Glory to God in the Highest!

Over the next few days I will be posting various songs that our family put together on a CD that we called Glory to God in the Highest! Most of the selections are focused on the 1st Advent holiday, while others are just hymns that our family has enjoyed throughout the years. Here is the list:

1. Under His Wings (Family)

2. All Praise to Thee (Sandra, Hannah & Maria)

3. Song for Josiah, by Keith Green (Hannah on Piano)

4. Away in a Manger (Family)

5. Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah (Sandra & Hannah)

6. Once in Royal David's City (Sandra, Hannah, Maria & Micaiah)

7. Psalm 23, by Keith Green (Hannah on Piano)

8. See, Amid the Winter's Snow (Sandra, Hannah & Maria)

9. Silent Night (Micaiah)

I’ll begin with the first song, Under His Wings by Barney E. Warren (pub. 1911). It is based largely upon Psalm 91:4, but here is the broader context of that verse:

Psalm 91:1-4: 1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" 3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

This text and hymn became very important to us as a family, especially when we were going through the darkest trial of our life as a family in the winter of 2001. During that time we learned all the more how it is that the Lord’s encouragement and grace is often most magnified through the dark trials of life - so that we too can learn about the greatness of His refuge and protection for His people. When we first recorded this hymn together (in 2001) it was just Sandra and myself along with Hannah, Maria and Micaiah. Now we have this blessed ensemble to include Ruth (5) and Lydia (2) - you can hear them on the third verse of the hymn...

Paul Le Clair: A Scotts Tune

In 2002, when it seemed that the Lord was going to be moving us from Minnesota to North Carolina, I realized that I needed to sieze the opportunity of recording certain brethren in the area who were musically gifted. I’m very glad that I did this - in fact, I was blessed with so many contributers that I was able to put together a whole CD of their work. One of the men that I was eager to record was Paul LeClair whose giftedness in classical guitar is - compelling. Best of all, Paul is a humble man who loves Christ dearly. The extent of his past training in classical guitar is simply amazing, and is very much a part of his testimony as a believer - however, he is rather cautious when discussing his background, which is a blessed expression of his humility in Christ. Unfortunately, I only have a few recordings from him. Perhaps if I am able to visit the brethren at Twin Cities Bible Church in Saint Paul Minnesota again, with some sort of portable gear, then perhaps I can expand the LeClair library! We’ll see.

Recording Paul was a treat. We didn’t have to do several takes with him - he just played, and it was a blessing. I can’t remember the background on his guitar, but I do remember that it is one that you’ll never find in the average guitar shop. It had excellent craftsmanship and a rich tone that I had not yet heard in a classical guitar (and I had owned and used several myself).

The recording was done very simply. This was an obvious application for the Neumann TLM103 microphone, and the recording was finished with the minimal mastering plugins from Waves Renaissance. The following recording below is simply called A Scotts Tune - the recording of which I have adopted for our Lift Up Your Eyes flash videos: