart has attends and regularly leads worship at CCK in Brighton, one of the new Frontiers network of churches headed up by Terry Virgo. The church is also home to a number of well-known figures in the area of worship, including Paul Oakley, Lou Fellingham, Phatfish, Simon Brading and Dave Fellingham, who has played a significant role in mentoring Stuart. The church also runs a training programme for worship leaders and musicians called the Worship School.
But it is as a songwriter that Stuart has had the greatest impact on the worldwide church, and it is this that is closest to his heart. “It is so important that our lives are built not on our feelings or circumstances, but on the word of God, and songs can really help us to meditate on and retain truth. I know from the correspondence I regularly receive that if you can express in songs the profound truth of the gospel in a poetic yet accessible way, they really can have an impact in people’s lives.”
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Most worship songs can be led by male or female, but some songs seem to work really well with a male voice. Here is a list of worship songs where the original recording was sung by a male. If you are a male looking for a song to fit your unique vocal range, this is the list for you.
We arrange all of our top songs in four-part harmony (SATB) so that your choir can lead the way when it is time to worship at church. And besides, people look best in choir robes. We know this, and you know this. Here is a list of our top downloaded vocal sheets. You can bet that all the worship songs that show up at the top of this list are well suited for choir. Find more songs for the choir here.
PraiseCharts chord charts are transposable, editable, capo friendly and ready for both digital and print use. They match the recordings you know and love, and provide noted tempo and worship-friendly fret diagrams. After experiencing chord charts from PraiseCharts, you may never want to download another kind of chord chart again!
If you are looking for fast worship songs to raise the energy level of your church, this is the list. These upbeat worship songs will inspire people to sing at the top of their lungs, raise their hands, clap, and maybe even ... dance! Download multitracks, choral arrangements, or other tempo arrangements to accompany your worship set.
This is as up-to-date as it gets. If a new song hits the airwaves and it starts trending fast, chances are you will be able to spot it here. If an old song suddenly spikes because of a unique current event, you'll see that here as well. So get out a bag of popcorn and hit refresh every 10 minutes to watch the race. Listen on Spotify.