Music Review: Requiem in the City
Davis and Welter had a vision of what they wanted for the album cover. In between takes at St. James Cathedral they enlisted the help of Shane’s wife, Lauren, to shoot this photo.
“No matter who you are or what you believe, if you’re in a big city and pass by a cathedral, the odds are you’ll go inside. There, you’ll be met with a sense of peace, of awe, of something bigger. The beauty might even move you to light a candle. And so our story begins.” —Heather Choate Davis (Sophia Streams)
Several years ago author Heather Choate Davis began writing music for friends and professionals to play. Her first album, Life In the Key of God, was released in 2020. Since then Heather has been releasing singles, sometimes with narrative based music videos, under the name Sophia Streams. You can find her music on all streaming services. The latest single Requiem In the City, which is accompanied by a moving music video, was released last week (October 4th).
Requiem In the City tells the story of a seeker. When many readers see “seeker” they may pivot in their minds to Willow Creek or Saddleback Church—but that is not what we are talking about here. The seeker in Requiem does not come from the world of Bill Hybels and Rick Warren. He isn’t looking for an associative relationship to an institution. As the quote from Davis demonstrates, humans are drawn to beauty and they are called to beauty out of the chaotic cacophony. A song like Requiem may arrive and act as an aid a la Paul at Mars Hill (Acts 17:22-31).
Along for the ride on this single is musician Shane Welter. He resides in Washington state with his wife Lauren—who makes an appearance on the song as part of a choir from St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Federal Way, WA. Welter performed the guitar and vocals on the single, arranged the choral parts in Latin, directed St. Luke’s choir, and he stars in the music video. Davis and Welter came together as part of The Songwriter Initiative out of Concordia University in Irvine. As Davis was working on the song she said it hit her that Shane would be perfect for her latest project. After some scheduling misconnections—affectionately referred to as the artist’s creative process in a recent podcast about the song—they came together for some marathon studio sessions.
The song lures you in with quiet acoustic guitar work under Shane Welter’s Matthew Redman-like voice. Soon after entering the cathedral an angelic choral accompaniment sweeps you inside (the choir comes from St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Federal Way, WA). There is a simple pattern that follows the remainder of the song—the seeker is followed by the angels in a song that traverses a strange—and yet sacred—space. Hearers can probably envision themselves or folks close to them as they listen. This would not be unfamiliar territory.
Heather Choate Davis has committed her life to communication. In her early career she communicated primarily in the secular world, but after coming to faith as an adult at thirty three she has dedicated her time to communicating the Spirit of Jesus. A turn to music recently continues her life’s trajectory. Requiem in the City is her latest offering that seeks to communicate the big questions of life. Many of our local congregations are desperate to know what to do with their own “cathedrals.” Requiem offers a simple and encouraging template: open the doors and let folks ask the big questions. The Evangelical Lutheran Church speaks and prays about the mystical communion of the body of Christ. Writing like this invites the hearers to meditate on the mystical communion we’ve been gifted and it can unveil the potential that remains inside our hallowed halls.
You can find the single Requiem in the City on streaming platforms (Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify)—and you can view the music video here.
Just a few of the members of St. Luke’s Lutheran, Federal Way choir who lent their time and talents to Requiem in the City.
Heather Choate Davis and Walker Sherman. Sherman plays drums on the single. He led Davis to Pacific Studios in Tacoma, where world class engineer/producer Mark Simmons took great care of the project.
