Church Music

With a minimum of snark from me, let’s see how we are to celebrate the Easter Vigil from the pages of CWB II. I’ll do some of the strictly liturgical elements today.

331-332 The Blessing of the Fire and Preparation of the Candle.

This is a great start and symbol, starting outside in the fading light with a roaring fire to light the candles.

The music and text is at ICEL, although CWB II drops it two semi-tones – “Thanks be to God.” The sound file is from NPM.

333 Exsultet – CWB II just gives the responses. I would have thought a setting of some sort mandatory. What they didn’t provide is available in chant mode at ICEL.

This is nice but a non chant version would have been good as well.

334-5 The Easter Alleluia

CWB II has picked a version from the Grail, which seems idiosyncratic and not used much elsewhere in the world. There are many other settings available.

I made a bad guide for the chant for the three lines of “Alleluia” then the solemn tone chant for “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures forever”. Each of the first three lines is repeated by the assembly (but I didn’t put that in) – probably useless:

336 the Litany of the Saints

This is always great and you can pop your local saints in to the mix. This is the ICEL version and again CWB II have dropped the setting by two semi-tones (Thanks be to God.)

337-338 Springs of Water, Bless the Lord

I prefer Haugen’s setting.

Percy Jones setting (2010 ICEL text):

Springs of water, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him forever.

Richard Proulx’s setting (1973 ICEL text):

Cantor: Springs of water, bless the Lord.
Assembly: Springs of water, bless the Lord.
Cantor: Give him glory and praise for ever.
Assembly: Give him glory and praise for ever.

339-340 Easter Dismissal

This is the ICEL text and music (again CWB II down two semi-tones – Thanks be to God). “Go in peace” is also an option:

What do you think? I’m not a chant guy but if they are going in that direction why not stick to ICEL? Maybe some of these have been used successfully in many parishes in Australia. They aren’t leftovers from CWB I, so I don’t know the reasons for idiosyncratic responses and the omissions.

I’ll look at the hymns they suggest tomorrow.

The very adventurous liturgy at RS’s parish last week included this text by Katherine K. Davis set to a traditional Welsh tune ASH GROVE. It is a song of thanksgiving highlighting God’s majesty through nature.

Davis is famous for writing “The Little Drummer Boy”.

I had a copy in Gather Comprehensive.

The text is here.

RS’s parish doubled down of Laudato Si with a second song from Pope Francis’s encyclical in last week’s liturgy.

This one is a recent song by Curtis Stephan. It has seven verses and you can choose those with an environmental theme, or peace and mercy. It is more singable by an assembly than many modern songs that seem to originate as solo vehicles and has much to recommend it.

The text is in the preview at OCP where you can purchase the sheet music for download.

Before I dive into CWB II’s Easter Vigil, there were three songs at RS’s parish that were new to me that I’ll blog first.

This is a recent (2016) Barbara Bridge song that she based on “A Prayer for Our Earth” by Pope Francis in Laudato Si.

It is useful if environmental issues are suggested by the liturgy and as a litany should be done call and response by the cantor and the assembly.

The sheet music can be purchased at OCP where the text is in their preview.

My backing is a bit hamfisted.

This was a fine suggestion at our music liturgy meeting but it doesn’t appear to be under One Licence so that really gets in the way.

It is an Offertory song by Sheldon Cohen. It appears to be an OCP copyright but there is no sign of it there and J W Pepper says it’s discontinued but they may have old stock.

The text is here.

The music I found had chords that suggested a big band arranger so it was interesting to find out he worked on Johnny Carson’s show as assistant musical director for many years. He founded the Pacific Pops Orchestra and ran a large choir as well. He died last year.

To note the change of liturgical season we will switch to the second mass we use, Paul Taylor’s Mass of St Francis. Because we know how to sing the response, we usually use the Celtic Alleluia, which is out in Lent, so we will use the Lenten Gospel Acclamation from Paul Mason’s “Mass of Glory and Praise”. We will also have silence instead of a thanksgiving hymn.

Throughout Lent we will use a seasonal psalm, Marty Haugen’s “Be With Me”.

Entrance: Ashes (Conroy) AOV 2/16

Gifts: Come As You Are (Brown) AOV 1/31

Communion: Gather Your People (Hurd) AOV 1/71

Recessional: On Eagles’ Wings (Joncas) AOV 1/153

For the most part these are old hymns in the public domain. When I look at a new hymn book I am looking for something that liturgically useful but fresh and appropriate to the culture of the worshiping assembly. Many of these songs are foreign to the culture of the suburban parishes I have attended.

… and there are no guitar chords for most songs.

On the other hand if you wanted to the collate old hymns that are freely available in the public domain and are used in cathedrals this is your tome.

I have covered most of them already on the blog.

325 My Song is Love Unknown

I did a new backing for that one:

326 O Jesus Crucified

OK that is a fine song.

327 The Royal Banners Forward Go (tune VEXILLA REGIS)

I haven’t done this one by Venantius Fortunatus (c530-600) and translated by John Mason Neale. It seems triumphal in a bad way to me.

The text and sheet music are at Hymnary. I used the version in Worship for my backing, as it attempted to make it metrical and I guessed the chords.

328 Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

I’ve actually blogged that one twice by accident. This one is even worse. I doubt many Australian assemblies have the wherewithal for spirituals. I’d avoid it on that basis unless you are sure.

329 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

330 O Sacred Head, Surrounded

It looks like I used my little copy of Together In Song for most of these when I blogged them but there are generally available and in the public domain. (except “O Jesus Crucified”)

I’m still in Catholic Worship Book II and looking at the songs they suggest for Good Friday. They are mostly chant and old hymns so, while this is set to PASSION CHORALE, the text is at least fairly recent. It is by Pamela Stotter.

The text is copyright and unavailable on the internet anywhere that I can find so all I can suggest is if you have the CWB II (or the Catholic Book of Worship III from Canada) you can sing along to my backing of the the PASSION CHORALE.

This is another setting of the Reproaches in Catholic Worship Book II, this time by Joe Wise.

This one has a refrain and verses chanted by a cantor.

My people, my people, what have I done to you;

or in what have I offended you? Answer me.

It is a GIA copyright and is available in this very inexpensive collection, “Hand in Hand”.

This is Jenny O’Brien’s setting of the Reproaches.

She has two sections of chant for cantors and two refrains for the assembly.

I’ve done a backing with guessed chords for the first refrain.

My people, what have I done to you?

Or how have I grieved you? Answer me!

Then there are three verses for a cantor followed by a Greek refrain.

This is even more approximate.

Hagios o Theos, Hagios Ischyros, Hagios Athananatos, eleison himas.

There are then five more verses for the cantors.

You then finish with the original refrain. It looks epic but I can’t find anything on the net to show off the whole piece.