The Genesis of Songs for the Unborn: Giving Sound to the Silence
I am a 27-year-old, 2nd-year master’s student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and my husband, Dave, and I have been married for 6 years.
"I saw a chasmal void in the realm of art music,
and I wanted to fill it."
I have been involved in musical pursuits since I was a young child. As I’ve grown as a believer, I’ve begun to understand the value of arts, particularly music, in our world. The first thing we learn in the opening chapters of the Bible is that God is a creator; He creates, and is creative. This is not just a fun fact—this is an important attribute of God. I believe He loves it when His children are creative, too. This is why I’m an advocate of using the arts, in every form, to reflect the nature of God to the glory of His Son.
In April 2016, I attended a colleague’s doctoral recital, on which was featured music concerning the Holocaust of 6 million Jews under Adolf Hitler’s regime. The texts were taken from correspondence of a few of these Jews, and other sources. The music was stunning; the texts, piercing. As I sat soaking in the sounds and the silence, I realized that the repertoire of classical (or “art”) music memorializing the 6 million Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust is growing.
How fortunate we are to have these texts with which to honor the victims of the Jewish Holocaust. But our world has suffered another loss, of far greater number, whose victims have no voice. I saw a chasmal void in the realm of art music, and I wanted to fill it.
The next day, I contacted Al Hawkins of Deo Cantamus and told him my idea of commissioning a piece of music concerning the topic of abortion (Al is a “big idea” guy, so he was a logical choice for brainstorming). I had no texts in mind, but I’d sung some of Josh Bauder’s music, and I knew he should be the one to write the music. Al agreed, we contacted Josh, and the project was set in motion. Josh already had a two texts in mind, and over the course of the next few months, found two more to round out the cycle, which he named Songs for the Unborn.
"... I hope that this spurs the Church to
become more active..."
My purpose in performing this set is to memorialize those whose lives have been brutally, mercilessly taken by the ugly abortion process; to give a voice to the voiceless—to give sound to their silence. And while I hope that this spurs the Church to become more active in encouraging our local, state, and national leaders to pursue life-honoring legislation, we must always and only have the Gospel propelling our thoughts, words, and actions. We must remember that, though these precious lives have been taken from us, each soul is now in the presence of God - I am so thankful for this promise! So with this in mind, how should we resolve? The mothers, fathers, and families of the aborted need Jesus; they need salvation from eternal hell, healing from guilt, and hope for a bright eternal future. Only Jesus can provide that.
So as we honor the victims of the abortion holocaust in this performance on October 22nd, let’s not forget that there are those left behind with whom we, the Church, MUST share the Gospel. As it is our duty to protect the lives of the unborn, even more so it is our privilege and responsibility to share the life-giving message of the Gospel.