“Hymn,” featuring Suzzy Roche, available today

I’m an atheist who loves church music. Bach’s organ chorales, Anglican hymns, Paul Robeson singing “Balm in Gilead” — it all comforts me. I composed the musical part of this hymn half a lifetime ago. Revisiting it during the pandemic brought a bit of relief to a scary time.

When I received a commission in 2020 from Bachtopus to write an accordion quartet, I used this melody as the basis for a set of variations called “Waiting to Be Born.”

Later, with Suzzy Roche’s voice in my head, I set the same melody to words.

“Hymn” is getting played on the radio — last week on Accordion Noir from CFRO in Vancouver, and this coming Saturday on The Midnight Special from WFMT in Chicago (fun fact: The Midnight Special first went on the air 71 years ago and the host was Mike Nichols).

Sung by Suzzy Roche with accompaniment by Meg Okura (violin), Rez Abbasi (guitar), David Bertrand (bass clarinet), and me (accordion), “Hymn” is available today on Bandcamp.