I am in an appropriately Lenten part of Never Too Young and finding a lot of songs by Janet Vogt. She wrote this one with Mark Friedman and it is for Ash Wednesday, obviously.
I’m saying this a lot, but suitability for young people does not mean older people can’t use this. We, too, can respond to sentiments simply put.
The sheet music can be purchased (min 5) at OCP, where the text is in their preview.
Another recent song from Ryan’s parish is this Marty Haugen song that is new to me. It is a lovely Lenten song of hope.
GIA sell the sheet music with another song as “Two Simple Songs for Lent”. It appears to be available as a single sheet by mail or a minimum of ten copies electronically. The text is in their preview and is based on Hosea 6.
One of the unexpected benefits that has come out of this blog is that I can check what the parish I was at used for a liturgy the last couple of times it came around. Over the years various lovely people have also put up the music from the liturgies they attended or played at, so that if you search you often get a lot of different suggestions and many styles of worship. That is one of the reasons people wind up here. Interestingly, during pandemic shutdowns over the last two years the traffic pretty much halved – it is recovering, so I think people are back singing at mass. The other nice thing is that these liturgies throw up songs I haven’t come across.
Ryan’s parish are using a version of “Take, O Take Me As I Am” as a Lenten Communion rite. The refrain is a pre-existing song by John Bell. Gabe Huck has added verses and the arrangement is by Tony Alonso. The preview at GIA has music for the Lamb of God then the spoken liturgy, which is followed by this song for Communion. You can buy that version at GIA in lots of 10 for downloading or in single copies by mail – this seems to be the way things are going folks.
I was more impressed by Bell’s song, as a simple mantra for the assembly. A choir could do it in parts, but the melody alone would be fine. Hymnary have all the hymnals in which it can be found and you can purchase the sheet music there as well.
This was used at Ryan’s parish on for the First Sunday in Lent and it fit the Gospel perfectly. It has a text by Herman G. Stuempfle and is set to EBENEZER by Thomas J. Williams.
It’s kind of a wild tune for something written by a Welsh insurance agent a hundred odd years ago but there you go. I didn’t have much luck finding the sheet music at GIA, but Hymnary can sell you the flexscore and the the text can be seen on the sample sheets there. The tune is public domain.
I haven’t wound up the BIAB fake organ for a while.
This is a clip from a fine small choir.
This song by Janet Vogt and Mark Friedman is for your christian rock band at school and is designed for lots of people jumping up and down in the gym. It is heavily syncopated, has a wide vocal range and is not suited to an assembly – which is fine – it is not designed for that.
OCP will sell you the sheet music (min 5) and the text is in their preview.
Band in a Box is great at noisy rock music.
This is a choir piece for Christmas by Gerard Chiusano. It must be because OCP puts a minimum quantity of five on any sheet music purchase. It also has two harmony lines and a few melodic leaps that make it unsuitable for the assembly considering it will only be used at Christmas. Save it for the choir and sing carols you know at Christmas.
You can buy your five copies at OCP where the text is in their preview.
This is another Christmas song from Janet Vogt in Never Too Young. It is probably best for a Christmas pageant or school service.
The text is at OCP where they will sell you the sheet music.
I have been looking for OCP songs that came after As One Voice was published in Australia to fill a gap in my knowledge of church music, and Never Too Young, while aimed at young people is a source for this era, and the songs aren’t just for children for the most part.
This is a Christmas song written by Janet Vogt that would be suitable for school pageants or liturgically for a change from well known carols.
As usual, OCP provide the text in their sample and would be thrilled to sell you the sheet music. My BIAB backing is sing along with, to help learn the song if you need that.
This is a wonderful but long piece that needs to be done at the vigil. My problem is if you exclude chant there are few metrical settings. The text is here. My recollection is that the old version could be sung to “Ode to Joy” but no luck with that now.
While I suppose using the chant version is the sensible option it wouldn’t be my first foray into the medium.
Here is the chant music from ICEL so by all means sing along and learn it.
I don’t know anything about the two settings at AOV by Erica Marshall and Colin Smith and there isn’t enough of a sample to know what they are like. Do let me know if they are useful.
Looking for more accessible settings provides meager pickings. Tony Alonso’s is lovely and gentle but has some rhythmic weirdness. Hillebrand’s has been suggested to me before and is quite grand. Kendzia’s is very individual. Alonso’s is probably still the most singable of these.
I suspect that the reason there is so few is that the text does not particularly lend itself to metrical setting and I’m sure the people who prepared the text are fine with chant.
Just to prove that, I had a go and I’m sure the result is not particularly usable. I had several problems including that Band in a Box has a limit to the number of bars in a piece and that meant I did it in 3 sections, so there are dodgy edits in the MP3 and the sheet music. I did the usual thing and repeated musical phrases but every now and then I changed things up rhythmically to keep people awake. I initially wrote it faster and higher but the guitar was easier in D than F and you could capo it back up for convenience if it is too low. As I say, I doubt it is usable, but it was an interesting and enlightening experience.
I am now living in Tasmania full time and have started playing at Mass again in the local church. I will do my own selections for the masses I play at. Currently the Psalm and Gospel Alleluia are said and the Mass of St Francis is used here. I play a musical backing while processing for communion, then we sing.
Lent 1
Merciful God – Gathering text (Alonso)
Come As You Are (Brown) AOV 1/31
Come to the Table (Burland) AOV NG 33
On Eagles Wings (Joncas) AOV 1/153
Lent 2
Merciful God – Gathering text (Alonso)
Open My Eyes (Manibusan) AOV 1/166
Transfigure Us, O Lord (Hurd) SAS 2/309
Christ be Our Light (Farrell) AOV 2/3
Lent 3
Tree of Life (Thompson) AOV NG 138
Blessed be Our God (McKenna) AOV NG 13
Merciful God – Communion text (Alonso)
Holy Darkness (Schutte) AOV 2/24
Lent 4
All Are Welcome (Haugen)
The Cry of the Poor (Foley) AOV 1/83
Merciful God – Communion text (Alonso)
A New Heart for a New World (O’Brien/Watts) AOV 1/158
Lent 5
Merciful God – Gathering text (Alonso)
Blessed be Our God (McKenna) AOV NG 13
Come to the Table (Burland) AOV NG 33
Though the Mountains May Fall (Schutte) AOV 1/182
