Jazz-inflected folk rock. For both children and adults who love the promise, depth, and enduring strength of Bible stories. Four song cycles capture the essence of the stories of Noah, Joseph, Nehemiah and Jesus' childhood.

20 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Gentle, KIDS/FAMILY: Children's Storytelling



Details:
From a Mustard Seed

The seeds of this CD were first sown one summer over a decade ago when a friend, who was producing weekly presentations of Bible stories for our church's youth outreach program, enlisted me to compose and perform a few songs based on the Joseph story. The songs were well received by the large group of children from a local day camp who attended that week's performance.

These songs then lay fallow until the late nineties when I included "Coat of Many Colors" on a CD of my own music made for family and friends. When several parents and children asked me for more Bible songs, I looked again at the other Joseph tunes I'd written and realized that they would stand well together in a collection of song cycles based on different Bible stories. And so began the work that brought this series of songs into existence.

There was no conscious design on my part in choosing these particular stories. As I considered what material to use, they seemed to choose themselves. Looking at them now, though, I see a range of themes and qualities that offer a bright glimpse into the heart of the Bible: implicit trust in and obedience to God (Noah); moral integrity, spiritual insight, and forgiveness (Joseph); inspired leadership, alertness, and perseverance (Nehemiah); and humble beginnings, guardianship, and bright promise (Mary, Joseph and Jesus). These important and recurring Bible themes point to the larger purpose of the Scriptures-to illustrate divine power at work in human lives.

My hope is that you may find as much enjoyment in listening to this music as I have found in composing and recording it. From the start this project has seemed to have a life of its own and I've often felt more like a midwife than a songwriter while working with melody and lyrics to bring forth the ideas imbedded in these stories. My one desire throughout has been to deliver songs that convey some of the beauty, brightness, depth, and enduring love that underlie these remarkable narratives. Happy listening.

David Sand