Found these while rummaging thru old GarageBand files. I need to re-record these, but the handheld I use for song journaling lends a nice field-recording vibe…
Go On, Thou Mighty God
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Amazing words by William Gadsby himself, c. 1838. The music and the Latin stuff is mine. Ad maiorem dei gloriam– To the greater glory of God.
Psalm 31
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Words & Music by me. Set myself the task of writing a new song from the content of a Psalm (aha–original!).
Last Fall I wrote 6 songs in one week (!) while getting ready to perform at the Harbor Vision Art Show. Well, one of them was already mostly done, and four of them are made with stolen lyrics. But still! These so-so demos are recorded with one mic in the sanctuary of Grace Lutheran Church, where Uptown meets. It’s an amazing-sounding room. I’d love to get the whole band in there for a recording session some day, a la Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions.
A couple of these may find their way into worship at Harbor in the future, but I’m not sure they all really work for corporate worship. Most of them will probably just be my own private stuff.
Rejoice, Rejoice
Based on lyrics by Joseph Hart (Gadsby, 725 & 787), c. 1768. Music by me, but it’s a pretty standard folk arrangement.
Finished these two tracks December 07. I think I’d still like to go in and tweak a few things, and they still need to be mastered to sound realy good. Nonetheless, they are the most completely realized recordings I have to date, so hooray for that. Erica on backing vocals, Johnny on piano, Will on violin, me on everything else.
The lyrics are a conglomeration of lines from various hymns written by Isaac Watts, Joseph Swain and Joseph Hart, which I found in the Gadsby Hymnal. The original music has long been lost for these songs, so I figured it was cool to rework their beautiful writing into something new. Red Mountain Church turned me on to William Gadsby’s wonderful collection of hymns and I have been digging through it ever since.
There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood
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Our take on Karl Digerness’ version of William Cowper’s hymn. One of my favs to sing at Harbor. I love Johnny’s hint of blues in the piano. I think William would have approved. He struggled deeply with depression and he wrote this hymn while recovering from a suicide attempt.
Oh yes, and there are instrumental versions of them both
Wrote this one back in late 2005, when I first started reading the Gadsby Hymnal. Recorded sometime early 2006 with one mic in my bedroom. Was trying to stretch a little, melodically. Maybe too much.
