I’m tremendously excited to announce that pianist Andrew Remillard has completed the project of recording the hymns and faith songs in Now Sings My Soul: New Songs for the Lord. One hundred sixteen in all!

The recordings are posted as videos in a special playlist on Andrew’s popular YouTube channel. (A playlist is a collection of videos that YouTube will automatically play one after the other if the viewer selects the autoplay option.)

Andrew’s recordings are strictly instrumental, no singing. However, he displays the score (music + lyrics) as the visual on his videos, as you can see in the screenshot of his video for “Now Sings My Soul a New Song.”

In this way, my lyrics are being presented along with the music to a worldwide audience they never could have reached otherwise. Andrew’s Now Sings My Soul playlist has attracted more than a thousand views already. What a gift!

3,000 Hymn Milestone

Incredibly, Andrew Remillard recently passed the milestone of 3,000 (yes, three thousand!) hymn recordings, encompassing seven full hymnals:

• Presbyterian 1955 Hymnbook
• Episcopal 1940 Hymnal
• Broadman 1940 Hymnal
• Lutheran 1941 Hymnal
• Methodist 1939 Hymnal
• Pilgrim 1935 Hymnal
• Now Sings My Soul: New Songs for the Lord

To celebrate, Andrew and I decided to share a conversation with you all here on Faith Songs.

Chat with Andrew Remillard

Linda: First of all, Andrew, tell us how you got started on the path of recording hymns for YouTube.

Andrew: I had recently closed my large piano rebuilding business due to the economy’s 2008/2009 collapsing finally catching up with me. (I was like Wile E. Coyote, one day there was nothing but air under me.) I had moved my work back to my home shop, converting half of my original shop (a 3 car garage) into a recording studio and the other half into a workshop. I had always wanted to explore recording, and now was my chance.

I started fooling around with equipment, slowly adding components and learning the basics. I began recording a couple of Bach’s 2-part inventions and a few hymns, just to get a sense of the process. This was in 2014.

Linda: 2014! You’ve produced a LOT of material in barely four years.

Andrew: Late that summer, during a conversation with my father, who is a retired Presbyterian minister, he complained that nobody sang the old hymns anymore. Which gave me an idea for a great Christmas present. My initial plan was to record a CD’s worth of hymns from The Hymnbook (1955 Presbyterian), which is the hymnal I grew up singing from. There are about 550 hymns in this book, so my first challenge was deciding which 500 NOT to record. I quickly realized this was an impossible choice, a bit of a Sophie’s Choice. So I took the “easy” way out and decided to do them all!

Linda: Clearly your dictionary has a different definition of “easy” than mine does!

Andrew: Eighteen CD’s later, the project was complete. By this time I had my YouTube channel up and running, so I was posting my recordings there as they were completed. When I completed The Hymnbook, I picked up a couple of other hymnals, and the rest as they say is history.

The Impact on Viewers

Linda: Your videos have had literally millions of views on YouTube. The comments individuals have posted demonstrate how deeply meaningful the hymns are to them.

Andrew: The amount of positive feedback I received took me completely by surprise. I had no idea my humble efforts would find a place in so many people’s lives.

This has been one of the most amazing and humbling parts of this adventure. Our faith is alive and well all across the globe. I have viewers in Bahrain (whose safety I pray for). I have musical friends in several African countries who have limited access or understanding of how to access materials who often ask for help in finding the music they want. The third largest audience right now is India which is growing rapidly. We might not think of India as a particularly Christian country, but God is doing great things in that ancient land.

Linda: Do you consider your YouTube channel a ministry?

Andrew: It is hard for me to see this as “my ministry” because it is really just me sitting at my piano and my desk working away. The real ministry comes the other direction. The comments I receive on a daily basis thanking me for my efforts and even those criticizing what I have done are precious to me and provide a daily encouragement.

Linda: I know I’m grateful for the many, many hours I’ve enjoyed listening to your piano on my Kindle. Can’t count how many times your Evening Hymn Compilation and other songs have lulled me to sleep (in a good way!) or soothed a migraine.

Besides that, your hymnal playlists were my first introduction to some of the hymn tunes I’ve set new words to. Something in the melody, or in the way you played it, would catch my ear and suggest a phrase or a theme, and I’d scribble down the tune name and composer to look them up on Hymnary.org.

I remember hearing you play PROPIOR DEO, and that four-note ending phrase dragged me out of bed to write a text ending with the phrase “Jesus said yes.”  Your rendition of ST. MARGARET was so wistful yet hopeful that it practically wrote “O Lord, I Look Back on My Life” for me. One of my favorites is Redhead #76 (PETRA). After replaying your recording about twenty times, I had to write a nighttime prayer to that tune. “Close My Eyes”

Andrew: I had no idea! Wow!

Thoughts about Hymn Music

Linda: What’s your own favorite hymn, Andrew?

Andrew: At this point, I don’t really have favorites. I never really approach music quite like that. However, I do have a couple which are always special to play, though they are very rarely used. One is AUTUMN. Here is one setting: “Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus” It has a character which always reminds me of the music used in Ken Burns’ PBS Civil War program.

The other one is THAXTED. (Thank you so much, Linda, for giving me another opportunity to play it!) Gustav Holst’s wonderful hymn, extracted from the glorious middle section of his Jupiter movement from his The Planets, gives me goosebumps every time I play it!

Linda: I love THAXTED, too. So dramatic! I rewrote “Because You Loved Me First” especially for that tune. (Here’s Tony Villecco’s marvelous vocal rendition, with oboe and strings.) Another Holst composition, CRANHAM, is wonderfully expressive also. I’ve written a text for it, but it’s not quite ready for prime time.

I notice that most of the hymnals you’ve selected to record are 1920’s to 1950’s vintage, and of course the hymns in them often are much older than that. What value and relevance does old music have for today’s Christian?

Andrew: We are part of an historic faith, and to turn our backs (as so many have) on the faith expressions of our ancestors does not enrich us at all, it beggars us to a level unimaginable. And to have done this voluntarily over the past generation is incomprehensible and displays a level of hubris future generations will condemn.

Linda: You’ve recorded new works by contemporary (i.e., living!) writers, too, such as Ruth Coberly, Jared Bernotski, and yours truly.

Andrew: And several others. I believe it is very important to bring new composers and authors to the public’s attention. It is difficult enough for composers and writers to gain an audience. If I can do some small part in helping them, even if it is just recording their work, it is something I feel I must do. I have never turned someone down who has asked me to record a new hymn. (Large solo works are another matter.)

Linda: How did you get to know about the new composers?

Andrew: Facebook has been quite an avenue for discovery! I count many of these composers and writers as good friends now.

Linda: Yes, Facebook is an amazing networking tool, in spite of its flaws. That’s how you and I “met.” On New Year’s Day, I had the audacity to message you on Facebook, out of the blue, to thank you for your unwitting contributions to my hymn-writing. Next thing I knew, you were asking how you could help publicize my work! I had to call my husband to winch my jaw off the floor. Heh heh…

Recording Now Sings My Soul, in Retrospect

Linda: Okay, Andrew, I’ve got to ask: Do you rue the day you volunteered to record the whole book?

Andrew: Hardly!! I have to say though, that this is the largest project I took on which was all new stuff. More than a couple of the alterations to familiar tunes caught me by surprise. Most I caught in the editing… re-recording things as needed. One or two slipped by which you gently pointed out. Eventually I learned to pay attention to your “alt.” notation next to the hymn names. But absolutely no regrets!

I greatly enjoyed doing the deep dive into your work. When I decide to start studying a composer, it is not to just dabble with a handful of pieces, it is really an all or nothing proposition. So now you are obligated to send me anything new you write and get me caught up on all of the old stuff.

Linda: Ha, a glutton for punishment!

Any particular favorites among the texts in Now Sings My Soul?

Andrew: The last one in the book, “Soon Sets the Sun,” was such a great way to end the project, I will go with that one.

Soon sets the sun.
I’ve done all I can do.
Now, Holy One,
I give it all to you.
Use, if you will,
my words and deeds, though flawed.
I will be still
and know that you are God.

Going Forward

Linda: Do you think there’s a future for new hymns? Even a need?

Andrew: Absolutely! The language of our faith is not limited by time or culture.

Take for example “Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight.” Even though this song/hymn doesn’t have an explicit Biblical context, its origins and popularity came out of mid-19^th century revivalist meetings. The text and the stories which surround it carry as much immediacy today as they did 150 years ago. If you don’t think this is true, play it for a parent of a teenage runaway and be ready for the anguish.

With that said, the story and instruction of our faith needs constant refreshment, not to reflect changes in the faith, for God does not change, but our language and culture do change. So there is a need to reflect those changes as they are appropriate.

This does not mean that I support the butchering of old texts. It could be my classical music training where we are taught to revere the original text. By constantly watering down the original texts, layers of meaning get stripped out. It is better to educate a congregation on the meaning of a word, than to remove that word.

Linda: Like “Here I raise my Ebenezer” in “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Sounds like archaic mumbo jumbo until you hear how Samuel raised a memorial stone named “Ebenezer” as a reminder of God’s help and protection. 1 Samuel 7:7–14

Andrew: Here’s a little something I wrote about the Ebenezer thing: What is an Ebenezer and why on earth would I want to raise it?

Linda: You launched a new series of hymn-based devotional articles in January. That’s a great idea.

Andrew: It was an experiment to see what it was like to have to write something new and interesting every day. It was much harder than I ever imagined! I envision a collection of enough devotions for a 2 or 3 year cycle. Based upon the response I got, I think it would be a well-received effort.

Linda: I agree! Not that I’m biased or anything, ahem, but I think delving into hymn texts is a missed opportunity in worship and devotions. That’s why I included suggested scripture readings and themes for each of my texts in Now Sings My Soul and why I went the extra mile to create a Readers Edition.

The Faith Factor

Linda: How has faith has influenced your life and your music?

Andrew: I will share two stories which I think capture my thoughts on the two most important aspects of our faith: obedience (ours) and God’s faithfulness.

I mentioned earlier about having to close my business due to a collapsing demand for used pianos and piano service in general. Well, that was just the beginning of a very difficult year or two. About 8 months after closing the business I effectively lost the use of my left hand thumb due to arthritis. This would be the second small joint I would lose the use of in about a 6 month period, but this one proved to be life-altering. The surgery to repair my hand went fine; however, within a week I was admitted to the hospital with a rapidly spreading infection. Without going into the gory details, let’s just say it was bad and required multiple additional surgeries, a month-long infusion therapy, and a second hospitalization to finally clear. This left me in devastated physical condition. Even though the infection was isolated in my hand, fighting it took a toll on my entire body. I was barely able to work for most of a year.

However, it was at this moment I began to understand God’s faithfulness! We had actually been rather successful in the years before the market collapse and had managed to save enough money through the years of plenty, so that during the years of famine we could carry on. Just as God had provided for the Egyptians and Israelites 7 years of plenty in preparation for 7 years of famine, God had given me many years of plenty to prepare for the years of want.

Now fast forward several years. I still was mourning the death of my business, for when I finally was well and ready to work, there was little of it left. I had started my YouTube channel, so I had plenty of things to do. But as a 50-something-year-old man who was accustomed to and expecting to earn a decent income, I was really missing the mark! That was until a young student of mine made an off-handed comment which pulled so much together for me, I am humbled it took a 15-year-old girl (almost ¼ my age!) to do it! I realized that even though my work situation has been forever changed, we still had enough… we had enough! Which is exactly what God has promised. Here I was wasting my time worrying about that which was unimportant and neglecting the important. I was actually exactly where I needed to be and in a position to pursue many of my lifelong dreams, and I was too dense to see it until a child pointed it out to me. God is faithful!

The second story is about obedience.

I had an employee I’ll call “B.” When I hired B to work in my shop, someone mentioned he may have some legal issues. I did a quick search and found nothing and forgot about it. I had a big and busy shop to run, and B did good work. A couple of years later, B, who was as punctual and dependable as possible, failed to show up for work one day. He didn’t answer his phone, nor did his wife. Then someone suggested I Google his name. I found out B has just been convicted of possession of child pornography and has been sentenced to 3 years in prison. Fast forward 2 years, B has been released to home confinement. He will be staying at his lake home 2 hours away. He calls me to ask if I will help him move his stuff out of his soon to be ex-wife’s home, and I agree. I thought it would help his wife move on with her life if I helped speed this process up. B then started calling me every so often during the following months. He was very lonely and isolated, as well you can imagine. He had belonged to some sort of Eastern religious cult prior to his imprisonment, and they have barred him from attending or participating in their activities. Also, all of his old friends now want nothing to do with him.

I continued to talk with him, helping him figure out how to regain something of his life. Many asked why I did this for B. What choice did I have? God has never abandoned me. I cannot throw B away, since how different are we all, really? We have all sinned.

It has been difficult. B has had a couple of strokes since his release, but he has recovered. And the greatest surprise of all is he has begun to attend a Methodist church in his small community and is an active participant and contributor to its ministry! Every Sunday that he is able to attend (nearly every Sunday) he sends me a text telling me about the service and how wonderful it was.

We are not called to have a perfect theology, a perfect family, a sinless life, or to even understand any of it. But we are called to obedience. Obedience in the face of public ridicule, in the face of hurt feelings and family rejection, is not easy. God calls us to a life of obedience, not the satisfaction of our needs or wants, let alone our whims. B was put into my life and was stubbornly stuck there; obedience called me to be his friend when he had none. Whether his nascent faith ever grows is not my calling, mentoring him was not my calling, I was called simply to be the friend present when there were no others.

As I reflect back upon my life as I am entering my final turn, I think these two themes—our obedience and God’s faithfulness— best summarize my time in the faith we share.

Linda: I suspect that the notion of entering your final turn resonates with my next question. Besides the 3000 hymns, you’ve recorded a bunch of secular classical pieces. You said on Facebook that one of your favorite pieces you recorded is Franz Schubert’s Piano Sonata #21 in Bb Major D960. Why so?

Andrew: Franz Schubert wrote his Great Sonata in Bb months before the end of his life. He knew he was dying. Beethoven had just died, and Schubert was a pallbearer for his funeral. I find this sonata to be such a beautiful and personal reflection of the end of his life, yet it is not moribund or sentimental. Throughout the 40 minutes of this work, Schubert graces us with some of his most intimate thoughts about life, art, and beauty with a potency only one near death’s door can bring.

“Andrew Remillard” for a Thousand, Alex…

Linda: Let’s turn to some Andrew Remillard trivia questions. What is your music training?

Andrew: BM degree from Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. I studied with William Phemister and Michael Fritsch while there. MM from DePaul University, Chicago, IL. I studied with Mary Sauer. Miss Sauer was the pianist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1959 until just a few years ago, serving over 50 years! She transformed my technique. When I had to relearn how to play with my surgically altered hands, she gave me the tools to regain what I had lost.

Linda: Do you play other instruments besides piano?

Andrew: I dabble on the organ.

Linda: What’s the story with building a pipe organ in your basement?

 

 

Andrew: Actually I pulled the pipe organ out of a basement from a home in Eden, WI. I am installing it in my garage/recording studio. It needs a lot of work, and with me knowing nothing about organ rebuilding it is slow going, but, give me another year or so, who knows….

Linda: I’ll make a note on my calendar to check back.

Do you write music yourself?

Andrew: In my silly youth I did, but I know where my talents lie and where they don’t.

Linda: Do you have other creative tendencies?

Andrew: I enjoy working in my vegetable garden, but my work on YouTube pretty much consumes my extra time. I do read a lot, probably 4 – 6 books a month on a variety of subjects. Some works of fiction. I have been reading several biographies on JS Bach, in addition to some books on recording technology.

Linda: Want to mention your family?

Andrew: My wife, Diane, has been tremendously supportive through these efforts. She helps to proofread my hymn vignettes and puts up with my frustrations of being an old man trying to learn a kid’s game.

Linda: Yeah, recent technology makes many things possible, but it doesn’t always come easy to us late-in-life learners.

Have you had any “day jobs” besides piano?

Andrew: I have worked as a piano technician and rebuilder my entire adult life, until the market for used pianos collapsed about 6 years ago. Since then… I am a YouTube star!!! Well, in my mind I am. Mostly I am a part-time/semi-retired piano tuner.

Linda: I’d call you a legit YouTube star. At the moment your channel has 4,324 subscribers (which is approximately 4,312 more than my channel) and that’s not counting the gazillions who listen to you but don’t bother to subscribe. Hopefully everyone who reads this interview will tootle over to YouTube and be blessed through your music too. It’s all free: listening, subscribing, and posting a comment. ♥

Thank You

Andrew, your recordings from Now Sings My Soul and your encouragement of my work are so much appreciated. Thank you for all you do, and for chatting with me on Faith Songs today.

Readers, you’re invited to join the conversation by leaving a reply below.

And to show my appreciation for your reading all the way to the end of this humongous post, I will email you a PDF of the sheet music for a hymn of your choosing from Now Sings My Soul. Just pop me a request via contact form before June 1, 2018. (I’ll try to honor later requests, but who knows what life has in store?) Be sure to specify the song title, and the tune if there are multiple settings. Need a different key? I’ll transpose it for you if you specify the key.

God bless!
Linda

Find Andrew Remillard:
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 Now Sings My Soul playlist