…which brings me to the very surprising songwriter for CWB II, the wonderful children’s entertainer, Peter Combe, of “Toffee Apple” fame. It is for school Christmas celebrations and a lot of fun for the children to echo the lines of the verse.
You have to wonder why there are no guitar chords for this song in CWB II. It is hardly for cathedral organ. I note CWB II changes “Father” to “Mother” in the chorus.
He has put the lyrics up here. I rarely get to use a polka setting on BIAB.
CHORUS
Baby lying in a manger
No room in the inn
His mother watches over
The new born king.
The shepherds come to see him (echo)
CHORUS
The shepherds come to see him (echo)
The wise men kneel and worship him (echo)
CHORUS
The shepherds come to see him (echo)
The wise men kneel and worship him (echo)
The ox and the ass stand round him (echo)
CHORUS
The shepherds come to see him (echo)
The wise men kneel and worship him (echo)
The ox and the ass stand round him (echo)
The angel watches over (echo)
CHORUS
The shepherds come to see him (echo)
The wise men kneel and worship him (echo)
The ox and the ass stand round him (echo)
The angel watches over (echo)
Mary rocks him (echo)
With the repertoire of CWB II mostly traditional hymns I will intersperse some songs I haven’t covered from WLP’s Voices As One Vol2. These are the antithesis of CWB II, being contemporary style.
This is by John Angotti and Ed Bolduc and won an award in 2005 for Praise and Worship song of the year.
It is a performance piece with the verses having a different tune but the chorus and bridge can be sung along with.
The sheet music can be purchased at WLP where the text is in their sample.
…and this song aka Rorate caeli desuper. It is a chant for Advent based on Isaiah 45:8. The translation in CWB II is by Rev Percy Jones and since there is no claim of copyright, here it is:
Antiphon
You heavens, sprinkle dew from above.
You clouds rain down the Just One.
1 Withhold your anger from us O Lord,
Be mindful no more of our evil doing,
For the city of your Holy One has become a desert:
Sion has been laid waste, Jerusalem empty and desolate:
The house of your hallowing presence and of your glory,
Where our ancestors of old sang your praises.
Antiphon
2 We all have sinned and have become like one unclean.
We have all fallen low as dead leaves fall in autumn;
And like the wind our sins have swept us away.
You have hidden from us your face.
You have crushed us in the grip of our transgressions.
Antiphon
3 Behold O Lord the affliction of your people;
And send him who is to come.
Send forth the Lamb, the Lord of the universe:
As ransom gold from Petra in the desert
To the mount of Sion’s daughter,
May he deliver us from the yoke of our captivity.
Antiphon
4 “Be comforted , be comforted, O you my people,
For quickly comes your salvation.
Why are you consumed with grief?
For your sorrow has transformed you;
I come to save, away with all your fears:
For I am your Lord and your God Most High,
Israel’s Holy One and your Redeemer.”
Antiphon
The tune is beyond me (BIAB can’t do Chant!) but not the people at Gregorian Chant Hymns.
This is a song often known as “Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying” in a translation by Catherine Winkworth, but there is more than one translation in use.
The text in CWB II is Harry Hagan’s paraphrase and translation of the Philipp Nicolai text, which is copyright.
It is set to Bach’s harmonisation of Nicolai’s arrangement of Hans Sachs’s WACHET AUF.
One year, when preparing the Easter music for an Anglican church, I discovered No 302 in The Australian Hymn Book – the tune and metre Vruechten 67.67 D – Melody from J Oudaen’s “Psalter’, Amsterdam 1685, words by George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848-1934): “This joyful Eastertide away with sin and sorrow…” How interesting and enchanting I thought it! What do people think of it? Is it ever sung?
I’m doing a lot of traditional hymns that are out of my comfort zone lately, but this is certainly a thrilling tune with a ferocious range, so I’ll let the choir sing it and groan along an octave down for the “arisen”s. All the details are as noted by Stephen and Hymnary puts it all together as usual. It shows up in Protestant Hymnals in the main there.
1 This joyful Eastertide,
away with sin and sorrow!
My Love, the Crucified,
has sprung to life this morrow:
Refrain:
Had Christ, who once was slain,
not burst His three-day prison,
our faith had been in vain;
but now has Christ arisen,
arisen, arisen;
but now has Christ arisen!
2 Death’s flood has lost its chill
since Jesus crossed the river;
Lover of souls, from ill
my passing soul deliver: [Refrain]
3 My flesh in hope shall rest
and for a season slumber
till trump from east to west
shall wake the dead in number: [Refrain]
I've worked my way through the As One Voice books and other collections making backings on Band in a Box to help me (& you if you're interested) learn new songs for church. This is aimed at churches and musicians that own the collections but haven't exploited them fully. If you don't have them they are certainly worth buying. This site is educational, nonprofit and designed to enhance the commercial prospects of songwriters. This site does not distribute copyrighted sheet music.
Disclaimer
Any opinions expressed here are personal views and not the responsibility of any Church.
All music backings posted are created by myself and the intention is for them to be used to learn the songs. If any copyright holder wishes me to cease publicising and promoting their wares and directing people to where sheet music can be legally purchased please let me know.
Mason’s “Mass of Glory and Praise”
To access my backings for Paul Mason's mass go to Feb 2011 in the archive.