Behind the Album: “We Will Proclaim”

Three months ago my church released our second live worship album, “We Will Proclaim: Live Worship with The Falls Church Anglican”. Since I was in the middle of a few other projects at the time, I never highlighted a few interesting things about the album that I hope encourage and bless you (especially since shipping is free all this week):

First, the order of the songs. We intentionally ordered the whole album in such a way that it progresses like an Anglican church service. The progression of the songs, interspersed with liturgical prayers and creeds, walks through an Anglican service from start to finish.

Second, the arrangements of the songs. We arranged every song in such a way that a volunteer/amateur worship team could play them just as comfortably as a team made up of trained professionals. And except for an added pad here or there,  we didn’t go crazy in post-production adding layers and layers of stuff that wasn’t there live.

Third, the keys of the songs. We made sure that every song was in the optimal congregational key. So, for instance, our version of “Jesus Son of God” is in a completely different vocal range than Chris Tomlin’s version.

Fourth, the heart behind the songs. Every single one of these songs is centered around the unchanging faithfulness of Go and the unfailing power of the gospel. This has been our congregation’s anthem for two whole years now of upheaval, inconvenience, and perseverance. Our church is definitely not perfect. My guess is that your church isn’t either. These are songs that an imperfect congregation can belt out to an indescribably glorious God.

Fifth, the liturgy in-between the songs. Our first album, “A Thousand Amens”, has 14 songs in a row. This album also has 14 songs, but has 6 other tracks as well, featuring a scriptural call to worship, Anglican prayers, the Apostles Creed, and a benediction, all woven-in seamlessly, demonstrating how liturgical elements can be incorporated in an intentional, worshipful way, without having to bring the flow of the service to a screeching halt.

Finally, the variety of the songs. We have some hymns, some re-tuned hymns, some new compositions, some current songs that our congregation loves, some current songs that incorporate older hymns/songs (i.e. “Everlasting God” with a verse of “A Mighty Fortress” added in, or “Ten Thousand Reasons” transitioning to “I Exalt Thee”). Some songs are full-on rock. Some songs have a string section. We hope this album models a fearless incorporation of variety, in modern skin, anchored to the past but not weighed down by it.

If you haven’t already purchased “We Will Proclaim”, I think you’d enjoy it if you did. You can download it on iTunes of course, but all this week (the week of March 10th) you can purchase it at www.tfcamusic.org and shipping is free.