Shirley Murray titled this text “Honour the Earth”. It is ideal for any liturgy with a focus on creation and the environment.
In Alleluia Aotearoa it is set to CHEAM by Douglas Mews. The text and sheet music are at Hope Publications. The tune is great except for a very long held Eb note.
I made up chords for this BIAB backing:
This is another Shirley Murray text from Alleluia Aotearoa. It is a prayer seeking direction and encouragement.
The text is at Hope Publications, which has the sheet music of the setting by Colin Gibson, JANSEN. That is also the setting in AA.
I’m afraid my backing does it no favours, using made up chords and the BIAB fake organ.
Shirley Murray wrote this hymn for prisoners of conscience that is in Alleluia Aotearoa. The Church of Scotland provides commentary:
The work of Shirley Erena Murray, A former Methodist, now an ‘ecumenical Presbyterian’ (b.1931 in Aotearoa / New Zealand), appears in hymn books all over the world. The themes of her hymns … range from social justice, peace, human rights and the voice of women, to the sacraments, the Church year, and eco-theology. This hymn … was written to fill a gap in the hymn vocabulary, for a service for prisoners of conscience as part of Amnesty International’s campaign against torture (1980).
The text is at Hope Publications where they provide two settings.
The first is FU DE WEN-NUAN by Lim Swee Hong. It says to play with vigor but I think my backing with its made up chords is a bit of a fail – just sing along to learn it.
The other setting is the one also in Alleluia Aotearoa, TREDEGAR by Guthrie Foote. Thankfully, this song is also in Together In Song 657, so I had the chords.
It is also set to PICARDY:
Goodness, these clips says you can also set it to RHUDDLAN.
PICARDY:
TREDEGAR
I’m on a quixotic quest to look at all the Shirley Erena Murray texts in Alleluia Aotearoa. She writes texts that suit metrical tunes so often they can be set to old hymns in addition to their newer settings.
This is a hymn of praise suitable for gathering and communion. The text is at Hope Publications where it is set to STRENGTH AND STAY by John B. Dykes. To give myself a break from guessing chords I have decided to use the wonderful Small Church Music site for their public domain files. I got the BIAB file here and took his first verse and looped it and rearranged it for my backing:
In AA they set it to INFINITE by Douglas Mews. That one I had to figure out chords for a backing myself.
They also suggested the tune HIGHWOOD by R. R. Terry, which is at Small Church Music as well, so I rearranged his BIAB file as well.
Alleluia Aotearoa is a seemingly never ending source of fantastic Shirley Erena Murray texts. It is worth buying the collection for them alone. (I’m sure the other songs are great too.)
This song – perfect for All Saints coming up soon – would also work for funerals or in Lent.
The text is at Hope Publications.
AA uses a setting by Douglas C. Mews.
I struggled to come up with chords for this one – its a good thing a write in pencil – but I cobbled together a BIAB backing.
Everybody wants to use a Shirley Murray text so they find a favourite hymn to suit. At Hope you will find three more of these settings. The chords for my backings start as guesswork and when that fails I look at the music properly! I know they are probably for church organ but there is only so many times I can fire upon the wind up BIAB organ setting before I get restless.
Hal Hopson‘s tune, COMMUNION OF SAINTS:
Charles V. Stanford‘s ENGELBERG:
Ralph Vaughan William‘s SINE NOMINE:
But wait there’s more – William Walsham How‘s SARUM was also suggested:
Even with much fine traditional hymnody to set her, everyone wants to set Shirley Murray’s texts again. Here is another go on Youtube:
Wendell David Glick:
Here are performances of SINE NOMINE:
Entrance: Christ be Our Light (Farrell) AOV 2/3
Gifts: Jesus, Remember Me (Berthier) AOV1/152.
Communion: Hymn to Christ the King (Hart et al)
Recessional: Lord, the Light of Your Love (Kendrick) AOV 2/59
Entrance: Gather Us In (Haugen) AOV 1/12
Gifts: Blessed Be Our God (McKenna) AOV NG 13
Communion: Bread of Heaven (Manibusan-Hart)
Recessional: Sing Out Earth and Skies (Haugen) AOV 2/32
Entrance: Gather As One (McKenna) AOV NG 48
Gifts: Shepherd Me O God (Haugen) AOV 1/33
Communion: In the Breaking of the Bread (Hurd) AOV 1/58
Recessional: Glory in the Cross (Schutte)
Entrance: All Are Welcome (Haugen)
Gifts: I Have Loved You (Joncas) AOV 1/126
Communion: Blessed One (Thompson) VAO 2/215
NB now at GIA.
Recessional: Though the Mountains May Fall (Schutte) AOV 1/182
A difficult text for difficult situations from Shirley Murray from Alleluia Aotearoa.
The text and the sheet music for Jillian Bray‘s setting are available at Hope Publications.
My BIAB backing uses chords derived from the sheet music.
I can’t find a recording of that setting but there is this one by Larry E Johnson from the Community of Christ.
