Church Music

This a joyful psalm by Paul Mason from his collection, Psalms for All Time, which is now Volume One of a three volume series.

It is the psalm for Christmas, but can be used as a hymn during the Easter season and Ordinary Time in many roles, including Entrance and Communion.

I’ve mentioned the extensive notes for each psalm that Mason has provided, but I neglected to mention that at the back of the book there are extra instrumental parts for many of the hymns. With this song he goes all out with an arrangement for flutes, trumpets, violins and electric bass for the whole song and also with parts for viola, cello, clarinet, saxophone, horn and trombone for the response. Let’s just say that the collection is value for money.

You can hear some of those instruments in the version at his website.

I stuck to a mildly country rendition as a backing in BIAB.

This is another of the psalms in Paul Mason’s marvellous Psalms for All Time. It is the psalm for the third Sunday in Lent Year A, but is also a seasonal psalm for Ordinary Time. It is also suitable for Reconciliation and as an entrance hymn.

The first verse has a more joyful tune than the second and third to match the text. Mason is very particular about such things. If you haven’t got the words, they are the same as set by Kate Keefe.

You can hear a version of the psalm at his website.

My backing is a little fiddly.

This is Paul Mason’s setting of “Be With Me, Lord” from his collection, Psalms for All Time.

This is the psalm for the first Sunday in Lent Year C, but is also a seasonal psalm for Lent. You could see a use with Anointing and in times a trial.

This would be a great song to use all through Lent either as the seasonal psalm or just as a hymn. He notes the refrain is in F#m but changes to a more hopeful A major in the verses. The chords go nice places as he modulates back and forth. If you don’t have the text in your missal it is the same as set by Kate Keefe.

There is a vocal performance, with cantor and SATB choir in the refrain, to listen to at the website that I would recommend. I still think it would survive the assembly singing the whole piece as a hymn. (ie cantor not essential)

I made a BIAB backing:

Continuing in Paul Mason’s Psalms for All Time, this is his setting on this psalm of lament for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. He also notes it use as a seasonal psalm during Advent and also for Gifts or Communion in Advent.

If you don’t have the text in your missal it is the same one as set by Kate Keefe here, except that Mason gives us two choices for a refrain:

Lord, show us your mercy; Lord show us your love.

Show us your mercy and love.

..and:

Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Lord, let us see your kindness.

This is my BIAB backing for the song:

This is the psalm for Epiphany as set by Paul Mason in Psalms for All Time.

This is another wonderful tune and thinking of this as a hymn rather than a psalm it might work for Christ the King for example.

The text is in your missal and also as set by Kate Keefe.

It’s in cut common time, which I often struggle with, so I made two backings.

This is the psalm for the sixth Sunday of Easter Year A, but also a seasonal Psalm for the Easter Season. It is from Paul Mason’s Psalms for All Time. I have the first edition, but he now sells the second edition with some corrections and one extra psalm as volume one of a three volume series.

He notes its use for Gifts and also as a communion song in the weeks after Epiphany, but this can also just be looked at as a hymn for times when rejoicing is appropriate. I note Amanda McKenna’s setting adds an Alleluia to the “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy,” refrain and not to be outdone Mason adds two.

If you don’t have the text in your missal, it is the same one set by Kate Keefe here … or just buy Mason’s book.

The music specifies a “joyful lilt”. I can’t hear any lilt in my backing unfortunately.

Psalms for All Time by Paul Mason is a great resource for the responsorial psalms but is also a hymn book with uses outside that specific function. We don’t have cantors – we have starting singing Amanda McKenna’s refrains with the verses just spoken – so we would use these as hymns. He suggests it as an Offertory, with Anointing, Funerals and as a seasonal psalm for Ordinary Time.

This is the psalm for the twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. He repeats the “thirsting for you” in the refrain, otherwise the text is the same as your missal and as set here by Kate Keefe.

It would be nice if the parishes using Mason’s psalms would video them and either post them on YouTube themselves or send them to Liturgical Song so they can post them.

I made two backings because the one at the set tempo of 140 seemed too fussy so I reduced the chords by half for the second one.

This setting for one of the options after the seventh reading for the Easter Vigil recycles the tune from “Be Merciful, O Lord”. It uses the second and third verses from with Lent 5 year B.

It is from Paul Mason’s Psalms for all Time. It has obvious uses outside these situations for Reconciliation.

I’m covering the psalms set by Paul Mason in his book Psalms for All Time, which is now volume one of a three volume set.

This is the psalm for the first week of Lent Year A and for that matter a seasonal psalm for Lent in general. His ever helpful commentary notes its use on Ash Wednesday and after the seventh reading during the Easter Vigil. It is an obvious accompaniment to a second Rite of Reconciliation. If you haven’t got the text in a missal, Kate Keefe sets the same text here.

You can listen to his version at his site. As mentioned these psalms work very well just as hymns. Musically, I am noticing a penchant for eleventh chords.

This is my backing:

This is Paul Mason’s psalm for the Ascension from Psalms for All Time.

He notes its possible use for Transfiguration, Palm Sunday and as an Offertory song.

If you don’t have the text it is the same one set here by Kate Keefe.

This is my backing for learning purposes.