Metanarrative The story of the Bible, set to music and retold in prose.
In 2003, I began to conceive a musical project that would tell the story of the Bible as one united narrative, built squarely on my work in biblical theology.
Between 2005–2007, in particular, I spent probably hundreds of hours (along with thousands of dollars on home project studio components), writing, recording, mixing, re-recording, layering.
The project name would be Metanarrative, and I ultimately aimed to create 2 CDs worth of music—something of a prog-influenced multi-genre rock opera. I very nearly completed the Old Testament volume (although to be honest it needed serious fixes here and there), and had “composition versions” of most of the New Testament volume. Other than the last couple pieces, the lyrics were complete.
Over the course of that time, I also decided that I would like to write a companion book. Like the musical project, it would be a brief but reasonably comprehensive overview of the Bible, keying on several signature themes (e.g. flesh/Spirit, home) and largely avoiding technical theological jargon.
It’s now 2017, so as you can tell—things stalled. My music computer crashed in 2008, and I subsequently got married and moved (somewhat ironically, perhaps, to Nashville). Until recently, my living space since then has not been amenable to recording, and life as a married man is much busier—and I certainly don’t regret that!
Nonetheless, Metanarrative is back on, although for the time being I have shifted focus from the music to the book. While I recognize the idiosyncratic character of my music, the story itself has a wider audience, and from what I have heard, there are some people looking forward to it.
The music and book are still tied closely together; the complete lyrics from the music project will all be included at the appropriate places in the book. Meanwhile, I am no longer targeting selling the music. Prior to the book’s release, this web site was completely revamped and the latest versions of all the musical components of the project are now freely available here for streaming and download. If/when any of those movements are re-recorded or otherwise improved/completed, this site will be updated with the newest and best version.
Tim Gallant,
February 2017
Updated October 26 2017