"Sunlight" genre: Spiritual Easy Listening
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	Warms you with instrumental interludes and true acoustic grand piano accompaniment to Kim's singing on the beautiful hymn, "Be Still, My Soul."
	CD: Mountain Car Credits: Kim Swift, musician/vocalist and computer music programmer; Tom Gregor, engineer
	Story Behind the Song Near the end of my work on my Mountain Car CD, after working with computers so much, I craved just going into the studio and singing along with a piano. "Sunlight" is made up of three parts because I had the idea of surrounding a hymn with instrumental interludes. Part 1: For the introductory interlude, used three different instrumental groupings to play three variations that explore the symmetries of the square group. Got out my modern algebra textbook and reviewed group theory. Labeled the vertices of a square as 1, 2, 3 and 4. These are the number of half steps in the jumps between notes in the melody. The computer embellished part of this instrumental interlude, using the independence of columns in my custom MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) matrix to play chords with a different instrument setting for each note in a chord. The mathematical perfection of exploring the symmetries of the square group somehow does evoke the feeling of sunlight glistening off of crystals. Part 2: Picked the hymn "Be Still, My Soul", which I loved when I heard it at my home-town church. Accompanied myself on an acoustic grand piano. "Be Still, My Soul" has three verses. A hymn fits well with a song called "Sunlight" because God radiates his love to us and has given us life. We think of the victory of sunshine and life over darkness and death. Part 3: Closed the piece by improvising another interlude on the synthesizer. This time it was just me, my feelings and my instrument. Sometimes I think of sunlight warming up an aspen grove when I hear this interlude. Lyrics "Be Still, My Soul" (Verse 1) Be still, my soul The Lord is on thy side Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain Leave to thy God to order and provide In every change He faithful will remain Be still, my soul Thy best, thy heavenly Friend through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. (Verse 2) Be still, my soul Thy God doth undertake To guide the future as He has the past Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake All now mysterious shall be bright at last Be still, my soul The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below. (Verse 3) Be still, my soul The hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord When disappointment, grief and fear are gone Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored Be still, my soul When change and tears are past All safe and blessed, we shall meet at last. Reproduced from THE HYMNAL. Copyright © 1933, renewed 1961 Presbyterian Board of Education. Used by permission of Westminster John Knox Press

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