This is a lovely song mainly for Easter Vigil by Tom Kendzia.
The verses will need a cantor and the second verse is only suitable for Easter Vigil. The assembly will just about get away with the gently lyrical refrain.
The text is here. OCP sell the sheet music.
I am continuing my survey of songs in the Guitar Accompaniment Book from OCP c2005 that I bought second hand some time ago. I have already covered many songs from other sources so I am skipping over those.
I love this simple Eucharistic hymn by Christopher Walker. The text is adapted from Irish prayers and the refrain is a traditional Irish tune.
The sheet music can be purchased at OCP who have provided the text in their preview.
My backing will let you sing along for the whole eight verses.
Somehow it appears I never made a backing for this popular Christmas Carol.
The text is by Cecil Alexander and the music by Henry J. Gauntlett.
I made my backing by downloading the BIAB file at smallchurchmusic and dumbing his file down to match the sheet music and using simple free organ VSTs on the modified BIAB file.
On the other hand Clyde McLennan at smallchurchmusic records his own playing as a midi file then puts it through proper virtual organs to sound much much better:
1 Once in royal David’s city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little child.
2 He came down to earth from heaven
who is God and Lord of all;
and his shelter was a stable
and his cradle was a stall:
with the poor and mean and lowly
lived on earth our Saviour holy.
3 And through all his wondrous childhood
he would honour and obey,
love and watch the gentle mother
in whose tender arms he lay:
Christian children all should be
kind, obedient, good as he.
4 For he is our childhood’s pattern:
day by day like us he grew,
he was little, weak and helpless,
tears and smiles like us he knew;
and he feels for all our sadness,
and he shares in all our gladness.
5 And our eyes at last shall see him,
through his own redeeming love,
for that child so dear and gentle
is our Lord in heaven above;
and he leads his children on
to the place where he is gone.
6 Not in that poor lowly stable
with the oxen standing by,
we shall see him, but in heaven,
set at God’s right hand on high;
there his children gather round
bright like stars, with glory crowned.
This is another notional list based on what I might have suggested to the team selecting music for liturgy. We haven’t used “Among All” yet but it is a Marian hymn that I think passes muster.
Entrance: Lift Up Your Hearts (O’Connor) AOV 1/156
Gifts: A Trusting Psalm (Bates) AOV 1/115
Communion: One Body (O’Brien- Watts) AOV 2/146
Thanksgiving: Among All (Chris de Silva) AOV NG 8
Recessional: City of God (Schutte) AO)V 1/57
Holy Spirit Cranbrook kicked off with “Christ Be Our Light” this morning.
Because I have already covered a ludicrous number of hymns sung in Catholic churches from other collections, my survey of this behemoth, the Guitar Accompaniment Book from OCP, skips the familiar songs. I am picking up the deep tracks that didn’t make it to these shores and I am still finding old texts and old hymns tunes that not even CWB II resurrected.
This one is an oddly stirring hymn that has gone through umpteen permutations since the 1700s. The text has the same source as Ricky Manalo’s song (GAB 374). By truncating the lyrics, OCP has delivered a 3 verse Trinitarian hymn for morning prayer set to LUBECK (aka GOTT SEI DANK).
1 On this day, the first of days,
God the Father’s name we praise;
Who, creation’s Lord and Spring,
Did the world from darkness bring.
2 On this day th’eternal Son
Over death his triumph won;
On this day the Spirit came
With the gifts of living flame.3 Father, who did fashion me
Image of thyself to be,
Fill us with that love divine,
And conform our wills to thine.
Words of this vintage have been tweaked and translated variously over the centuries, so there are always choices to be made. This is another form of the text, which calls into question some of the decisions shown above – “font” is so much better, keep the last verse, why “thyself”, why prefer “confirming wills” to “grace”, etc:
1 On this day, the first of days,
God the Father’s name we praise;
Who, creation’s Font and Spring,
Did the world from darkness bring.
2 On this day th’eternal Son
Over death his triumph won;
On this day the Spirit came
With the gifts of living flame.
3 O that fervent love today
May in ev’ry heart have sway,
Teaching us to praise aright
God the source of life and light.
4 Father, who created me
Image of yourself to be,
May your grace be ever mine,
Fill me with your love divine.
5 Holy Word, all praises be!
You, from sin have set me free;
And, upon love’s flame, arise
Unto you a sacrifice.
6 Holy Spirit, you impart
Gifts to shine in ev’ry heart;
Best of gifts, yourself bestow;
Dwell in me your love to know.
7 God, the blessed Three in One,
Father, Spirit with the Son;
One in you with all above,
We send forth our hearts of love.
This is a sentimental song to the BVM. The text has unintentional humour, as I doubt “near thee, Madonna, fondly we hover,” would be visualised the quite same way now as in the 1800s.
GAB omits the last verse, but I can’t see it is any worse than the rest of the text. The tune is BEAUTIFUL MOTHER by Louis Lambilotte.
On this day, O beautiful Mother,
On this day we give thee our love.
Near thee, Madonna, fondly we hover,
Trusting thy gentle care to prove.
1 On this day we ask to share,
Dearest Mother, thy sweet care;
Aid us ere our feet astray
Wander from thy guiding way.
2 Queen of angels, deign to hear
Lisping children’s humble prayer;
Young hearts gain, O virgin pure,
Sweetly to thyself allure.3 Rose of Sharon, Lovely flow’r,
Beauteous bud of Eden’s bow’r;
Cherished lily of the vale,
Virgin Mother’ Queen we hail.
The third verse of this version is blunt. It is also in an impossible key – OCP brings it down to C from F – thanks be to God.
Thou could, if thou wished, purchase the sheet music from OCP.
This is an interesting song by Ricky Manalo that looks useful for Easter or liturgies celebrating the Trinity. The text of the verses is a translation of Die parente temporum from the Breviary of Le Mans. Manalo claims copyright on the brief chorus consisting of several words in Latin and English.
The lovely tune is his and worth claiming copyright on.
OCP sell the sheet music and the words are in their preview.
This is the over the top original:
This is better:
More tympani:
This is a fairly recent text (1981) set to an old tune (1693). The author is Jane Parker Huber and it is set to MUNICH. If that tune is one with which your assembly has some familiarity, then singing this once a year on Pentecost would make sense.
The sheet music can be purchased at OCP where the text is in their preview.
My backing is more fake organ from BIAB.
Fernan asked for this Rory Cooney song, which is based on Psalm 95. It also has Spanish lyrics by Jaime Cortez. It is not one that I am familiar with, but it is a charming Latin influenced call and response hymn.
The sheet music can be purchased at GIA. The preview there doesn’t have the lyrics but some are available at sheetmusicplus.
I made a backing although I don’t have the sheet music so it may be somewhat approximate.
Better still listen to the original:
