Many church goers will know of Stuart Townend’s songs such as How Deep The Father’s Love, In Christ Alone, See What A Morning and others.
In this post from his blog Townend writes about his upcoming release The Journey. It continues to interest me to see him move toward a more enduring folk style for his songs.
Some new songs seem to be released with a view that they should last until the next album of new songs. Townend (and Keith Getty, among a few others) seem to be intent on creating songs that the church can sing for a much longer time than that.
I’m delighted to say that the new album, “The Journey”, is now recorded, mixed and mastered, and is due for release on the 19th May (although keep watching the website – we’ll be making it available as soon as we get copies!).
I know I’m biased, but I think it’s sounding fantastic! Since I last blogged, we’ve added fiddle and whistles, brass, string quartet, clarinets and flutes, some fantastic slide guitar and mandolins (courtesy of Bryn Haworth), more acoustics and banjo, backing vocals and some amazing guest vocals from folk singer Ruth Notman.
I’m excited to get people’s reactions – it definitely doesn’t sound like your usual worship album! We’ve moved further along the folk line we started on with “Creation Sings” for some of the tracks, but with little twists and left-field musical influences that take it in unusual directions. On other tracks there are nods in the direction of artists that have impacted both Mark (the producer) and myself down the years – Tom Waits, that beautiful Joni Mitchell orchestral album “Both Sides Now”, Rufus Wainwright, Bombay Bicycle Club, Kate Rusby, among others.
Thematically, again I’ve tried to write as broadly as I can: there’s a song about with wisdom of God, a song about money and simple living, story songs, songs about faith and love, as well as songs of adoration and joy – but there’s a recurring theme of God’s constant faithfulness and strength through the joys and sorrows of life’s journey. The older I get, the more I realise that the most important lessons I’ve learned in life have been through trials and suffering; that these things are just as important (perhaps even more important) in shaping me into the image of Christ as the times of blessing and joy.
My prayer is that people will be encouraged and strengthened by the honesty and ‘earthiness’ of the lyrics; that they will be surprised and delighted by the musical creativity that Mark Edwards and others have brought to the project; and that as a result churches will be inspired to broaden their own musical and thematic horizons in worship, that the multicoloured, passionate, creative praise of God will be being expressed in churches around the world.
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