This is a lovely song that I hadn’t heard before from CWB II in their section for Epiphany, but it is a Christmas song too.
The tune by Christopher Willcock SJ is worth the price of admission and it sets a text by Brian Moore. Use it instead of “We Three Kings”.
The sheet music can be purchased at OCP, where the text is in their sample.
I couldn’t find the chords anywhere so my backing is approximate.
This is a traditional hymn that is for both Advent (use verse 3) and Epiphany (use verse 4).
It is based on Psalm 72 and written by James Montgomery c19. The tune is CRUGER by Johann Crüger. There are several iterations of the text but I have put the one in CWB II below.
CWB II sets it in Eb which is somewhat lower than most versions and a sensible move.
1. Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,
great David’s greater Son!
Hail in the time appointed,
his reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
to set the captive free;
to take away transgression,
and rule in equity.2. He comes with help and mercy
to those who suffer wrong;
to raise the poor and needy,
and bid the weak be strong;
to give them songs for sighing,
their darkness turn to light,
whose souls, condemned and dying,
were precious in his sight.3. He shall come down like showers
upon the fruitful earth;
love, joy, and hope, like flowers,
spring in his path to birth.
Before him on the mountains,
shall peace, the herald, go,
and righteousness, in fountains,
from hill to valley flow.4. Kings shall bow down before him,
and gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore him,
His praise all people sing;
To him shall prayer unceasing
and daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
a kingdom without end.5. O’er every foe victorious,
he on his throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
all blessing and all-blest.
The tide of time shall never
his covenant remove;
his name shall stand forever,
that name to us in love.
Moving on liturgically through the Church year, CWB II comes to songs for Epiphany.
This is from a c4th latin original by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, translated by Edward Caswell c18. It is set to STUTTGART.
The text has several variants – those below are the ones in CWB II. Hymnary has all the details.
I had a crack at refining my lousy backing for STUTTGART.
Earth has many a noble city;
Bethlehem, alone excels;
From it came the Lord from Heaven
Came to rule His Israel.Fairer than the sun at morning
Was the star that told His birth,
To the world its God announcing
Seen in human form on earth.Eastern sages at His cradle
Make off’rings rich and rare;
See them give, in deep devotion,
Gold and frankincense and myrrh.Sacred gifts of mystic meaning:
Frankincense does God disclose,
Gold the King of kings proclaiming,
Myrrh His sepulchre foreshows.Jesus, whom the Gentiles worshipped
At Thy glad Epiphany,
Now to you, with God the Father
And the Spirit, glory be.
This is the same music as in CWB II.
I’m returning to Voices As One Volume 2 whenever the traditional hymnody in CWB II goes on a bit.
If you need a new setting for Psalm 34, this is Ed Bolduc’s. The cantor is needed as the third verse veers off in different directions. The music is slow and syncopated and sounds cool jazz to me.
The sheet music can be purchased at WLP, where the text is in their sample.
This ends the Christmas songs in CWB II because I have done:
274 While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks AOV 1/172
275 What Child Is This? AOV 1/165
This is a translation of the c15 century Latin text Puer nobis nascitur by Percy Dearmer.
It is set to PUER NOBIS a c16 tune.
It sounds a bit like Yankee Doodle.
Having a lot of traditional hymns to do backings for in CWB II, has meant I have looked at bit harder at getting better organ sounds and I have found a way to improve things somewhat. It’s still only BIAB fake organ though. I got the chords from the ever reliable TIS and added the bass notes from the music in CWB II to make it less dull.
This is the text in CWB II except for “boy” read “child”. CWB II also brings it down to the key of C.
We will switch to Taylor’s “Mass of St Francis” for Advent.
Entrance: Emmanuel (Angrisano)
Wreath: Christ Circle Round Us (Schutte)
Psalm: To You O God, I Lift Up My Soul (Hurd) AOV 2/14
Gifts: Come to Set Us Free (Farrell) AOV 1/39
Communion: In the Breaking of the Bread (Hurd) AOV 1/58
Thanksgiving: Advent Chant (Porter/Kirkland) AOV 2/123
Recessional: City of God (Schutte) AOV 1/57
Having covered AOV and GA there aren’t a lot of Christmas songs that I haven’t covered so I can skip:
265 Joy to the World AOV 1/170
266 O Little Town of Bethlehem GA 296
267 O Come, All Ye faithful AOV 1/167
268 Of the Father’s Love Begotten
269 Once in Royal David’s City GA 297
270 Silent Night, Holy Night! AOV 1/168
271 Sing We, Sing We Noel AOV 2/124
This hymn was written by John Morrison (c18) and the CWB II has adapted lyrics by Jubilate, available here. Hymnary can take you through the various other iterations of the text.
The tune is DUNDEE from the Scottish Psalter (c17), harmonised by Thomas Ravencroft. Some versions shorten some of the long notes but this is the tune as in CWB II, and it sounds more Presbyterian this way. I got the chords from versions on Hymnary.
I’m working through the Christmas songs in CWB II that I haven’t blogged already.
These I’ve done:
261 Good Christians all, rejoice
262 Hark! the herald angels sing
The text of “In Deepest Night” is by the controversial Dutch poet and theologian Huub Oosterhuis. CWB II says the English translation is by David Smith and copyright to OCP. OCP says their text is translated by Forrest Ingram so make of it what you will.
The text is at OCP in their sample (scroll to the last page), where you can also buy the sheet music.
It is set to RENDEZ A DIEU by (or adapted by) Louis Bourgeous and found in the Genevan Psalter, 1551. The sheet music can also be found at Hymnary.
My backing is fake BIAB organ but I think I’ve found a way to wrangle the beast into a better facsimile.
This version of the tune even has chords, unlike CWB II, but is in G rather than F.
It’s not a bad idea to use a familiar tune with seasonal songs, as they can’t be sung all year.
This text is set to O WALY WALY in 3/4 time, which is used for many other hymn texts. It is public domain and the sheet music is available at various places on the internet, including at Hymnary.
The Christmas song has words by Michael Perry. The text is at Jubilate.
I have reused this backing from elsewhere on the blog.
258 Behold, a rose e’er blooming (aka Lo, how…)
I love Marty Haugen‘s music. This is sweet Christmas song in CWB II and (hooray) chords are included, but not the obvious suggestion to use a capo.
For the assembly I’d bring it down from Eb to at least D or even C.
The text is at Hymnary. If you want to buy it on its own, which makes more sense than buying CWB II, you can purchase the sheet music at GIA.
