The Odes Project puts music to ancient worship odes

VETERAN CCM producer and keyboard player John Andrew Schreiner, under the name The Odes Project, is behind a two CD album, 'Odes Of Solomon: The First Christian Hymnal Vols 1 & 2', released this month by Kingsway. The project is based on the odes of Solomon which some scholars have called "the first Christian hymnal". The poems were written some time before 125 AD and may have been used as chants in a church or synagogue. The anonymous odist's writings have been put to music by Schreiner, who in the past has worked with such acts as Fernando Ortega, Aretha Franklin and Donna Summer. Said Schreiner, "I tried to put myself into the situation of the poet himself and interpret that experience musically. When you get that kind of window into the hearts of ancient people, especially in the midst of persecution and hardship, it gives you a whole new appreciation for the joy and reverence of their worship. That became my primary focus in bringing this poetry into a modern musical setting."