Hymns are an expression of worship. In this busy world, hymns help us remember the true essence of our being and reminds us why we need to worship. This is why Hymnodia is special, it is a competition that promotes hymns and encourages the art of worship. Six stanzas have gone past and it has been nothing but explosive. The judges remain Dupe Ige, Sunday Olawuwo, Ben Ogbeiwi and the delectable Onyeka Onwenu.
At the end of stanza 6, David, Mobolanle, Blessing and Jemine were put on probation. Their fates were in the hands of their fans and voters. The hymntestant with the lowest vote would be, as they say… ‘hymnvicted’.
As it is the culture, this announcement is made at the beginning of the next stanza. Unfortunately, David Onwukwe was the hymntestant with the lowest vote. This was the end of the journey for David. However, he treated us to one last performance ‘Lord Arise’, an original composition by him, inspired by Psalm 3.
At the previous stanzas, the hymntestants had serenaded us with classic hymns from masters like: Francis Pott, Phillip O. Bliss, Venantius Fortunatus, Cecil F. Alexander, John Bowring, Jessie B. Pounds and many more. Stanza 7, on the other hand was refreshing and exhilarating as the contestants performed original hymns composed by them.
This is a list of the hymntestants, their compositions and the inspiration behind the hymns: Juliet Nwabia- ‘The Lord My Rock And My Fortress’ inspired by Psalm 18, Uduak Akpan- ‘Incomparable Love’ inspired by Psalm 45, Mobolanle Oladimeji-‘O Christ Our Bridegroom’ inspired by Songs of Solomon 2&3, Olumide Dada-‘Heal Me Lord’ inspired by Revelation 19, Rachael Darley-‘Amen’ inspired by Revelation 5, Blessing Agu- ‘Love So Pure’ inspired by Psalm 22, Jemine Edukugho-‘Have Mercy, Oh Blessed Lord’ inspired by Revelation 12, Kenneth Ekhuemelo- ‘Have Mercy On Me’, inspired by Psalm 51 and the last but not the least, Abigael Nnadi- ‘When I Stand Before Your Throne’ inspired by Revelation 7. The hymntestants proved themselves not just as singers and performers but also as composers.
After a beautiful night with great music, Olumide and Rachael were the two outstanding hymntestants of the night. While Bolanle, Juliet, Uduak and Jemine were the hymntestants with the lowest performances. It was heart rending to see how crestfallen Jemine was, because she had always been among the lowest since the beginning of the competition. The dean of the hymnstitute ordered for a box, in which he put an envelope. The box was passed on to Juliet, who read the content of the envelope. It was a great relief for the four hymntestants, as Juliet read out that the faculty would not be putting anyone on probation. The icing on the cake was the appointment of Jemine as the stanza leader.