This is a newish song from Leo Watt available at Willow.
The preview is just a chorus so if there are verses you will have to buy the sheet music to find them.
Open your eyes, open your head
and let your God in who knocks at your door.
© 2021 Leo Watt
This is another baptismal song from the the digital store at Willow. It is by the esteemed team of James McAuley and Richard Connolly.
The text is in the sample sheet music available at Willow where you can purchase the sheet music for the hymn. Better yet, you could buy their collection Year of Grace, which has this along with many more of their best songs.
I made an backing on fake organ.
Erica Marshall has written masses and other liturgically useful pieces over the years and this little acclamation is for an SATB choir to sing during baptisms.
The sheet music can be purchased at Willow, where you can see the sample sheet music.
My backing is just the soprano line, but the full thing would sound great – in fact if anyone has a recording of their choir doing this in its four part glory I’d love to hear it.
Awake! Arise from death!
Christ will shine upon you!
© 1992 Erica Marshall. Published by Willow Publishing.
I once queried Frank Andersen’s use of exclamation marks and I’m told when my concerns were conveyed to him he asked whether I wanted question marks instead. (I suspect I wasn’t the first to do so.) I mention this because it may be contagious – Erica was instrumental in the arrangements for Frank Andersen’s songs.
With the era of bound hymnals seemingly behind us, the task of singing a new song relies on finding things online and attending workshops like the upcoming APMN conference.
Unless you are from St Patrick’s in the Broken Bay diocese, where she runs the children’s choir it is possible you haven’t heard of Patricia Smith. I have blogged several of her songs and she is definitely worth knowing about. In Australia the most functional part of the Catholic Church is the school system, and so a lot of talent starts there and spreads to the parish.
This is a song for Eucharist expressed simply so that it suitable for all ages. The tune has the feel of “Come Saturday Morning” in the refrain, but is a sight more joyful.
The sheet music can be purchased at Willow where there are sample pages of the sheet music but no music to hear.
My backing will give you some idea I hope:
Refrain
Come to the banquet of love, and rejoice in the goodness of God.
Come, enter the house of our God, singing praise.
Come to the banquet of love.
1 In this communion of love one in heart
we give thanks to our God for his gifts, the gifts of his love.
2 Trusting our needs and our sorrows to go seeking shelter and peace
we have come to ask and receive.
3 Sharing our hopes and dreams with our God who delights in his people,
we come, the people of God.
4 Bringing our past and our present before One
whose mercy extends through all time
we trust in God’s love.
© 2020 P A Smith, Published by Willow Publishing
Patricia Smith is a very talented and prolific Willow composer from the era after the publication of the As One Voice collections, so she relies on us using digital downloads and looking for her new music.
This is a song of God’s love, appropriate for the story of the Prodigal Son and younger people. You have to be comfortable with singing in the voice of God – so maybe not as a solo.
You can view the sample sheet music at Willow and purchase it there as well. There is no recording of the music there so I did a backing based on the sample to how it goes.
1 I called you as you wandered in the wilderness
I lifted you and held you in my heart.
Though darkness spreads its shadow, I will be with you,
My love will last beyond the end of time.
Chorus
And I will love you till the stars forget to burn,
I will love you till all the seas run dry.
I will love you, precious beyond words.
My love for you will never die,
My love for you will never die.
2 I formed you and created you with endless love,
I dreamed of you before you came to be.
I know your thoughts before you put them into words,
My love for you is stronger than death.
3 And if you turn your face away, my heart is grieved,
I watch for your return with longing arms,
And when you bow your head in shame I lift you up,
You are loved, you are loved.
4 Your life is but a breath, I hold you in my hands.
I keep the earth secure beneath your feet.
No matter where your journey leads, I will not cease
To know you as perfect in my sight.
© 2018 P A Smith, Published by Willow Publishing
This is a sung “Acknowledgement of Aboriginal People and Country”.
There is a guide to these acknowledgements here, which is recommended reading. This sung version by John Coleman lifts the sentiment out of the mundane, as music so often does. He sings it unaccompanied to great effect.
You can here a snippet of the song, view the sample sheet music and purchase the sheet music at Willow.
Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
We acknowledge past and present elders in this place.
Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
Aboriginal land.
© 2022 John Coleman published by Willow Publishing.
The last word goes to…
I’ve done another sweep through the new songs available for digital download at Willow Publishing, the home of As One Voice. I’m doing backings based on the samples available to get an idea of how these unfamiliar songs go and see how they can add to a music repertoire for mass. Many do not have a any preview to listen to, so I hope my backings will help.
As I have said here in the past, many parishes are stuck with whatever the last hymn book they purchased last century and it doesn’t hurt to sing a new song, as they say.
Patricia Smith is a stand out amongst the Australian song writers at Willow from the last decade. This is a very moving piece based on Crux fidelis for veneration of the cross.
She has used excerpts from the text from ICEL and suggests the first piece is sung three times as the cross is unveiled.
Behold the wood of the Cross on which hung the salvation of the world. (Cantor/Choir)
Come, let us adore. Come let us adore. (All)
During the veneration itself she provides three antiphons. This backing plays them in sequence:
I Come, let us adore. Come let us adore. x2
II Sweet the timber, sweet the iron, sweet the burden that they bear! x2
III Crux fidelis inter omnes arbor una nobilis:
nulla talem, silva profert, flore, fronde, germine.
I noted that the Latin words in the second line of the third antiphon appear in various orders from different sources so take your pick.
If you need a new song for veneration you can purchase this one from As One Voice. You can also view the sample sheet music there.
…after a short break.
I won’t be monitoring comments reliably for a couple of weeks. See you in March with more Australian Catholic music.
The last song in emmanuelworship‘s Lifted album is this soul belter based on an ancient text. It was written by Patrick Keady who would like you to “forget not all his benefits”. You probably don’t need the brass section and full band, but they make it a blast.
The sheet music is out of print, so I put it up here with permission. Check out their site for the free sheet music to their more recent collections.
This is an Australian take on a gospel shouter from the emmanuelworship team in Brisbane. It is from the collection, Lifted. The text is by a six person committee designated by the initials VANTHP with music by Neil Pynenburg and Patrick Keady (presumably N & P). OneLicence merely credits emmanuelworship Ministry as contributors, which reminds me that all these songs are on OneLicence and are to be put on your returns when used in church or school to remunerate emmanuelworship.
The song is another call to discipleship that is designed for youth rallies. As it is out of print and with permission I will put up the sheet music. My backing has a clumsy transition to the bridge but can be sung along with to learn the song.
