Hillsong Chapel
Hillsong Chapel is a collective expression of worship, crafted by local church resources to serve intimate congregations sizes by providing simple arrangements of God-glorifying songs. Its mission is to exalt the name of Jesus and provide music that can help people enter into a place of intimacy, devotion and prayer with their Lord and Saviour. This expression is not limited to a certain set of faces or language, but rather the collective heart of those passionate about worshiping God and drawing closer to his Spirit, leaving a legacy of praise to be echoed by following generations.
Nigel Hedroff, the Music Director and lead guitarist of Hillsong Church, communicates the vision for this project and the centering nature of returning to songs that carried their Church through significant seasons.
Tell us about the heart behind the Hillsong Chapel project as a whole.
The heart behind the Chapel project is that we want to provide simple, vocal-led arrangements that are accessible to churches of all sizes. We stripped back the multiple synth and electric guitar layers and have made it more of an acoustic driven sound with particular attention to the vocal parts and harmonies.
At the heart of everything that we do is our commitment to and love for church worship.
How did you all go about selecting these 13 songs? Did the lyrics of these specific older songs hit in a fresh way?
We have a 30-year history of songs, each with a unique story, so selecting these 13 was never easy. We picked songs that felt like milestone moments within our church. They’re not always the songs we’re most known for, but they’re some of the songs that really carried our church through the seasons.
Some were mountaintop seasons, some valleys, but they were always songs of faith that stirred something in our church.
The lyrics from these songs are timeless. They are as relevant today as they were when they were first written. The arrangements hopefully bring a fresh take on these songs which have been so important to not just our Hillsong church community but churches around the world.
Come to think of it, we had 12 songs with 2 versions of “Shout To The Lord.” That song obviously means so much to us and we couldn’t decide which version. In the end, we did 2 different arrangements and wanted to share them both.
The arrangements and production of these songs feel sobering and free. Tell us about the recording process for Amazing Grace.
The forefront of thinking was to create arrangements that were not just fun to listen to and play, but also could be easily replicated regardless of the size of worship team. We cast the net wide and what you ultimately hear is the collective sound of our broader creative team in Australia.
We spent a few weeks writing the arrangements with contributions from some of our team members, then worked with our lead vocalists in determining the keys of the songs. Once that was established some basic beds were recorded then the fun began with our vocals. We spent a few days with 3 or 4 of our vocalists in our live room writing and recording all the BV layers while also recording the different leads to the songs.
I think the standout was seeing people who have been a part of our team for a long time but you might not have necessarily have heard before really shine with their sound, their gift and their worship.
I think the entire recording process was such an enjoyable experience for everyone involved, and that is the sound you hear on this chapel album.
There’s a very powerful choir that comes in toward the end of “I Surrender” - tell us about this recording and worship moment.
I had the privilege of playing on the original recording of “I Surrender,” from the 2012 Cornerstone album, and this song has always held a pretty special place in my heart.
Right from the start of this chapel recording I knew I wanted to use Dejsha to sing the lead and have our choir to play a big part of the song. Our choir is made up of wonderful and gifted volunteers who serve faithfully week in week out on our platform, and the idea to use them was to initially replicate the ambient guitar part from that recording that kicks in during the instrumental.
They laid the foundation with their “ooohs,” then as they started singing, it turned into a full blown worship moment. So we did a couple of melody takes and then layered some tenor and alto parts, and by the end of the song they were roaring! What you hear is the power of the voices that support the grandeur of the lyric in a stripped back piano/acoustic arrangement. I think the recording of this came out great!
Why do you think this returning to songs from the 90’s and early 00’s is happening in the Church right now?
There are a lot of unsettled events happening in the world right now…that has always been the case throughout human history, but over the past few years, the catastrophes and suffering seem to be intensifying.
I think that there is something really grounding about returning to songs that have carried us over many years, through different seasons and life situations, somehow always finding their way to be relevant both then and now.
These songs really capture so many people’s prayers, and the skill of the songwriters in drafting these lyrics over the decades cannot go without mention. It has been an absolute honour to be able to find sounds and arrangements that once again surface lyrical prayers that so many of us have held dear over the years.
