Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice partnered with Grammy-nominated violinist Jenny Oaks Baker to record an instrumental version of “Amazing Grace” for the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity that serves U.S. veterans.

Their rendition of “Amazing Grace” was arranged by Kurt Bestor, a composer who worked on the Salt Lake City Olympic games and plays with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Baker has worked with Bestor before, and she knows what she’s doing: her violin highlights the hymn’s Southern Harmony melody, while Rice’s piano lends gravitas. The video below features scenes of American soldiers returning home from duty.

“Amazing Grace” is the most famous hymn in the world, a tale of John Newton’s conversion from the African slave trade to preaching the gospel as an abolitionist in Britain. It made its way to America in the Second Great Awakening as shape-note singing congregations gathered at tent meetings throughout Kentucky and Tennessee, and it became an emblematic African-American spiritual that Mahalia Jackson used to invoke God’s power during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. You can’t help but hear the history of this song as you watch the first black female U.S. secretary of state play it in honor of American troops.

On her Facebook page, Condoleezza Rice wrote:

Amazing Grace has always held a special place in my heart. It seemed only appropriate to release the video in conjunction with the 4th of July weekend as we recognize the blessings we have in this country and the sacrifices of our servicemen and women for our freedom.

You can download “Amazing Grace” by Condoleezza Rice and Jenny Oaks Baker on iTunes: http://apple.co/1LElsTB