Salvation Army Songbook inspires new album of piano arrangements
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
“Playing the piano for me, I’ve always acknowledged that it is a gift from God to me, and as a response to that gift, I could use it to honour and glorify his name, and so it’s a very personal worship experience.” – Major Gareth MacDonald.
Major Gareth MacDonald has always been drawn to music in his personal and spiritual life. Inspired by his father, he began playing the piano at six and found a deep connection to God through the keys.
“Most of the time, I’m home in the study with the lights off and the headphones on, and it’s just the music and the lyrics, which speak to me of my love for God and His love and grace to me,” he said.
Gareth, the Corps Officer at Preston, Melbourne, has been a member of the Melbourne Staff Band since 2019, furthering his musicianship on baritone and serving as the band’s pianist when called upon.
He recently released an album, In the love of Jesus, with the help of the Melbourne Staff Band. It is a compilation of Salvation Army songbook tunes, something he “stumbled across by accident”.
The album launch was held at Preston Corps on Saturday 15 August, with Gareth performing a selection of songs and being interviewed by host Major Matt Reeve, Corps Officer at nearby Camberwell.
“The process was heavily inspired by The Salvation Army Songbook. Being in The Salvation Army my whole life and having been around Salvation Army music all my life, it’s just been a part of my life,” Gareth said.
“It became clear that [all the music I chose] had all been songbook songs, and so when it came to designing the artwork, it was heavily impacted by the look of the songbook, and it was the theme that I ran with.”
Songs on the album include ‘In the love of Jesus’, ‘I bring them to Jesus’ and ‘In the Secret of Thy presence’.
Gareth is the son of Salvation Army officers Alan and Margaret MacDonald, who served in appointments across Western Australia and Victoria. When his parents moved to Albany (WA), piano clicked for him through the work of his teacher, Mrs Clifton. With a move to Gosnells (WA), he furthered his abilities in a Salvation Army setting.
“When we moved to Gosnells Corps, when I was 13 or 14, I started playing for the songsters, and that just stretched my playing ability along with following and reading a lot of music.”Gareth later moved to Perth Fortress in his early 20s, where he was the songsters’ pianist. He started the Contemporary Band and became bandmaster for 10 years before becoming an officer.
He says recording the album was something he always wanted to do, but his recent inspiration came from his YouTube hobby.
“It sort of came about because of the response I got from people as I did my YouTube clips. And the recording was an extension of that,” he said. “But to be able to do something in a professional studio, on a grand piano, is a little different from doing my YouTube clips in the study.”
The proceeds from the album In the love of Jesus will go directly towards funding the Melbourne Staff Band’s Impact Plus camp, where young Salvation Army musicians aged 14 to 30 join the band for a three-day music camp in Victoria. The band subsidises travel for interstate attendees and camp running costs.
During the recording, Melbourne Staff Bandmaster Mark Hamilton assisted Gareth and said that the weekend of Impact Plus was at the core of the band’s mission.
“The Melbourne Staff Band wants to invest in young people,” Mark said. “For me, personally, my musicianship has developed just really through The Salvation Army. Music is an amazing tool to share the Gospel, but it is also just a great tool for developing young people.”
Gareth hopes the album will be used as a worship tool to bring people closer to God through the music.
“My hope, my prayer for the recording is that people will be drawn closer to God by listening to the music and responding to the words that it represents.”
The In the love of Jesus album is currently being sold for $20 through https://msbshop.com.au/ with online streaming coming soon.
