The Silver Pages Breathe New Life into Old Hymns

Back in 2012, brothers Philip and Paul Zach started The Silver Pages, a musical project intended to record some of their favorite hymns and spirituals.

Some of our favorite melodies and lyrics were written hundreds of years ago. They are honest words that stir our hearts to look beyond our desperate situations, they are notes and chords that bring us to tears of sorrow and joy. With no real goal in mind, we set out to simply record our favorite hymns and involve as many interesting people and instruments as we could. What happened in the studio was a truly remarkable and memorable collaboration with over 30 other people, from mandolin to trumpet, slide guitar, ukelele, violin, doublebass, accordion, tons of floor toms, shakers, tamborines, glockenspiel, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and 20 or so background singers. With so many people involved in the short span of a few weeks, it was a whirlwind of creation and inspiration, a process we will never forget.

The Silver Pages’ debut was released in 2012 and featured 3 originals and 3 classic hymns (including “Be Thou My Vision” and “It Is Well”). Earlier this year, they launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to record a second EP, which was released earlier this month. One of the songs on the EP is a lovely, slow-burning original titled “Even in the Valley” and you can watch a studio performance below.

At the risk of name-dropping, Paul used to lead worship at my church, as did Nick Dalhquist (who’s playing keyboards in the video). Mona Reeves, singing there in the background, attends my church, and is a delight. And finally, you may recognize Philip’s name from the work he’s done with Arrows and Sound and Remedy Drive. Cool people, all of them, and it’s great to see friends make art like this with passion and conviction.