In The Garden, 1912 C. Austin Miles, 1868-1946

Trained as a pharmacist, Miles abandoned his career to write gospel music. In The Garden was written after Miles had a trance-like experience, envisioning the entrance to a garden where Mary wept next to the tomb of her son, who ultimately appears beside her. Miles wrote the words and music immediately after the vision.

Panis Angelicus, 1872 Cesar Franck, 1820-1890

French composer, teacher and organist. His sporadically employed father aimed to have Cesar trained to be a piano virtuoso in order to support the family. After years of failed efforts, Franck finally found his true vocation as an organ instructor at the Paris Conservatory, and composer of large-scale symphonic, keyboard, and sacred works.

Amazing Grace, 1772 Words by John Newton, 1725-1807

Newton was captain of an English ship that shuttled slaves to the Carolinas. After a terrifying storm at sea in 1748 he gave up sailing and slaving and studied for the ministry, preaching the gospel of love and freedom. He wrote nearly 300 verses for his sermons, the most famous being Amazing Grace.. The melody is probably an existing tune from the rural southern United States.

The Lord’s Prayer, 1935 Albert Hay Malotte, 1895-1964

This song was in the process of being rejected by publishers when famed opera singer John Charles Thomas heard it and insisted on recording it. It continues to be one of the world's most beloved devotional songs.

On Eagle’s Wings, 1979 Michael Joncas

The very popular setting of Psalm 91. Joncas is a liturgical composer, author, speaker, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota..

Ave Maria, 1825 Franz Schubert, 1797-1828

Usually sung in Latin, I chose to also record Ave Maria in German, Schubert’s native tongue and my favorite version. Schubert was a schoolteacher, poor, sickly, and unrecognized in his time. He wrote sixteen works for the theater, nine symphonies, twenty-one string quartets, volumes of pieces for piano, numerous works for chorus, and over 600 songs that are still sung on the world's concert stages - all before dying at 31.

How Great Thou Art, 1953 translated-arranged, Stuart W. K. Hine, 1899-1989

Hine was an English missionary who heard this song in the Ukraine in the 1930’s, thought to have been brought there by Swedish missionaries. He translated it and took down the melody.

Lady of Knock, 1981 Dana and Damien Scallon

Well-known Irish singer, Dana Scallon, and her husband, were asked to write a song in honor of the Marian pilgrimage site in the village of Knock, County Mayo, where it was reported that in 1879 a vision of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the parish church.

Peace In The Valley, 1939 Thomas A. Dorsey 1899–1993

The son of an Atlanta revivalist preacher, Dorsey moved to Chicago where he studied music, became a church choir director, and was a co-founder of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses. In his over 1,000 songs Dorsey combined elements of the blues with traditional African-American religious music, earning him the title "Father of Gospel Music."

Blessing, 1986 Katie Moran Bart

Bart wrote this musical setting of the familiar Irish prayer for a choral group, of which she was a member, while a student at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. She is one of 14 children, and had long thought about setting the text to music in honor of her Irish family. The first performance of Blessing was at her graduation from St. Olaf.

Abide With Me, 1861 Henry Francis Lyte, 1793-1847/William Henry Monk, 1823-1889

Lyte was orphaned at an early age and studied poetry at Trinity College in Dublin. He was an ordained cleric who wrote two volumes of sacred poetry. Monk lived in London, teaching voice and writing sacred songs. The melody was written as Monk and his wife watched a sunset.. It is considered the most beautiful of twilight songs.