Holy! (Piano & Orchestra)

Holy! gave Terry MacAlmon the opportunity to explore worship on a completely different scale. He traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, to record with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, joining his piano with the depth and color of a full symphonic sound. The result is an instrumental worship album that is both expansive and deeply reverent.

Some of Terry's best-known songs were given new orchestral arrangements for the project. This Is the Time, Holy Are You Lord, Even So and You Deserve the Glory are heard without a live congregation, allowing the melodies themselves to carry the worship. Alongside them are pieces written especially for the recording, including music that gives the orchestra room to become more than simple accompaniment.

The absence of lead vocals changes the experience. There are no words telling the listener what to think or sing. Piano, strings, brass and orchestral movement create a space in which familiar songs can be heard in a fresh way. At times the music becomes majestic; at other moments it becomes quiet enough for prayer and reflection.

Holy! also reconnects with Terry's early instrumental worship recordings, but with a much larger musical palette. His piano remains the recognizable center, while the Prague Philharmonic surrounds it with symphonic depth. The purpose, however, stays the same. This is not orchestration for spectacle. It is music offered as worship.

From the opening Prelude to the final bonus track Love Theme, Holy! invites the listener to slow down, listen and turn attention toward the holiness and beauty of God. It stands as one of the most distinctive instrumental projects in Terry's catalogue.