Insights About Included Hymns and Songs
To order Hymns and Songs of My Mother click on Store Access. This provides a convenient link to the online marketplace product page, where you can purchase either a digital download, or a CD to be mailed to you.)
This magnificant album was created at the request of my mother. Following the death of David's father in late 1996. In early 1998, mother, knowing I had sung in choirs since elementary school, studied voice in college and after, and was recording at a professional studio, requested I record an album of some of their favorite hymns and songs. Together we selected the hymns to include from my parents' favorites. (See selected list at Simple Playlist.)
David put the ongoing project recording, Romantic Duets, on hold to focus on producing Hymns and Songs of My Mother.
While this project started off quickly, to share draft recordings with his mother, later that year, his mother also died. After her death, other demands in the lives of both David and the Phase I producer of this recording, Ms. Heidi Gerber-Salins, led in 2004 to an extended hiatus of work on this album. The result was this became a very long, protracted, multi-year project. Then in 2019, when David retired, it became possible to initiate Phase II to complete this album. That was accomplished and the album publically released in the summer of 2024.
Because all the recording work on this album was done in 2 distinct Phases, the initial period of work on this album is referred to as Phase I. It successfully recorded the majority of the foundational components included on the final album.
Two exceptions are for the song "Welcome Home," and replacement of all electronic organ accompaniments. Although the arrangement and recording of "Welcome Home" used on the album occurred in Phase II, during Phase I we succeeded in recording a reference version of "Welcome Home" with the composer and lyricist, Kathy Brigman Haupt, singing and playing acoustic guitar.
The dropdown submenu top left provides links to both 1) a simple and 2) an augmented (or annnotated) playlist for the 27 hymns and songs.
The album consistes of 21 congregational hymns, sung basically as they might be in church, but with the following variations:
The 21 congregational hymns included represent a wide range of types. They came from the hymnals his parents collected over their lives when their churches bought new hymnals and disposed of the old.
Also included are 6 religious songs that were important to them. They represent a combination of service and religious songs.
Two are service songs from the back of hymnals, which are commonly considered doxology or service songs/benedictions, rather than congregational hymns. They are:
The other 4 songs came from several sources:
(Note. A more detailed discussion of why Kathy wrote "Welcome Home", and why it was very special to David's mother, is found under Kathy Brigman Haupt: "Welcome Home." However, because "Welcome Home" is an unknown Contemporay Christian song, the following abbreviated notes are provided here.)
This song became a favorite of David's mother both because Ms. Brigman Haupt had lived with them for the year she served as youth minister at their church, and because she wrote this song as a tribute for her grandmother's funeral, who she was very close to. That occurred when her grandmother suddenly died on a trip to help another grand-daughter in Alaska. Ms. Haupt's grandmother was the elder sister of David's mother (i.e., David's Aunt), and David's mother loved the song written for her sister's funeral by one of her sister's grand-daughters.
The other grand-daughter involved in this story, is the one David's mother's sister went to Alaska to assist, Ms. Donna Hicks. She later sent an artistic rendering as a framed copy of the song's lyrics to David's mother from Alaska. She hung them on her bedroom wall, where they hung until she died. (David now has that copy of the framed lyrics Donna sent to his mother.)
Kathy also sang this song at the memorial service for David's mother.
It was during Kathy's trip back to Maryland for that memorial service when we were able to record Kathy's version of the song at Bias. (Note. Getting an audio engineer to work that Labor Day weekend Saturday to make the recording was not easy!) That enabled:
All but one of the hymns are public domain as of 2024, except for lyrics to the hymn "Morning Has Broken". Additionally, lyrics to the song "Be Thou with Them" are still under copyright."Mechanical licenses" were obtained for lyrics to "Be Thou with Them" and "Morning Has Broken," authorizing TortoiseClimbing™ to sell our recordings of these songs. (A seal indicating licensure is displayed on both the simple and annotated playlists.)
The song "Welcome Home" is an original by author and composer Ms. Kathy Brigman Haupt. She gave written permission for TortoiseClimbing™ Audio to arrange and record the initial release of her song on this album of Hymns and Songs of My Mother. The plan is to copyright the music and lyrics for "Welcome Home" on behalf of the composer.
The original goal/mission of TortoiseClimbing™ when created in 1993 was the very modest hobby orientation of recording nice albums for private release.
The critical influence of this album on TortoiseClimbing™ came about when I asked mother whether:
She requested it be a high quality recording, and be publicly distributed. (The critical impact of her requests is they took this project out of the hobby category.)
To achieve her preference, required substantial evolutions in TortoiseClimbing™:
This project came to consist of at least 6 significantly separate parts:
To carry out those responsibilities several subsidiaries were created:
The fourth big change, becoming a for-profit endevor, occurred about a year into the Phase II effort - The goal is to try recouping the considerable ongoing expenses. (That created more recordkeeping requirements that are still expanding.)
More recently we developed a detailed Business Plan, including preliminary guidance for a marketing program for the current and forthcoming products. Efforts on implementing the marketing plans were slowed by the deteriorating health of the lady in my life and her eventual death in February 2025.
Mr. Goettee and Ms. Gerber-Salins (producer and engineer of Phase I, and a significant vocal talent on this recording) worked with the older traditional congregational hymns and songs they grew up with. The Phase I production produced a very nice draft recordings, including all portions of the project, except the song "Welcome Home". It is noteworthy that with the help of Mike Griffith (then a new audio engineer with Bias) over a labor day weekend, a reference recording was made of "Welcome Home" with Kathy singing and playing her acoustic guitar.
For Phase I of the recording, Ms. Gerber-Salins was:
Every weekend until late August of 1998 David took working copies of the latest draft recordings to play for his mother and her friends and care givers. She was thrilled with the progress. Sadly, she did not live to hear the final version.
Shortly following mother's death, a major hiatus of many years' duration occured because of various preemptions in the lives of both Mr. Goettee and Ms. Gerber-Salins. However, over the intervening years of the hiatus, they continued working together developing notes for how to finish the recording, which was accomplished by work carried out in Phase II.
Phase II production of this album began in January of 2019. It successfully completed the requested quality product and it was released for public distribution in the summer of 2024.
Because Ms. Gerber-Salins was no longer available, David took on the role of producer, working from the notes he and Ms. Gerber-Salins developed during the intervening hiatus. The notes provided significant guidance for:
Recording engineer and associate producer functions were provided by returning to work with Mr. Bill McElroy. (He had been David's recording engineer for the 1st private album, Solo Collection). It was possible to return to working with Mr. McElroy because he had returned to working in the recording industry. He helped implement ideas from the notes developed with Ms. Gerber-Salins.
New production initiatives included all steps for adding handbells, handchimes and shuttle pipe (baby bagpipe). That included:
Mr. McElroy located and arranged participation of several additional artists from the Ashland, VA area. Those vocalists and musicians:
Mr. McElroy also made himself available to travel to Westminster, MD and bring his recording equipment for that onsite recording of the shuttle pipe part and the Westminster Ringers at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster, MD.
In addition to Producer, David took on the technical role of audio post production processing for reviewing and editing vocals, and as necessary, tuning vocalists.
About a year after undertaking Phase II, the decision was made to try making TortoiseClimbing™'s activities pay their own way, and we converted to a for-profit endevor.
-- End of Accordian Window on Phase I, Hiatus & Phase II --
The quality and variety acheived throughout this recording project were made possible by participation of numerous professional artists. Separate webpages are included for each of the artists (instrumental, vocal and technical). Their wealth of training, experience and skills contributed to creating this exceptional album.
The artists' credit pages are grouped by which phase the artists were involved with:
To assist you find credits for different artists and instruments, we created an artists' Cross Reference webpage for all artists and instruments on the recording. See Cross References webpage for Hymns and Songs of My Mother.
To order, see Hymns and Songs of My Mother at Store Access for convenient link to online marketplace product page, where you can purchase either a digital download, or a CD to be mailed to you.)
Information about the extensive companion eBook History Through 27 Hymns and Songs is found under Publications at: History Through 27 Hymns and Songs. Target for availability of the ebook is in 2025. Plans are to offer the eBook as part of a discounted bundle with the album.
The companion eBook provides extensive historical details about the times each of the hymns and songs were written, and how those world histories influenced the hymns and songs. The Publications section of this website can be reached by selecting that choice on the Top menu. Or, for easy access you can click the above link to jump directly to the write up on the extensive companion hymn history book.
When the companion history eBook becomes available (as early as possible), we will begin producing advance podcasts of the chapters. They will be offered via a subscription series for the podcasts, with a free download of the audiobook to subscribers when completed. The subscription series is targeted to begin sometime in 2025.
The plan is to also offer each of the subscription podcast chapters for standalone purchase, i.e., individual chapters will be available separate from the subscription series. These will not include a download of the audiobook when the subscription series is completed.
The audiobook of the companion history eBook is targeted to become available after completion and release of all advance subscription podcasts, with completion of audiobook targeted by the end of 2024.
3 additional versions of this recording will become available.
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