Church Music

Alleluia Aotearoa has an awful lot of Shirley Murray texts. This one is a hymn for Bible Sunday that skillfully enmeshes stores from one end of the Bible to the other.

The words and sheet music for Colin Gibson‘s setting are at Hope Publications.

This is a hymn, with a Shirley Murray text, for musicians and singers and, since the assembly is supposed to sing, for everyone. It was originally written for an ecumenical festival of praise in Wellington in 1988.

She set it to RUSTINGTON by C. Hubert H. Parry. When you go to Hope Publications to find the uplifting words you will see it set to that tune. With the chords they provided they saved me some work and I made this BIAB backing . I wound up the BIAB church organ for this one.

Nothing beats the real thing though:

Alleluia Aotearoa used a setting by Douglas Mews. This time I had to make up some chords for the backing:

As it happens the American Hymn Society used this text for a hymn writing contest some time ago, which is probably why you will find even more than the usual number of settings for sale around the traps. Some of them turned up on You-Tube.

This one is actually RUSTINGTON but neither the author of the text nor the music were acknowledged.

This is a song for Eucharist from Shirley Murray in Alleluia Aotearoa. I’ve already come across this prayerful text because Gather Australia used it, set by Margaret Thomas.

The text is at Hope Publications where they have sheet music for the setting by Jane Holstein.

I made up some chords for a backing of her tune, WECK.

Alleluia Aotearoa used a setting by Guy Jansen – everybody wanted to set Shirley Murray’s texts!

This is too subtle a piece of music for my BIAB backings but I had a go.

This is a song of personal devotion by Shirley Murray set wonderfully by Colin Gibson in Alleluia Aotearoa.

The sheet music and text are also at Hope Publications.

To my delight there are chords on this music.

This is another Christmas text from Shirley Murray in Alleluia Aotearoa. It is another one for us in the southern hemisphere. The use of the Maori word for love “aroha” need not preclude its use away from New Zealand.

The text and a setting by Colin Gibson (GERALDINE) is at Hope Publications. This is a haunting tune that wanders off into unexpected territory. I guessed the chords for a BIAB backing.

AA on the hand uses a setting by Douglas Mews, which also has some dark harmonies amongst the joyous singing.

Number 25 in Alleluia Aotearoa is “Come to a Wedding”, a Shirley Murray text, but that turned up in Gather Australia so I’ve already blogged it here.

“Come to Our Land” has lines specific to New Zealand, and Holy Spirit in Maori (Wairu Tapu), so I don’t see it can really be used elsewhere. Still, it has a great tune by Colin Gibson that can be found at Hope Publishing along with Murray’s text.

I’m not sure this is how it was intended, but the pushes in the melody suggest a Latin funk style to me, so I made up some chords and made this on BIAB.

One thing you could count on with Shirley Murray was texts for a liturgical purpose. Here is a wedding song from Alleluia Aotearoa filled with hope, joy and realism.

It is set to Ralph Vaughn William‘s tune DOWN AMPNEY, the tune most associated with “Come Down, O Love Divine”. He died in 1958, does that mean his tunes are public domain? In any case the text and sheet music are at Hope Publications. AA chose the same setting for once.

In case you don’t know the tune the fake organ in BIAB does.

Real organ is so much better:

I’m having fun blogging Shirley Erina Murray’s texts from Alleluia Aotearoa.

This one is for Advent.

The text is at Hope Publications, where they have the setting by Douglas Mews. He has a separate tune for verses 2 and 4.

My BIAB backing has made up chords.

AA has this setting, but also provides an alternative one described as a Zulu melody arranged by Roy Tankersley.

BIAB couldn’t do Zulu but could do reggae.

I am working through the Shirley Erena Murray texts in Alleluia Aotearoa.

This is a song for Palm Sunday. I have never found a Palm Sunday song that I like and is fairly singable. The setting here sounds like a nursery rhyme, which jars as the lyrics get darker in the last two verses, and makes me fear I still haven’t found one. The setting is SEE SAW SACCARA DOWN .

The text and sheet music are at Hope Publications.

Getting a rapid 6/8 in BIAB that wasn’t out of kilter took some doing.

The tune doesn’t seem exactly the same as the nursery rhyme versions I’ve heard but this harp performance is nice.

This is another fiery text from Shirley Erena Murray from Alleluia Aotearoa.

If you can cope with, “old gear, old concepts have no place,” it would serve for gathering or dismissing the assembly.

Read the full text at Hope Publishing. They set it to DIVERSITY by Jack Schrader. The tune goes interesting places including up to Eb. I made up chords for a backing.

Hope also suggest the tune LITTLE CORNARD by Martin Shaw. I found the melody and chords in Together In Song (469). I wound up the BIAB fake organ for this one.

AA, while also recommending LITTLE CORNARD, actually set the text to RESURRECTION by Jillian Wray. With some more made up chords I made a BIAB backing for this interesting tune.