Friday, September 22, 2006

4. December (Anthem) (1:34)



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I had some reservations about placement of this track in the story. There is no Biblical reference to Mary ever leaving the stable once they arrive in Jerusalem and prior to her giving birth. But I stand by the arrangement of the four tracks, and remind you that for the most part the enhanced version of the Birth story comes from my imagination.

The shortest piece of the four, this one was and is the most visual for me. The image of the young Mary, making her way to the water edge, filled with anxiety and fear and a moment of uncertainty. Doubt washes over her, baptizing her confusion and bringing into focus a need for external confirmation that the choices she made were correct. I checked, and there was a body of water that she might have made her way to. The water, the dog barking as - what? - she, or perhaps someone else passes by? Her fear was real and terrible to her. And then the storm came and, moving with great difficulty, she made her way back to safety. I suspect there was a friend or servant nearby to help her, perhaps Joseph. From our perspective in time we sometimes forget that this very young girl gave up the life that she knew and moved away from her friends.

This piece was recorded during the evening of July 30, 2006, with post production completed around August 1 or 2. The piece was written pretty much in a single sitting, with some dubbing completed a day or two later.

The recording was created using an Apple G4 iBook, a Roland JV-35 synth. Software was Apple's GarageBand, with some enhancement using BIAS PEAK. The strings and brass are from the GarageBand orchestral sound font package, with everything else coming from the general GB sound font library. No loops were used.