Church Music

I know this trinitarian hymn is written by John Henry Newman, but it has a touch of the doggerel about it to my ears. All the “I”s make it less wonderful for an assembly as well.

CWB II set it to Elgar’s DRAKE’S BROUGHTON, although other sources suggest SHIPSTON. It is interesting how often CWB II goes with settings that are not the most commonly associated with the text.

Firmly I believe and truly
God is Three, and God is One;
And I next acknowledge duly
Manhood taken by the Son.

And I trust and hope most fully
In that manhood crucified;
And each thought and deed unruly
Do to death, as He has died.

Simply to His grace and wholly
Light and life and strength belong,
And I love supremely, solely,
Him the holy, Him the strong.

And I hold in veneration,
For the love of Him alone,
Holy Church as His creation,
And her teachings are His own.

Praise and thanks be ever given,
With and through th’angelic host,
To the God of earth and Heaven,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

This is one of the few hymns to use the Didache’s call for unity as a resource. F. Bland Tucker is listed as the translator. The text is at Hymnary, although CWB II gets rid of the the archaisms this time.

CWB II sets it to RENDEZ A DIEU.

A translation of a C7 Latin Eucharistic text Sancte, venite, Christi Corpus sumite by J M Neale. It came from a manuscript found in an Irish monastry.

It is here set to a traditional Irish tune GUSTATE, which is quite pretty and singable. I note many other settings .

There seem to be innumerable variants on this text but this is the one in CWB II.

Draw nigh and take the body of the Lord;
And drink the holy blood for you outpoured.
Saved by his body and his precious blood,
Our souls refreshed, we offer thanks to God.

Our true Redeemer, Christ the only Son,
By cross and blood a mighty victory won.
Offering himself for greatest and for least,
Himself the victim, and Himself the priest.

The victims offered by the law of old,
As signs from God, eternal mysteries told.
Now Christ our light, the ransom of our race,
Gives to his own this endless source of grace.

Let us approach with loving hearts sincere,
And take the pledge of our salvation here.
Christ, who his faithful servants rules and shields,
To all believers life eternal yields.

With bread of life makes them that hunger whole,
Gives living waters to each thirsting soul,
Christ Jesus, first and last, is with us now,
To him at end of time we all shall bow.

Readings:

Acts 2:1-11; Romans 8:8-17; John 14:15-16

The reading from Acts stops at verse 11 but what follows is interesting.

Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, “What does this mean?” But others made fun of the believers, saying, “These people are drunk!” Acts 2;12-13.

The Lukan community looking back at the start of their existence remember confusion, risk, chaos and ridicule, but also, right from the start, a story of mission across ethnic barriers. The Holy Spirit does not appear to be an agent of stasis, instead creating new realities that confound the established order and overturn boundaries.

We are continuing with the Mass of Glory and Praise by Paul Mason but substituting the Celtic Alleluia for the Gospel acclamation because we know how to sing the response. The sequence for Pentecost is to the tune of Song of Joy.

Entrance: Lord, the Light of Your Love  (Kendrick) AOV 2/59

Psalm 103 (McKenna)

Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Gifts: Enemy of Apathy (Bell-Maule) AOV 2/75

Communion: Come to the Table  (Burland) AOV NG 33

Thanksgiving: Holy Spirit of Fire  (Mangan)

Recessional: Hearts on Fire (Mangan) AOV NG 62

This is an interesting text that convicts the singer of their faithlessness and empty words – at least I hope that it is an examination of our conscience rather than a condemnation of others.

It is written by Herman G. Stuempfle Jr. The text is in this preview from GIA. They use the usual setting LAND OF REST, while CWB II uses ST BERNARD.

This is another of the amazing songs with lyrics by James McAuley and music By Richard Connolly. It is included in the collection Year of Grace Music Book available at As One Voice.

It is based on Rev 22:17. I can’t find the text online, so you’ll have to sing along from the book. I see the sheet music with annotations from the the composer is available at the Veech library in Sydney.

When I worked out chords from the sheet music they were all rather jazzy so my backing went off in that direction.

This is a selection from the (not revised) Grail text of Psalm 51 set by Jennifer O’Brien. Her music is always reliable and singable and this is no exception, although you will need a cantor for the verses.

The text is in this post, where verse 1 is 3/4; verse 2 is 12/13 and verse 3 is 14/15.

I struggle with these triumphant texts but I suppose they have a place. This one is written by James E Seddon and the lyrics are here.

It is often set to LUX EOI and ABBOT’S LEIGH, but CWB II uses HYFRYDOL.

This anonymous text based on Matt 11:28 is set to an old Irish tune MISNEACH. I believe it is pronounced MISH-NOCK.

I’m a sucker for slow Irish lament and if you are looking for an alternative to the song by Greg Norbet you could do worse. How can you go past the understatement of “life without you would be lonely”?

1. “Come to me all your who labour; come, and I will give you rest.”

So we hear your invitation to each soul to be your guest;

and we answer with deep longing, while our sinfulness we see,

“Jesus, Lord, I am not worthy, yet in mercy come to me.”

2. Here, among your pilgrim people is the home of your true love,

Where we praise you, Lord and Master, reigning from your throne above;

Life without your would be lonely, so our prayer must ever be:

“Jesus, Lord, I am not worthy, yet in mercy come to me.”

3. All is joy when you are with us, earth can never joy impart

like the peace and holy splendour of your visit to each heart;

All forgotten grief and sorrow, as with trust we make our plea,

“Jesus, Lord, I am not worthy, yet in mercy come to me.”

This is what I wanted CWB II to be – lots of new songs by Australian songwriters. It isn’t.

This song, written by Peter Grant, is at least from this millennium and has an uplifting tune to carry his hopeful text. You can purchase this song at As One Voice.

Since this song is not well known I have put up Peter’s text so you can sing along with my backing to learn the piece.

Refrain

Christ Light, shining in the darkness.

Christ Light, drive away our fears.

Christ Light, lead us to our home, safe harbour.

Christ Light, shine on us we pray.

1. Let the light of the Lord blaze out in the night:

let the love of the Lord be our guide.

With the Word of the Lord as our beacon light,

We’ll go forth with the Lord at our side.

2. Let the Word of the Lord be light for our way

and we’ll walk in the darkness no more.

With the light of the Lord turning night into day,

We will live in this light evermore!

3. Let us carry the light of Christ to the world;

Shine his light where there’s darkness and pain.

Let the banner of love be held high and unfurled;

Tell the Good News again and again.

copyright Peter Grant 2005