Church Music

One of the joys of the recent APMN conference at Perth was hearing David Haas play some of his newer tunes.

I like this one but the chorus goes awfully high for an assembly so it might be more a solo or choral piece.

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

My backing does not have the key change for the last verse.

Haas’s version is slower that the sheet music indicates and makes my backing sound rather too jaunty.

You can hear him introduce the song and sing it live here.

A choir learning the song:

This is another of the songs by David Haas with which I was not familiar.

This is based on John 14 and is suitable for Easter or funerals or perhaps as a thanksgiving song.

The sheet music is at GIA where the text is in their preview and can also be found at Hymnary.

This is David Haas’s arrangement of the spiritual “Steal Away”.

So no-one gets the wrong idea, this is what he achieves with his a capella arrangement, that can be purchased at GIA.

The tune and lyrics, if not this arrangement, are public domain and all over the internet, for example, here and at Hymnary.

A backing for an a capella arrangement is the musical equivalent of the Emperor’s new clothes, so I ignored that and made a backing for any arrangement other than Haas’s.

This is special:

This is a very recent song in which David Haas sets a text by Mennonite hymnist Adam Tice. Hass played it at the APMN conference in Perth but it isn’t available for purchase at GIA yet.

The text is here.

I made a backing but guessed the chords.

It is very moving.

Tice’s blog is worth looking up.

I’m tackling the David Haas songs from his recent presentation in Perth that were unfamiliar to me.

This is like a Taize chant, which is not surprising because Haas was inspired by the words of Brother Roger the founder of Taize to write this song. The assembly gets to sings the refrain over which the verses can be sung by a cantor.

As always the sheet music can be purchased at GIA where the text is in their preview.

I always struggle with backings in this style.

A couple of years ago I posted about this lovely song by Peter Grant.

Peter has sent some real music to get a proper idea how it sounds in practice.

SATB with accompaniment:

A backing track:

… at St Finbarr’s, Glenbrook:

Once you realise that this is just the song you need for Christmas in your parish you can purchase the sheet music at As One Voice.

This is a very special piece of music by David Haas. He has the assembly sing the refrain that brings us all into the mystery of the incarnation then overlaps a cantor voice for the verses.

I was not familiar with it, but the sheer number of YouTube clips suggest it is a hit.

The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased at GIA.

Entrance: City of God (Schutte) AOV 1/57

Psalm 62 (McKenna)

My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

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

Communion: Bread of Heaven (Manibusan-Hart)

Thanksgiving: My Soul Is Thirsting (Angrisano) AOV NG 97

Recessional: Bring Forth the Kingdom (Haugen) AOV 2/4

I am still working through the songs from the David Haas presentations in Perth that were new to me.

This lovely funeral song has a singable refrain that might just get people singing with the verses necessarily being handled by a soloist.

The sheet music can be purchased at GIA. The text is at Hymnary.

I’ve actually slowed my backing down from the recommended mid 90s to 86bpm.

David Haas has adapted Psalm 89 for this song.

The verses vary enough to warrant a cantor. He has writte a descant for the refrain.

The sheet music is for purchase at GIA where the text is in their preview.