Ontario Bible College Choral Concert ’69

I am not, and have never been, a person of faith. If there is a magic in devotional music beyond pure musicality, I am indifferent to it. Yet, I still find myself drawn. At its best, there is something raw and pure about it. There can be no doubt about the singer’s belief, their love of their god.

According to the sleeve, the Ontario Bible College is an interdenomination and international college formed in 1968, the year before this recording was produced, by merging the London College of Bible and Missions and the Toronto Bible College. This is the first recording they produced. They selected as their motto “To present every man mature in Christ (Col. 1:28).” According to Wikipedia, the school became insolvent in the 1990s and is now known as Tyndale College and Seminary.

The people credited on the rear cover are: Mr. Warren Adams, M. Music, Chairman, Department of Music, Director, College Chorale; Mr. David Gast, A.R.C.T., Director, Ladies’ Ensemble; and Mrs. Betty Percy, A.T.C.M, Director, Girls’ Sextet. Accompanists: Mrs. Sharon Gast, Miss Barbara Kerr, and Mrs. Betty Percy.

The cover does not indicate any recording personnel, location or date. It does not list who was responsible for the pressing. No copyright notice is given. If there was once a booklet, it is now gone.

I found this vinyl record in a junk store, three for a dollar. It may deserve better, but that is the end of the line for lots of relics such as this. I do not love it, it isn’t the sort of religious music that does a whole lot for me. By my untrained ears, it is a good performance, because when it does move towards my tastes I became much more attentive. What Grace is This and Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone work for me. The rest, unfortunately, fail to land.

Some day, I hope that when I come across a curiosity such as this I will be in a better place to talk about what the album contains. For now, I do not know any of these songs and, having listened to the album in its entirety, I am reasonably sure I have never heard any of these songs. I cannot judge against other performances. I am simply at a loss. This LP exists, and that is all I can say. I will never develop a deep appreciation for this kind of music, but perhaps some day I can earn an opinion.

I do not need this in my collection, I am unlikely to ever listen to it again. I also do not want to abandon it to its fate in a dumpster, so like far too many objects I’ll hold onto it until forced to get rid of it. It is a neat little piece of history, but one I am not part of.