In Christ Alone -- Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

 

He heard the music first, and that’s what challenged him to adorn those sounds with poetry as consequential as the notes he’d just heard. That’s how Stuart Townend describes the sequence of events that drove him to write the words for “In Christ Alone” when he heard Keith Getty’s music in 2001. Stuart’s words focus the energy of the music onto thoughts about the Christ, the centerpiece of history. It was the beginning of the Getty-Townend song-writing relationship, one which has spawned a number of subsequent collaborative efforts. It’s appropriate that their partnership began with this song, one which centers on the foundation of their common belief, something that will never grow old or stale. In fact, the great thing about the Townend-Getty subject here is that it will be new forever; He died once, and rose to live forever, beckoning all of us to follow.

 

Stuart Townend found in Keith Getty’s music what he calls ‘gravitas’, a visceral sense that touched him so that he wanted words to match what the music engendered. You can read and hear Stuart’s words about this episode for yourself – see the first link below. It’s sufficient to say here that Stuart thought the only way to adequately match the music he’d heard was to concentrate on the Messiah, Jesus. Just Him, and what He means to all of us, that you and I can ‘stand’ and ‘live’ as a result of Him – that’s Stuart’s emphasis in his poem. His words need no further embellishment. Enjoy what you can read and hear for a few moments...    

 

Christianity is an ancient belief, many centuries older in fact than the picture shown above, which is reportedly the oldest known icon-image of Christ, from the 6^th Century. This depiction of Christ was discovered in a monastery (St. Catherine’s) in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Its artistic characteristics could be the subject of many pages of discussion, perhaps metaphorical for how deeply a people could go in an examination of Christ Himself and His impact on humanity. One interesting morsel of this artwork is the facial features of the Christ depicted here, something that reminds one of the import of Stuart Townend’s poem lauding Him. Look closely, and you can see that this image shows two different facial expressions; note the left side of the face (right side, as you look at it) has a shadowy look, with a deeper-toned cheekbone and eye, while the opposite side is clear, pure – leading to speculation that these two visages represent His Divine and human natures, accomplished simultaneously. He’s the only one who has accomplished this fusion perfectly -- Him alone. That’s worthy of a song, as Stuart and Keith remind us.

 

See here for the song story: https://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/in-christ-alone/

 

See information here on the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Christ_Alone

 

See discussion of the artwork here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Pantocrator