NI couple’s life in song
How modern hymn-writing team Keith and Kristyn Getty achieved success
ON screens tonight, Keith and Kristyn Getty give an insight into what life has been like for them and their four daughters during lockdown. From Belfast and Lisburn, the couple have, for years, split their time between their homes on Northern Ireland’s North Coast and Nashville, while performing and touring across multiple continents in between. The documentary will share the story of how they first met, their move to the US and their work reinventing the modern hymn. Keith spoke to the Belfast Telegraph about the impact of his and Kristyn’s work.
Has lockdown been positive for you?
Lockdown has been transformational. For us as a family, after fifteen years of touring, it has been a wonderful opportunity to breathe and come home to Northern Ireland. For some reason the air is clearer here. Professionally, while it’s disappointing not to tour, it has been such a significant season of fresh opportunity. I think people have been more ready for the music than ever before. We are conscious of the deep sadness, from friends who have lost family, to others for whom the disease was and still is debilitating. I think we are all being encouraged to ask the right questions.
Do you miss Nashville?
Yes and no. Nashville is the music capital of the world, where all our girls where born and where we have done life for a decade so there are definitely aspect of it we miss. Covid has reminded us though that this is our soil, our home, our DNA and Nashville isn’t.
Can you give an indication of the impact your hymns have had in other countries?
I really don’t know. I suppose we hope the answer is a growing one. In terms of stats, the publishers believe over 100 million people in the world now sing the music and “Sing Global”, our flagship conference, is the largest church music conference and is translated at least in part into seven languages. But the world is expanding every day, Christianity is the fastest growing religion and the challenges are becoming more acute each year. The challenge for the next thirty years is to act and react in ways that help build churches with our team of writers. That responsibility is a lot tougher than staring at empty statistics.
You’ve been called the world’s most successful modern hymn writing duo – but how do you measure success?
I think the only success that really matters is how we stand before God one day. Even my good friends that don’t share faith have acknowledged that Covid-19 has forced us all to think more about death. Anyone with intellectual integrity needs to seriously consider what that means for the all the decisions we make with our lives now.
Has it been difficult to raise your daughters while travelling?
Very. I hope it gets easier when they are teenagers (?!). It’s difficult raising daughters whether you are travelling or standing still! It’s also the greatest experience we’ve had in our life as we had to wait a long time for them. We’ve restricted the travelling to certain seasons so that it feels like more of a fun camping trip than endless drudgery with distracted parents.
Whatdoeswritinga modern hymn entail?
Record or sketch about 1,000 tunes a year. Pick the best 50, pour your passion into them, expressing all you know about God and the Bible, the past, the future, your hopes and fears about humanity and the universe. Reduce that to 20, focus on them until your head is about to explode. Then record 10, play and talk about them obsessively all year long... And hope one isn’t as forgettable as the rest.
At Home With The Gettys is on BBC One NI, tonight at 10.45pm
‘Covid has reminded us that Nashville