I’ve been asked a lot lately about my decision to make an album of old hymns. It is, quite simply put, a vast departure from anything I have ever done in the past. How does one go from years of making hands-in-the-air, fist-pumping club anthems to hymns? The simple answer is that everyone evolves and changes and music is a vehicle for expressing who we are at a precise moment in time. I want to reassure my existing fans that they will still be able to get their dose of Abigail on the dance floor, and for those who are fans of “Home...again”, the follow up is definitely on its way. “Be Still My Soul” is my expression of the last few years of my life and where I am right now.

This collection of songs all hold special meaning to me. As a musician with a 20 year career it is inevitable that during different phases in my life, as I grow and change, I would be moved, or touched by new and differing experiences.

My greatest struggle over the past few years has been watching my Mum dive into the grips of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. She was 59 when she was first diagnosed. Losing my greatest advocate and friend, (even though she is still here physically), has been devastating for me. It left me paralyzed creatively, because how do you put that pain and loss out there and still function each day? As a musician I have the great advantage of being able to channel all of that hurt and pain into my music, if I choose. I could have gone a number of ways – either do nothing (which I did for quite some time!), make an album that was in line with my badly shattered heart, or make something that would remind me each day that there is so much more to this life. That this pain will ultimately pass as long as I am open to letting something else in to help me. It became clear that what I needed was the latter option and that so many of the people around me were in need of the same thing.

Each and every one of the hymns that I chose for this album is a story, a trial and a testament to the fact that when we can’t seem to find a way to move beyond our own debilitating human emotions, there is a way forward, and that way is to lean on a power that is greater than we are. They are also reminders of the beauty and majesty that is around us. I really need that in my life right now and I know that I am not alone in that. My faith and spiritual beliefs are generally quiet ones. I don’t ever feel the need to impose them on others. I don’t believe it to be my place to tell anyone what is right and wrong when it comes to one’s experience with God. What I do know is that I am not alone, either in my humanness nor as a spiritual being.

So that is why I made an album of hymns. What I hope to have created is a vehicle for each and every listener to connect to their higher power. I want for these songs to open your heart and enable you to move beyond the basic expressions of our human limitations. I grew up singing most of these songs and the rest were introduced to me by a very dear friend. They bring me back to that place of innocence and mystery, when you know there is something more to the words you are singing and your heart is still open enough to feel instead of think. These songs don’t just belong in church. Four walls don’t create healing; opening our hearts does.