I have set several Biblical Psalms to music, but Psalm 119 seemed to command my attention for quite some time. Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm, with 176 verses, subdivided into groups of 8 verses each, with the Hebrew alphabet as subtitles. Using each subdivision as an individual song, the project began about 30 years ago and seemed to take off. But, shortly thereafter, it sputtered, with most of the sections seemingly defying any melody and chord accompaniment that made any sense. It was all but dead until about 1 1/2 to 2 years ago, when I felt moved upon to revive it. Then melodies started happening, chord progressions began flowing; it seemed much of it was singing to me. Some of the songs that I had written some 30 years ago were, quite frankly, pretty lame, so were scrapped and rewritten. Others seemed as fresh as they were 30 years ago, so were retained, with perhaps some tweaks here and there in chords and arrangements. In writing the songs, I imposed upon myself a couple rules: • Stick with the King James Version (KJV). I personally find the KJV is generally more poetic and melody-friendly as is. So for consistency throughout the project, I stayed with the KJV. Also, if the listener wants to follow along in his Bible, he need not constantly change translations. • Take no poetic liberties with the wording. The wording of the KJV has been kept intact, with no revisions, word changes, etc., as is common when setting Psalms to music. I don't personally have a big problem with doing so (and have done so with many other Psalms), but in this case, I wanted to stay true to the wording, which made it far more challenging in some respects. The only exceptions are in the repetition of choruses, bridges or verses. Otherwise, the wording is kept faithful to the KJV. This also eases following along in the Bible. Feedback is welcome - both complimentary and critical. All I ask is that the nature of this project is respected and refrain from crass or sarcastic remarks. And one more thing: I make no pretenses about my singing ability - or lack thereof. Never have regarded myself as a great vocalist - or even a mediocre one. I hope to keep the focus on the songs, rather than the performance of them, thus the simple and low-key performance. But I also understand that badly sung or performed songs can be a major distraction from the song itself, so am trying to make them enjoyable and somewhat entertaining - in a subdued, meditative kind of way. I hope you find them enjoyable, inspirational and, most of all, to be drawn closer to the heart of our God that loves us with an everlasting love.

• published: 27 Jul 2012
• views: 342