Dennis Hunt had a problem. It was a little tricky because it had to do with the way he felt about worshiping his God. As he tried to worship the Creator of all things, he felt he was always falling short. In church, singing the prescribed hymns in the usual way was not meaningful to his yearning soul. 

On the flip side of the coin, much of the contemporary Christian music he heard didn't sound honest in its presentation and format. It seemed to lack a depth and insight that he would hear occasionally in some popular music circulating on the edge of the mainstream. For a while he was able to cull enough music out of the pool of sound in the vast marketplace of sonic secrets to somewhat feed his hungry, restless spirit. 

Dennis realized over time that to worship the Creator of all things, a sacrifice must be made. Each time he would worship and adore his God a part of himself must be given. That small part must represent his whole being. The praise given must be a part of his authentic self; a sacred gift offered with genuine thought and creativity. This is why he was so uncomfortable worshiping with either the hymns or the contemporary music. Neither one was really coming from who he honestly was. Not yet anyway. 

Early influences

Throughout his more impressionable years he wrote small volumes of poetry and song that would speak to his own experience or to an issue of the time. This he found to be quite satisfying spiritually and emotionally. As they listened, others would often resonate with the combination of poetry, timbre and melody that would be created as he and others sang the songs. 

Slowly throughout his quest to find authentic worship, Dennis began to realize something. At first it was almost by accident. He might be picking his guitar before family worship and an old hymn from childhood would come to his mind. The words, buried deep in his person, would find new meaning in a sometimes troubling circumstance. He would sing these words with a more complementary rhythm, a more empathetic feel. The songs were invariably well worn hymns over a hundred years old, but the poetry was magic. 

The corporate feelings and strivings of Christians over a period of a hundred years and more were melded to harmonies and rhythms that felt honest and real. The music was not new. It was the singing from the Appalachian Mountains, the guitars from the Mississippi Delta, the mandolins from Italy and early America, and the harmonicas from childhood. 

Over several years Dennis made many of these old hymns his own, but they are not just his. He is now ready to share them with you so that you might find comfort and power in them, and search for your own sacrifice in your worship of the Creator of all things.

Polyhymnia Smiles is the CD that was recorded by Dennis Hunt along with his wife Nellie and daughter Chelsea. This is an album of hymns reinterpreted to speak to the spiritual need of the twenty-first century. It is relevant to us because it uses a musical palette from our own times. It is timeless because it comes from such deep roots. Listen to it at http://www.cdbaby.com/huntdennis