Musical Borrowing in the Songs and Recordings of Keith and Kristyn Getty

Among the leading creators and promoters of evangelical congregational song today are Keith and Kristyn Getty, recording artists from Northern Ireland. Keith Getty (b. 1974) trained in classical music and contributes as composer, pianist, and guitarist. Kristyn Getty (née Lennox, b. 1980) studied English literature, excels in writing lyrics, and frequently serves as the lead singer on their recordings. Both, however, typically contribute music and words in the creative process. Discussions of their output often focus on the lyrics, which show dedication to both artistry and theological depth.¹ This married couple aims to explore the full gamut of church doctrine and Christian experience.² Notably, they resist attempts to soften or otherwise alter their specific word choices.³ 

Equally remarkable is the Gettys’ rich and varied musical vocabulary. Their influences include traditional Christian hymnody, classical music, and folksong from Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some of these inform the general style of their music, which they describe as modern hymns in a folk idiom.⁴ Their expressive and singable melodies work well a cappella, but they also shine with the colorful orchestrations featured in their recordings and live performances. Sometimes their emulation of sources moves past general style and into quotation and paraphrase, which the Gettys have employed in creative and expressive ways. Georgina Bartlett demonstrates this in a close analysis of “Before you I kneel (A worker’s prayer).”⁵ She argues that pervasive paraphrase of J. S. Bach’s chorale setting of “Zion hört die Wächter singen” firmly connects the song to the history of Protestant church music. While this degree of paraphrase is rare in the Gettys’ music, their output abounds with other flavors of musical borrowing. The breadth of approaches attests to their fluency with multiple styles, their valuing of history and tradition, and their creativity in evoking extramusical associations. 

This article explores the sources, function, and meaning of musical borrowing in selected recordings by Keith and Kristyn Getty. In particular, it identifies four of their strategies that employ borrowing: added chorus, added outer frame, medley, and classical commentary. While none is unique to the Gettys, the number, frequency, and expressive impact of these borrowing strategies merit study. Close analysis of two songs supports discussion of each category. 

Table 1 lists the eight selected recordings by release date, revealing the twelve-year span of these five arrangements and three original works. Keith, Kristyn, or both participated in writing all but one of the eight selections. 

The analyses below of individual songs explore both the musical and textual elements enhanced by each quotation, and their comparison highlights trends across the Gettys’ output that could be adopted by additional writers of congregational song. This study illuminates how they draw from the music of yesterday in their creation of music for the church of today and tomorrow. 

Table 1. Selected Getty Recordings Employing Borrowing

Added Chorus

One strategy used by the Gettys entails adding a chorus to a pre-existent hymn, a practice common in contemporary worship music.⁶ The approach overtly connects to tradition through the original hymn text and tune while allowing greater creative latitude in the newly composed chorus, which is rendered memorable through repetition within the song. Pragmatically, this allows recording artists to differentiate (and sell) their version. Interestingly, although the Gettys routinely arrange and record older hymns, they rarely add their own chorus. Keith specifically notes his dislike of the approach.⁷ Nevertheless, their output includes the occasional exception. “Facing a task unfinished” and “Come, Thou almighty king” employ similar strategies even though the Gettys wrote and recorded the former and only recorded the latter. 

The Gettys created their version of “Facing a task unfinished” in response to a commission, on which they collaborated with Ed Cash and Fionán de Barra.⁸ OMF International specifically requested the addition of a chorus for a new version in honor of the organization’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary in 2015.⁹ Keith eventually agreed partially because the original is “a missions hymn without a response.”¹⁰ The result served as the titular track for an album in 2016. Frank Houghton’s hymn text is usually paired with Samuel S. Wesley’s 1864 hymn tune Aurelia, which the Gettys employ in their version.¹¹ 

The Gettys expand “Facing a task unfinished” through an original chorus as well as instrumental framing. The borrowed hymn provides the material for the four verses. Other than a lone dotted figure in the third, all four phrases of Wesley’s melody share the same rhythm.¹² The last phrase repeats a large segment from the first, but otherwise the melody contains little repetition. The new chorus, in contrast, embraces internal repetition as indicated in Example 1. Brackets mark recurrences of the dotted rhythm borrowed from the third phrase of the original verse. The chorus unfolds as a sentence, opening with nearly identical statements of the basic idea. The continuation builds to the climax on C5 before cadencing on C4. In addition to matching both the highest note and the final pitch of the hymn tune, this highlights the theological connection between “save” and “Lord,” encapsulating the gospel message. The form gradually shifts from an emphasis on the verses to an emphasis on the chorus, delaying the first chorus until after verse 2 and following verse 4 with a double chorus. The introduction, interludes (preceding verses 2 and 4), and outro fixate on an ostinato accompanied by slowly oscillating tonic and subdominant triads. The high degree of repetition in these instrumental passages arguably depicts determination in answer to the extensive and ongoing nature of international missions. 

Example 1. Chorus of “Facing the Task Unfinished”

The Gettys recorded “Come, Thou almighty king” as arranged by Tommy Bailey, Sarah Gehri, Nathan Mickle, and Tom Yarbrough for their 2021 album Confessio: Irish American Roots. The original hymn text devotes one stanza to each member of the Trinity in turn before addressing the entire Godhead in verse 4. The lyrics emphasize supplication, pleading with God to come and minster to His people. The expanded arrangement preserves all four verses and adds a chorus with a truncated version of the lesser doxology, or “Gloria Patri.” In English, this opens with “Glory Be.” The texts pair particularly well given their shared emphasis on the Trinity. The hymn provides the poetic names “Almighty King,” “Incarnate Word,” and “Holy Comforter,” which the “Glory Be” clarifies with the more familiar names Father, Son, and Spirit. 

In this arrangement, the verses closely follow the original hymn tune, from which the added chorus borrows select motives. The hymn tune features two recurring motives, namely a passing figure in even notes and a dotted rhythm. Example 2a shows part of verse 1 in the arrangement, marking alterations from the original with asterisks.¹³ In the process of changing the meter from 3/4 to 6/8, the arrangers added rests at the end of the second and fourth measures. Additionally, measure 3 eliminates a neighbor figure to create another iteration of the passing-tone motive, this time from scale degree 5. This resurfaces at the start of the chorus. Example 2b marks the four recurrences of the passing-tone motive as well as the single statement of the dotted rhythm near the end. While neither motive is atypical of stepwise hymns, the consistency in their metric placement renders the connection audible. Thus, in addition to the shared subject matter, the verse and chorus of this arrangement are bound together through musical means. 

Example 2. Motives and Changes in Arrangement of “Come, Thou Almighty King”

The forward momentum of this arrangement derives partially from its form. Despite the different arrangers, the interleaving of sections of this song largely parallels that of “Facing a task unfinished.” The added chorus appears four times in “Come, Thou almighty king.” Rather than simply placing one after each of the four verses, however, the first statement is delayed until after verse 2. The third and fourth statements are paired together at the end of the song, followed only by the outro. The placement and nature of the instrumental sections contribute to a sense of acceleration as the song progresses. A modest interlude follows each of the first three sung passages, providing time to process the words of the first two verses and initial chorus. These interludes disappear in the second half of the song. Verse 3 leads without pause into the subsequent chorus, which is punctuated with an extensive instrumental break. This leads into the longest sung passage enveloping the final verse and two chorus statements. Together, this distribution of sections tips the form of the song closer to modern popular norms than to the older strophic layout. 

In both “Facing a task unfinished” and “Come, Thou almighty king,” an added chorus enriches both the musical and textual relationships within the song. Delaying the first appearance until after the second verse firmly establishes the source hymn, and concluding with a double chorus increases momentum near the end. The chorus to “Facing a task unfinished” seizes one small rhythmic motive from the verses but otherwise introduces contrast and greater repetition. This emphasizes the urgency of furthering the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18–20. The chorus to “Come, Thou almighty king” shares more motives with the verses, and the supplication of the verses blossoms into praise in the chorus. 

Added Outer Frame

The Gettys frequently collaborate with others, sometimes creating new songs and sometimes recording covers. Often these songs appear on multiple recordings. When this happens, the Gettys occasionally add an introduction and coda as a framework around the main song. This framing typically features a borrowed melody, paradoxically using pre-existent material to differentiate their new recording of a recent song. This section compares two selections Keith co-authored.¹⁴ In both “Holy Spirit/ Gabriel’s Oboe—medley” and “I will wait for you (Psalm 130),” borrowed material in the Gettys’ recording creatively frames the core song in a way that amplifies its meaning. 

Keith Getty and Stuart Townend co-authored their song about the Holy Spirit in 2006. Versions of this appear on several of their albums, sometimes simply titled “Holy Spirit” and sometimes including the next words “Living Breath of God.” This analysis compares Townend’s version on Creation Sings (2009) with the Gettys’ version on Hymns for the Christian Life (2012). The core of both is a strophic setting of three verses separated by short instrumental passages. Only the Gettys’ version quotes the tune “Gabriel’s oboe,” which frames the central song, highlights select internal motives, and introduces extramusical connotations. 

The melody of each verse contains a high degree of repetition in phrase design and motivic structure. Each strophe comprises an AABA song form. Example 3a shows the first instance of phrase A. Brackets mark the two appearances of a tetrachord descending from scale degree 1. Elegantly, these two iterations have opposite rhythms, reversing the order of quarter and eighth notes. Example 3b shows the contrasting third phrase, which connects to the previous phrase in two ways. First, both halves of phrase B employ the rhythm from the first half of phrase A. Second, phrase B alludes to motives from phrase A. The bracket above the staff marks a transposed iteration of the tetrachord, this time descending from scale degree 5. !e bracket below the staff marks what could be heard as a shortened variant of this motive. 

Example 3. “Holy Spirit” Verse Melody

The recordings differ in how the instrumental interludes relate to the sung melody. Example 4 compares the initial version of both. Each lasts four measures and contains internal repetition. Townend’s version in Example 4a contains a two-bar figure stated twice, transposing the descending tetrachord to begin on scale degree 4. In contrast, the Gettys’ version in Example 4b employs a structure in which the third statement of a motive leads toward the phrase’s conclusion. Significantly, this bracketed motive alludes to the melody of the verse. The contour follows the opening of phrase B, while the pitches pull from the tetrachord featured in phrase A. 

Example 4. Instrumental Motives in Two Versions of “Holy Spirit”

The Gettys’ quotation of “Gabriel’s Oboe” expands the form while connecting to motives in the verse. The added sections comprise an introduction and coda. This use of quotation to frame the body of the song mostly aligns with other recordings by the Gettys, though the coda’s extended length, spoken overlay, and placement before the final instrumental section are a bit unusual. While predating the writing of “Holy Spirit,” the melody “Gabriel’s Oboe” works well given its motivic structure. Example 5 shows the melody as featured in the introduction. Brackets indicate how measures 2 to 6 contain three iterations of the tetrachord descending from scale degree 1. Two of these are embellished, serving as a delicate herald of the more straightforward iterations of the motive to come in phrase A of the verse. The arpeggio of measure 9 likewise resurfaces in phrase B of the verse, as the boxes in Example 3b and 5 indicate. 

Example 5. “Gabriel’s Oboe” as Introduction in “Holy Spirit” (Getty 2012)

“Gabriel’s Oboe” also offers extramusical connections in both religion and culture. Ennio Morricone composed the original for The Mission, a film released in 1986. In it, a Jesuit priest named Father Gabriel plays the tune on the oboe while surrounded by members of the Guarani tribe bearing weapons.¹⁵ While thus originally associated with the Catholic church, the melody now exists in multiple secular arrangements both with and without text. For example, the song “Nella Fantasia” combines Morricone’s melody with Italian words by Chiara Ferraù that speak of justice, peace, and freedom without reference to Christianity. Originally recorded by Sarah Brightman for the album Eden, the song has been further popularized through covers, including on the inaugural album of Celtic Women. Consequently, “Gabriel’s Oboe” both carries Christian associations from the film and possesses ties to a famous Irish performing group. The Gettys’ quotation of this melody leans into the latter by replacing the oboe with a violin, an instrument with stronger ties to Irish folk music. 

While sharing the same core as Townend’s recording, the Gettys’ recording incorporates “Gabriel’s Oboe” in a manner that expands the form, adds to the motivic network, and enriches the extramusical implications. The quotation serves as the introduction and coda, employing a framing strategy. The motives within “Gabriel’s Oboe” align with aspects of the sung verses. Additionally, the choice of quotation connects to two elements the Getty’s prize: the history of the church and their cultural heritage. 

“I will wait for you (Psalm 130)” was written in 2018 by Stuart Townend, Keith Getty, Jordan Kauflin, and Matthew Merker. Poetically paraphrasing and amplifying Psalm 130, this song repeatedly resolves to wait on God. Different recordings use different means to emphasize this core message. This section compares three representative recordings made by one or more of the co-writers. In contrast to those by Townend and Merker, the Gettys’ 2019 version with Kauflin adds an introduction and coda that share borrowed material.¹⁶

Psalm 130 provides much of the text for both the core song as well as the introduction and coda in the Gettys’ version.¹⁷ In all three recordings, the core of the song entails four verses. The first two are addressed to God, initially pleading for mercy then marveling at forgiveness. The last two urge people to place their hope and trust in God. These depart more markedly from the original psalm text, providing a New Testament perspective on the promised redemption. The two choruses use the same music and repeat “I will wait for You,” but answer with different lines. The resultant shift from future tense in the first chorus to present tense at the end of the second conveys acceptance of waiting that expresses trust. Like verse 1, the added introduction is based on Psalm 130:1–2. In contrast, the coda evokes the waiting watchman from Psalm 130:6, thus adding an image absent from the core song. 

Table 2 compares the form of the three representative recordings of “I will wait for you,” each conveying the central idea of waiting on God through different means. Townend’s version includes two extended segments inviting meditation: the break and the coda. Discontinuous and improvisatory, both mostly use segments from the lyrics elsewhere. His recording is the longest partially due to these stretches and partially because only he repeats choruses 1 and 2 as a unit. Merker’s version employs more short interludes than the others, thus insisting on brief moments of waiting even early in the song. This live recording features only his voice, piano, and a large group of other singers. He stops playing as the second pass of chorus 2 begins. By the end, only the a cappella congregation is audible, emphasizing the waiting of a multitude of believers. Th central portion of the Gettys’ version largely corresponds to Merker’s without the first interlude. One small distinction entails the first line of verse 4: Townend and Merker open with “His steadfast love has made a way,” which the Gettys alter to “Now He has come to make a way.” Larger differentiations entail the added framing in the Gettys’ version, which musically contrasts with the rest of the song. 

Table 2. Form of Three Versions of “I Will Wait for You (Psalm 130”

The Gettys’ introduction and coda contrast the rest of the song through style, timbre, and borrowing. A tonic-dominant pedal undergirds both sections, providing stability while generating dissonance against the melody that is sung by Kauflin, supported by the congregation, and doubled on bagpipes. This starkly contrasts the body of the song, which features faster harmonic rhythm, Kristyn Getty singing lead, and a whistle occasionally surfacing in the sound of the band of piano, guitar, fiddle, and percussion. The introduction and coda each include a single statement of Martyrdom. This tune employs a much slower surface rhythm than the main song, lacking any connections beyond the meter and a range near that of the chorus. 

The Gettys’ adding of a musical frame in “I will wait for you” depicts waiting through an altered sense of time. Enhanced by the drone and slower rhythm, the borrowing of a familiar hymn tune suggests that present waiting can draw strength from the past. The added text draws from the same psalm as the main song, harnessing the powerful imagery of the watchman at the end to underscore the expectant waiting in the present. Thus, the music and words of the framing shift the functioning of time in a way that mixes past, present, and eternity. 

The Gettys’ recordings of “Holy Spirit/Gabriel’s oboe—medley” and “I will wait for you” illustrate the creative potential of added frameworks. Strategic borrowing of material for the introduction and coda allows for rich dialog with the main song. Sometimes the dialog involves musical similarity, as evidenced by the shared motives in “Holy Spirit” and “Gabriel’s oboe.” Sometimes this involves musical contrast, as with the pedal tones and slower rhythm of Martyrdom that frame “I will wait for you.” In both cases, the inclusion of older material emphasizes continuity with the past. 

Medley

Medley involves “stating two or more existing tunes, relatively complete, one after another in a single movement.”¹⁸ Designs range widely within this description, including within the Gettys’ output. The division between frame and core song in “Holy Spirit/Gabriel’s oboe” is only one of several strategies for combining two sources into a new whole. This section identifies two other flavors of medleys in which each tune surfaces in more than one section. Both examples emphasize continuity to a greater degree than the previous category. “Arkansas traveler/All hail the power of Jesus’ name—medley” illustrates interleaving throughout the form, while “Softly and tenderly/Ashokan farewell—medley” reserves one of the tunes for the second half. 

Keith Getty collaborated with Fionán de Barra and Zach White on “Arkansas traveler/All hail the power of Jesus’ name—medley” for The Greengrass Session (2014). The track illustrates the strategy of interleaving, in which the folk tune surfaces in most of the instrumental passages around the sung strophic hymn. The two contrasting sources stand on equal footing. The cohesion of this medley derives from motives connecting the sources and strategic interleaving. 

Penned in 1780 by Edward Perronet, “All hail the power of Jesus’ name” most frequently appears with the tune Coronation composed by Oliver Holden in 1793.¹⁹ Example 6 shows the three phrases of the melody on separate lines. This is typically sung with a moderate tempo to emphasize its regal quality, which in turn emphasizes the text’s themes of power, majesty, and lordship. Brackets below the staff mark a segment shared by the first and second phrases, which is slightly obscured through a shift in metric placement. The double-headed arrows illustrate how the third phrase contains a diminution of part of the first phrase. 

Example 6. Phrases and Motives in Coronation

The American fiddle tune “Arkansas traveler” appears in several variants. Its authorship remains in dispute, but the melody has existed in some form since at least 1845.²⁰ Example 7 compares those published by William Cumming and P. D. Benham with the version from the Gettys’ recording.²¹ 

In performances, the main portion of the tune (Example 7a) sounds far more frequently than the “turn of the tune” (Example 7b).²² Each half contains two four-bar phrases. !e three versions differ in small details of rhythm, contour, and pitches. The Gettys’ version resembles Benham’s more than Cummings’, but it departs from both with a descending scale at the end of each half. 

Example 7. Three Versions of “Arkansas Traveller”

Comparing Examples 6 and 7 reveals shared motives. These may not be apparent on first listening given the disparities between the quarter and half notes of Coronation and the sixteenth notes of “Arkansas traveler.” Downward brackets mark the shared head motive. Upward brackets mark the turn figure. As shown in Example 7b, the numerous iterations of this motive include three that begin on F-sharp, which initiates both appearances of the motive in Example 6. Boxes highlight how both the folk and hymn tunes end with a stepwise decent, which is only slightly decorated in the hymn. 

In the medley, all sections before the coda employ either part of the folk tune or the hymn. “All hail the power of Jesus’ name” is retained in its entirety, with all four verses set to Coronation. “Arkansas traveler” appears in most of the instrumental sections. The main tune appears in the introduction as well as first and third interludes. The “turn of the tune” appears only in the second interlude, reflecting its fewer appearances in the folk setting. The coda departs from both sources with four iterations of one reel followed by two of another. While in D mixolydian rather than D major, these reels retain the fast surface rhythm, forward momentum, and emphasis on fiddle and pipes begun in the earlier instrumental passages. 

“Arkansas traveler/All hail the power of Jesus’ name—medley” coheres through motives and interleaving. While the American folk tune and the traditional hymn hail from different sound worlds, their subtle but significant motivic overlap renders them musically compatible.²³ The interleaving of the two borrowed sources generates energy and highlights the form. While this contrast could have been created even with newly composed materials, the harnessing of two familiar sources heightens the anticipation of each section’s arrival. The melodic and modal departure in the coda sidesteps predictability while maintaining the forward drive and instrumentation to the end. 

“Softly and tenderly/Ashokan farewell—medley” on Evensong: Hymns and Lullabies at the Close of Day (2020) presents a different strategy for combining the two sources of the song title. “Softly and tenderly” is a song Will L. Thompson wrote in 1880. The lyrics depict Jesus calling sinners to repent and “come home.” Jay Ungar wrote the fiddle tune “Ashokan farewell” in 1982 “in the style of a Scottish lament” with “a great sense of loss and longing.”²⁴ The melody is perhaps most famous for its presence on the Grammy-winning soundtrack of the PBS series The Civil War from 1990, though recordings of the nostalgic tune have since multiplied. “Ashokan farewell” appears only in the latter half of the Gettys’ medley as a means of intensifying the longing for home. 

Both source melodies contain four phrases and internal repetition. The original melody of “Softly and tenderly” is in 6/8 time. THe Gettys perform this in a more leisurely 3/4 time (breaking each original measure into two), with the singers taking additional liberties with the rhythm. The verse contains a parallel interrupted period, whose consequent returns with minimal rhythmic alterations at the end of the refrain to round off the AA’BA’ form. “Ashokan farewell” likewise opens with a parallel interrupted period, though neither phrase returns in the second half of the tune, thus comprising an AA’BC form. 

Table 3 summarizes the form of the medley, in which the single extended interlude serves as a textual and musical boundary. All text before the interlude is by Thompson, employing only the refrain and two of his original four verses. His wording recalls elements from the parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15:11–32. Kristyn Getty’s additional lyrics all appear after this point, including the second half of the interlude as well as the third verse. Verse 3 emphasizes Jesus’s role as Shepherd, harnessing concepts from John 10:1–18 and Psalm 23. Musically, the interlude contains the single complete statement of “Ashokan farewell,” though fragments from both halves recur in the third verse and coda. 

Table 3. Form of “Softly and Tenderly/Ashokan Farewell – Medley”

The interlude, third verse, and final refrain each introduce one surprise that strengthens interconnections within the second half of this track. All three draw attention to the phrase boundaries built into the source melodies. One entails layering. The third verse begins much like the previous two verses, but a fragment from the B theme of “Ashokan farewell” marks the arrival of its second half. Significantly, this constitutes the single moment in the medley in which the two sources sound simultaneously. This marks Kristyn’s paraphrase of Psalm 39:6. Her words “Surely His goodness and mercy will follow ever with you and with me” highlight the benefits available to those who heed Jesus’ invitation to “Come home.” The other two sections play with the presence and absence of words. While tacet during the “rst half of the interlude, Kristyn resumes singing shortly after the second half begins, mixing words and vocables. Conversely, she hums the first half of the final refrain, perhaps implying that the call to come home has been heard. 

This medley uses “Ashokan farewell” to enhance the call to “come home” central to “Softly and tenderly.” Given this programmatic usage, the fiddle tune delays entry. !e song moves from the “waiting and watching” of the prodigal’s father in the first half to the Shepherd’s call in the second half, with Ungar’s tune arguably signifying the latter. The longing of “Ashokan farewell” aligns with both the intensity of Jesus’ invitation and the hearer’s awakened desire to respond. 

“Arkansas traveler/All hail the power of Jesus’ name” and “Softly and tenderly/Ashokan farewell” each combine a pair of sources into a single powerful medley. Both combine a hymn with a fiddle tune. “Arkansas traveler” interleaves with “All hail the power of Jesus’ name” to heighten the sense of joy, excitement, and triumph of the hymn’s lyrics. The alternation of the sources increases anticipation and forward drive. The gentler arrangement of “Softly and tenderly” reserves “Ashokan farewell” for the second half, pairing the nostalgic tune with an intensification of the Good Shepherd’s call to “come home.” In both cases, the fiddle tune deploys in a manner that enhances the song’s message. 

Classical Commentary

A few of the Gettys’ recordings employ a single quotation from the classical repertoire in an unexpected place. Sometimes the quotation works well simply because of the overall chosen style. This is arguably the case with their high-spirited arrangement of “Nothing but the Blood,” on the 2012 album Hymns for the Christian Life (Deluxe), which quotes part of “Hoe-Down” from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo in an interlude. The tonic pedal and rustic style align with that of the other two extended instrumental passages, the introduction and coda.²⁵ In other songs, a quotation from the classical canon, while confined to a single appearance, nevertheless amplifies the message of the lyrics. Two examples of using classical quotation as commentary are “Beautiful and greatly loved” and a particular arrangement of “His eye is on the sparrow.”²⁶ 

The opening of Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Étude op. 10, no. 3 serves as an emblem of beauty in one interlude of “Beautiful and greatly loved,” a song Kristyn wrote with Jordyn Shellhart and recorded on Christ Our Hope in Life and Death (2023). The lyrics indicate a mother singing to her child. The three verses and chorus speak of love, worth, and beauty of character that long outlive physical appearances. The instrumental framing includes an introduction, a coda, and three interludes. Only the last and longest of the interludes quotes the opening tune of Piano Étude op. 10, no. 3. Chopin regarded this as among his most beautiful melodies,²⁷ and its quotation seems to signify beauty given the song’s lyrics. Piano and violin double on the melody, nodding to the original instrumentation while also altering the composite timbre. The percussion continues a pat-tern established in earlier sections of the song to provide continuity. The single quotation aligns with the chorus’ idea of a flower that blooms and fades, which stands in contrast to the permanence of God’s love and the deepening of spiritual maturity mentioned in the lyrics. 

The Gettys’ 2021 album Evensong Deluxe: An Evening at Hidden Trace Farm contains two similar arrangements of “His eye is on the sparrow,” a song written by lyricist Civilla D. Martin and composer Charles H. Gabriel in 1905.²⁸ The song’s central image draws from Jesus’s words in Matthew 10:29–31 and Luke 12:6–7. While the original includes three distinct verses, both arrangements include only the first verse and chorus, which are repeated as a block. In the “Hidden Trace version,” the coda quotes at length from the first movement of Piano Sonata op. 27, no. 2 (“Moonlight”) by Ludwig van Beethoven, as shown in Example 8. The “Moonlight” quotation connects to the other musical content of “His eye is on the sparrow” in three ways. 

Repeated ascending arpeggios forge the most obvious connection between the “Moonlight” sonata and this arrangement of “His eye is on the sparrow.” Example 9a summarizes salient features of the song’s introduction. The upward bracket marks the first occurrence of the accompaniment pattern. This innocuous figure weaves throughout most of the opening movement of “Moonlight” and the piano part of “His eye is on the sparrow.” Thus, the direct quotation in the coda clarifies and highlights the shared motive that has been present from near the beginning of the song. 

The modulation in this quotation impacts the song’s conclusion while connecting to earlier passages. Example 8 tracks the pivot from E major to C-sharp minor in Beethoven’s sonata, which is transposed to G-flat major and E-flat minor for the song. Interestingly, the global function of keys is reversed in the two works: the sonata modulates from mediant to tonic, while the song modulates from tonic to submediant. Significantly, this means that this arrangement of “His eye is on the sparrow” ends off-tonic, implying that even those who embrace faith and trust still struggle to some degree until reaching home in heaven. While only the coda modulates to E-flat minor, the submediant chord surfaces frequently in earlier passages of the song, including the two representatives shown in Example 9. The introduction shown in Example 9a places a vi6 chord at the center of the repeated vamp. The end of the chorus shown in Example 9b includes one of several local tonicizations of vi. 

Comparing Examples 8 and 9 also reveals the prevalence of stepwise voice leading. The popularity of the “Moonlight” sonata stems in part from slow motion by semitone in the outer voices, alternating yearning and resolution. While employing different progressions, the two passages of “His eye is on the sparrow” in Example 9 generate cycles of longing and satisfaction through similar means. The introduction’s vamp exclusively employs semitonal motion over a tonic pedal, passing through an augmented triad in both directions. Downward brackets mark how the upper line of this introduction resurfaces in the bassline of the chorus, though with a markedly different harmonization. Secondary chords drive the progression forward and heighten the sense of resolution at the final cadence of the chorus. 

Example 8. Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata Op. 27, No. 2, I (“Moonlight”)

Example 9. Reductions of “His Eye Is on the Sparrow – Hidden Trace Version”

Quoting the “Moonlight” sonata in this arrangement of “His eye is on the sparrow” highlights three musical features and impacts the reading of the text. The borrowing elevates the importance of an otherwise normative accompaniment figure in the piano part. The fleeting submediant triads and off-tonic ending imply the ongoing struggle with discouragement and loneliness mentioned in the text’s opening questions. While the sub-sequent words confidently embrace faith, the music indicates that this battle against darkness has yet to receive ultimate fulfillment. THe half-step relations throughout both the main song and Beethoven’s passage encapsulate both longing for heaven and the satisfaction promised with its arrival. Altogether, concluding “His eye is on the sparrow” with this quotation from the “Moonlight” sonata heightens the bittersweet tension between present trials and hope for the future. 

“Beautiful and greatly loved” and “His eye is on the sparrow” each include one classical quotation that serves as commentary on the song’s central message. The Chopin melody blooms and fades in an interlude of “Beautiful and greatly loved” in a manner reminiscent of the flower mentioned in the song’s chorus. In “His eye is on the sparrow,” the well-known Beethoven passage in the coda retroactively highlights musical characteristics present throughout the song while amplifying the yearning for God’s promise of care to reach ultimate fulfillment in heaven. In both cases, the borrowing enriches communication of the song’s meaning. 

Conclusion

This study illustrates four techniques of musical borrowing employed in selected recordings by Keith and Kristyn Getty: an added chorus, added outer frame, medley, and classical commentary each provide a different option for leveraging preexistent material within a new creation. Each strategy entails at least one element beyond a simple arrangement, offer-ing opportunities for expression and deeper meaning. Adding a chorus to a borrowed song expands the network of meaning in both musical and textual realms. Borrowing material to use in an outer frame for an otherwise original song achieves a similar goal through different means, keeping the lower proportion of quotation to the periphery. Medley, while more flexible than the other categories, can be used in a way that heightens musical drive through interleaving or reserves one of the sources for a programmatic use. Classical commentary similarly can serve programmatic ends, contributing its musical and extramusical associations to enhance the song’s message. While no single strategy is unique to the Gettys, their recordings allow comparative study of these techniques within the single genre of contemporary worship music. 

The analyses of songs by the Gettys individually and collectively highlight these strategies for borrowing as well as the rich networks of meaning that can arise from their effective employment. The case studies also demonstrate the musical and lyrical depth characteristic of the Gettys’ work. Table 4 lists the eight recordings by type, summarizing what is borrowed and what is new in each. Borrowed elements most often entail one or two melodies from folk music, the classical canon, or hymnody, sometimes keeping part or all of the lyrics associated with the latter. Borrowing may appear in a single passage, multiple passages of the same type, or throughout the entire song. New elements can include part or all of the lyrics, small or large sections of additional music, and, naturally, accompaniment and orchestration decisions throughout. Thus, while the Gettys rarely choose to add a chorus, these two recordings of expanded hymns are outstanding specimens of an approach common in the larger practice of contemporary worship music. 

In the songs and recordings of Keith and Kristyn Getty, the dialog between old and new might emphasize motives, introduce contrast, articulate formal boundaries, and enhance the meaning of the lyrics. Each selection interweaves old and new materials into a whole rich with musical, cultural, theological, and historical associations. Through these means, the Gettys harness tradition to create new songs for Christians of the present and future. 

Table 4. Comparative Summary

1. For a survey of Christology in the Gettys’ lyrics, see Dale Brian Jemison, “The Person and Work of Christ in the Lyrics of Selected Songs and Hymns Composed by Keith and Kristyn Getty from 2001–2020” (DMA diss., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2022).  ↩︎
2. As Keith argues, “We need exciting, passionate songs with beautiful lyrics, rich in theology, and infectious melodies that invigorate our congregations.” Frank Hansen, “Keith Getty on What Makes ‘In Christ Alone’ Accepted and Contested,” The Gospel Coalition, published December 9, 2013, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/keith-getty-on-what-makes-in-christ-alone-belovedand-contested/. For further information regarding their view of the importance of the content and act of singing in the Christian life, see Keith and Kristyn Getty, Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2017).  ↩︎
3. For example, see the controversy over “In Christ Alone” (the first song Keith Getty co-wrote with Stuart Townend) documented in Hansen, “Keith Getty” and James Cheesman, “Wrath in Worship?: An Analysis of the ‘Wrath of God’ Controversy Surrounding Getty and Townend’s ‘In Christ Alone,’” Artistic Theologian 11 (2024): 55–72. https://equipthecalled.com/articles/.  ↩︎
4. The choice to call them modern hymns communicates their goal of pairing “timeless” folk-like melodies with lyrics that engage the full gamut of theology. Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, “Modern Hymns: Christian Congregational Songs for the 21st Century,” lecture at the Institute for Christian Worship, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recorded October 5, 2005, video, 45:41–48:28, https://hdl.handle.net/10392/6237.  ↩︎
5. Georgina Bartlett, “Borrowed Music, Imported Meaning: History, Theology, and Allusion in the Popular Worship Song ‘Before You I Kneel (A Worker’s Prayer),’” Artistic Theologian 9 (2021): 81–107. https://equipthecalled.com/articles/.  ↩︎
6. Exemplars include the following: “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)” on See the Morning (Chris Tomlin 2006); “Just as I Am” on When the Stars Burn Down (Travis Cottrell 2011); “A Mighty Fortress” on Messenger Hymns, Vol. 2 –EP” (Matt Boswell 2015); and “Fairest Lord Jesus (My Soul’s Glory)” on Worship Circle Hymns (Paul Baloche 2019).  ↩︎
7. Keith Getty, “Worship Lecture Lunch,” lecture at the Institute for Christian Worship, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recorded September 29, 2016, video, 37:55–38:10, https://hdl.handle.net/10392/6341.  ↩︎
8. Keith and Kristyn Getty, “Facing a Task Unfinished (Story Behind the Song)—Keith & Kristyn Getty,” published February 2, 2016, video, 3:03, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=rsKOSAOhNPk.  ↩︎
9. OMF International, “The Story Behind the Song ‘Facing a Task Unfinished,’” Missions Research and Archives, published 2021, accessed June 24, 2024, https://omf.org/ the-story-behind-the-song-facing-a-task-un”nished/  ↩︎
10. Keith Getty, “Worship Lecture Lunch,” 38:15–38:30. ↩︎
11. Frank Houghton’s text was read at the 1931 annual meeting of OMF’s predecessor, China Inland Mission, and published in China’s Millions that same year. See Frank Houghton, “The Un”=finished Task,” China’s Millions 57 no. 1 (1931): 6.  ↩︎
12. The original rhythm for Aurelia only includes one dotted figure. In the recording, however, Kristyn adds dotted rhythms in numerous other places throughout the verses. The other difference between the original tune and the Gettys’ arrangement involves the start of the third phrase, which in the latter features scale degree 3 instead of scale degree 2.  ↩︎
13. In this and subsequent examples, the symbol ^ over a number indicates “scale degree.”  ↩︎
14. The Gettys employed a similar strategy when recording “He Will Hold Me Fast” by Matt Merker. Unlike the songwriter’s live recording on Together for the Gospel Live V, the Gettys’ recording on Facing a Task Unfinished contains an introduction and coda that feature Finlandia.  ↩︎
15. For the excerpted scene, see Screen Themes, “The Mission (1986) – ‘Gabriel’s Oboe’ scene,” published May 22, 2017, video, 4:51, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTsitO4TXF8.  ↩︎
16. The specific reference albums include Courage (Townend 2018), Sing! Psalms: Ancient & Modern (Getty 2019), and Together for the Gospel Live V (Merker 2022).  ↩︎
17. Lyrics for “I will wait for you (Psalm 130)” are available at https://gettymusic.store/products/i-willwait-for-you-psalm-131 (accessed January 15, 2026).  ↩︎
18. J. Peter Burkholder, “The Uses of Existing Music: Musical Borrowing as a Field,” Notes 50, no. 3 (1994): 854.  ↩︎
19. Hymnary.org, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” accessed July 20, 2024, https://hymnary. org/text/all_hail_the_power_of_jesus_name_let.  ↩︎
20. James R. Masterson, Tall Tales of Arkansaw (Boston: Chapman & Grimes, 1942), 221.  ↩︎
21. Cumming’s piano arrangement from 1847 is reprinted in Masterson 1942 opposite p. 220. Benham’s version appears in Mercer 1970, 53, which includes Mercer’s original from 1896 plus commentary by the John Edwards Memorial Foundation. All three versions (including that of the Gettys) use D major, a key conducive to fiddle playing due to the open strings. The example sets all three in 2/4 time for ease of comparison, though the Gettys’ version would technically be written in common time to match the hymn’s meter.  ↩︎
22. Henry Chapman and John Edwards Memorial Foundation, “From the Archives: ‘The Arkansas Traveler,’” JEMF Quarterly 6, no. 18 (1970): 52.  ↩︎
23. While the tunes are musically compatible, there are lyrical dissonances. Of the eight tracks discussed in this article, “Arkansas Traveler/All hail the power of Jesus’ name—Medley” arguably borrows a tune that carries the most problematic associations with secular texts. Neither the nonsensical dialog originally associated with “Arkansas Traveler” nor the silly lyrics to the children’s song “Baby Bumblebee” based on the tune support the regal lyrics of “All hail the power of Jesus’ name.”  ↩︎
24. Steve Sullivan, “Ashokan Farewell (1990)—Jay Ungar & Fiddle Fever,” in Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2013), 875.  ↩︎
25. The coda also quotes the Irish reel “Toss the Feathers,” making this arrangement a rare example of the Gettys combining material from three different genres (hymn, folk, and classical) into a single track.  ↩︎
26. These two songs as well as “Softly and Tenderly/Ashokan Farewell—Medley” discussed in the previous section thus employ what Burkholder (1994, 854) calls a “programmatic quotation, fulfilling an extramusical program or illustrating part of a text.” ↩︎
27. Frederick Niecks, Frederick Chopin: As a Man and Musician, vol. 2, 2nd ed. (Novello, Ewer & Co., 1890), 253.  ↩︎
28. Hymnary.org, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” accessed July 20, 2024, https://hymnary.org/text/ why_should_i_feel_discouraged_why_should.  ↩︎