For those wondering how the Martyrs Project came to be - here is a little interview from our website... themartyrsproject The following Q & A with the members of THE PROJECT - Dr. Duane W.H. Arnold and Michael Glen Bell contains many insights about the inception, writing, and release of the Martyrs Prayers recordings. HOW DID THE MARTYRS PROJECT COME ABOUT? Arnold: It really came about as an accident, right from the beginning. I originally put together the book, Prayers of the Martyrs, with no idea of publication. I had finished my PhD and wanted to keep up my language skills in terms of translation. My field of study is Church History and I needed material in a wide variety of languages - Greek, Latin, Coptic, etc. - and, because I had a full time job as a university chaplain, the pieces needed to be short and able to be translated into blank prose. I hit on the idea of the recorded prayers of martyrs. After several months, I had a whole file of these translations. My editor at Zondervan, Bob Hudson, rang one day to discuss an earlier book I had written and when he heard about the prayers, he asked if he could see them. The result was the book, which enjoyed a good bit of success and was later reissued in other editions, both here and in Europe, and then was translated into several other languages. When Michael and I reconnected after almost twenty years of not seeing each other, I gave him a copy. Bell: I took the book home and read it. The next time I visited Duane we were talking about my music, which I had pretty well put on the back shelf, apart from my work as a musician in a campus ministry. Duane encouraged me to start working on it again with the idea of maybe doing some recording. In one conversation, I said that what I really needed help with were lyrics that had some weight and meaning behind the words. As we were talking, somehow the martyrs book came up and we both suddenly realized that we had lyrics with real gravitas that we could adapt and use. I agreed to start working on the music and together we decided not do anything more until we had over thirty pieces written, from which we would choose the ten best songs. On my visits to Duane we would write together and in between we would send each other digital files. After about six months, we were there. We then started to make our selections to record. WHY DID YOU FIND THE MARTYRS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST? Arnold: Well, the original meaning of the word “martyr” - martyria - is “witness”. In the willingness to face death as a matter of faith or conscience, we become a witness to our faith and, in a real way, show forth the passion and death of Christ in our own life and death. If worship is the giving of ourselves to God in praise and thanksgiving, one could even say that the martyrs gave themselves to God in their deaths as a part of their life and worship. Bell: For me, while the theology is vital, the stories of the individuals who uttered these prayers are just as important. For the most part, these were ordinary men and women who were placed in extraordinary circumstances and who then had to make real life and death decisions as a result. Sometimes they had to stand against the whole power of the state or prevailing religous opinion. When they made their stand, however, they did it with grace and love. For me, their example, their commitment, is both inspiring and humbling. WITH SO MANY PRAYERS TO CHOOSE FROM IN THE BOOK. WHY DID YOU SELECT THE TEN THAT ARE FOUND ON THE ALBUM? Arnold: Some of the choices seemed obvious. We knew that we had to include Romero and Bonhoeffer. Others, such as Becket appealed to both of us because of our love for Church History. The prayer from Ravensbruck was the most difficult both to select and arrange, because we knew it was something wholly unique owing to its context. Bell: For me, Carpus with his simple statement “I am a Christian”, was the most important, because I had to struggle with my own theology and my own identity. When I was much younger, it seemed easier to make that simple statement without any reservation. As I’ve gone along, however, I’ve seen so much called “Christian” that is embarrassing or offensive, that it became more and more difficult for me to make such a simple declaration without adding further definitions. In a real way, this song took me back to the simplicity of where I started. THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT PLAYERS AND ARTISTS ON THE CD, HOW DID YOU GET THEM ALL TO BE A PART OF THE PROJECT? Arnold: Well, first of all, most of the people are old friends. With them, we explained the project and asked them to be a part of it all. I should say, many of these friends we had not seen in a good number of years, but they all came along to help. There are other artists whom we simply have admired through the years and wanted to have on the album. Pretty much every one we asked said “yes”. Bell: The logistics of getting people into the studio was often the most difficult part. These are wonderful, talented people. Some have full-time positions, others are touring or live a good distance away. People really made sacrifices to participate. IT IS HARD NOT TO NOTICE THAT MANY OF THE ARTISTS COME FROM THE WORLD OF CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC. DO YOU CONSIDER MARTYRS PRAYERS TO BE A CCM ALBUM? Arnold: We actually have artists on the CD that span the “multiple generations” of CCM. Randy Stonehill and Phil Keaggy are certainly originators of the genre, while Kemper Crabb and Glenn Kaiser are in the second wave. Margaret Becker and Jennifer Knapp are in the third wave and Thom Daugherty of The Elms takes us into this last decade. While Wayne Berry wrote for some CCM artists, he is mainly known for his work with Jackson Browne and the people in Muscle Shoals. The McCrary Sisters, of course, are straight out gospel singers with deep family roots in that tradition. All that being said, I don’t think this album is CCM, at least as the genre is understood today. It may be closer to what CCM once was, that is, when it was counter-cultural and had a radical edge. That vision no longer seems to be a part of the current CCM industry. Bell: To be honest, we think CCM is dead, or at least being being kept alive by artificial means. Contemporary worship music seems to have taken its place, but that is really an “in house” phenomena, and a lot of what I hear has a paper-thin theology. We dedicated this CD to Robert Webber and Larry Norman for a reason. Webber was a great theologian who wanted to see evangelicals to have a greater understanding of the historic Church in terms of theology and worship. Larry, with all his quirks, presented a new vision, both in terms of his music and his lyrical content. They were both pretty radical in their own ways. We think that they would like what we’ve tried to do on this CD. ALL THE SONGS ARE CREDITED AS BELL/ARNOLD, HOW DID THE TWO OF YOU UNDERTAKE THE TASK OF WRITING TOGETHER? Arnold: It was different with every song. Although we started with my translations of the texts, Michael or I would often have to rephrase sections to fit the music. Until Michael moved to Indiana, we did a good bit by email. When Michael visited we would often just take an evening and write together. Bell: It really was a collaboration in the fullest sense of the term. Sometimes Duane would come up with a melody line or chord progression while I worked on reshaping lyrics, while at other times Duane was the “word man” while I did the music. The great thing about a long standing friendship is that there is an almost intuitive approach to writing together. THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE A SINGLE DISTINCTIVE STYLE AS YOU GO FROM SONG TO SONG, WAS THIS AN INTENTIONAL CHOICE OR JUST THE WAY IT WORKED OUT? Arnold: As we wrote, and later as I did the arrangements, each song seemed to take on its own personality with its own demands in terms of instrumentation, vocal style and all the rest. That, in turn, would lead to who we asked to participate on a certain song. For instance, on Quirinus we had the McCrary Sisters doing background vocals that took the song in a certain direction that seemed to call for a slide electric. Glenn Kaiser did such a great job, we decided to do an extended jam with Mike Pachelli doing a second lead and additional vocals. The song took on its own life. Bell: Romero is another good example. Originally we had recorded a fairly complex electric version of the song. Our good friend, Thom Daugherty, suggested an acoustic arrangement that seemed much more in keeping with the context of El Salvador and the short film we were going to do with Owen Thomas. So, we did a new recording that we all really liked and that gave a particular character to the song. DO EITHER OF YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SONG ON THE ALBUM? Arnold: That’s really like asking, “Which of your children do you love the most?” Actually, if I were pressed, I would have to say, Carpus, with the reprise lead by Phil Keaggy. The song is a straightforward statement, and Phil’s lead contains so much emotion, so much nuance ... it just makes you want to cry. Bell: For me, it would have to be Becket. Everything about it, the context, the lyric, the melody and the cello line, all bring me back to the conviction that there are things worth living for and, if required, worth one’s very life. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE? Arnold: We’ve already written the material for another album based on the Easter Vigil service of the Orthodox Church and we have started recording the tracks. It’s sort of like the Eagles and Keith Urban meet John Chrysostom! Bell: For myself, I’ll be on the road a good bit supporting Martyrs Prayers in between recording and other creative work. We’ve put together two distinct presentations of the material. One is suited to a single evening concert, while the other is set up for retreats and conferences. It is a joy to share these songs live!
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 14:19:20 +0000
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