Now that Michael W. Smith has created his first all-instrumental release, he’s eager to talk about the process that made it a reality: "Sometimes when I sit at the piano, my imagination just takes off. I visualize these scenes in my mind and write the score to accompany them. What comes out is so cinematic-this expressive, orchestral music."

Michael's ability to create chart-topping pop music is well-documented, and it's a genre of music he obviously loves. But just as actors can become typecast and limited to certain roles, so musicians are sometimes narrowly defined. When the opportunity comes for actors or musicians to express their "other side," it's understandable that they would warm to the creative challenge.

"I'm a big soundtrack guy. That's mainly what's in my CD player — the music from movies like 'Schindler's List,' 'Angela's Ashes,' 'Indiana Jones,' 'The Mission.' I love that stuff. With this new release I've finally written a soundtrack for the movies in my mind. And I'm really excited about it."

"I believe there is a call on my life. It's a mystery to me. But part of that call is the healing that comes to people through music, even simply instrumental music. Sometimes I feel I'm playing as David did before Saul. Remember? When David played, King Saul calmed down. There was something mesmerizing about the music, something that brought healing and gentleness to his spirit. It was a God thing. Sometimes we forget that God can still use music like that."

Interestingly, it is scenes from the Civil War that initially inspired this recording, and melody lines from that theme interweave the entire project.

"I've been writing instrumental stuff for a long time, but about four years ago a scene came to my mind, an image from the Civil War. Maybe it's just because I live in Franklin, Tennessee. There's a lot of history here, including the Battle of Franklin, one of the bloodiest of the Civil War. Thousands of soldiers and officers died here. I've found bullets with a metal detector in my front yard. That great conflict was on my mind, and one day I started writing this little melody as I visualized a soldier coming home, and the war was over. Maybe he had to walk days to get home, but finally, he was a free man again."

As this scene — this movie of the imagination — played across his mind, Michael W. Smith sat at the piano and wrote the score — the Freedom theme, "Freedom Battle" and "Letter to Sarah," the latter inspired by a famous Civil War letter penned by a soldier to his young wife. At times the music is majestic, triumphant, hopeful. At other times, it becomes contemplative, almost haunting. Though inspired by a point in time, "Freedom" takes on a universal tone that spans the years and reflects the hopes, the sorrows, and the joys that confront us all.