Church Music

Looking back from 2025, it is quite odd to note that Catholic Worship Book was published in 1985 and feels much earlier, while As One Voice was only seven years later in 1992 and seems a quantum leap in song selection, layout and applicability to a suburban parish. Unsurprisingly, it became the most popular hymnal in Australia combining the best of the UK and US sources with local songwriters. Their subsequent hymn books have added many more useful songs for liturgy.

If you are in a situation in your parish where live music is not always available, the backings available from various sources have often not been of songs that you would like to play at mass, especially not Australian songs.

Willow have now made tasteful piano backings for a selection of their songs that would be very useful where you have someone willing to lead music but no instruments available.

They listed the available songs, which will cost you less than a few hours of hiring a musician:

It’s nice to see music from more recent compositions as well.

You can still purchase the hymnals, many still in physical form, at Willow.

MIDI backings have the advantage of the ability to edit for key and tempo, but most of the songs in AOV are pitched pretty well and you could cover a lot of liturgies with the selected tracks. I hope they continue this project.

The other thing I am turning up in CWB is early Marty Haugen material that I haven’t come across elsewhere.

This is by Haugen and based on Psalm 24 (25). It’s a lovely melody but the verses suggest a cantor.

The sheet music is still available at GIA, where the text is in their preview.

Slogging through the hymns that I haven’t covered already on this blog from CWB, I am a little disappointed at so few Australian hymns. I’m getting a few forgotten folk mass era songs and lots of old hymns to old tunes that are no longer in high rotation. At least the Praise to God hymnal had lots of Australian obscurities.

I am noting a lot of texts translated from German or Latin set to old English or German tunes.

This Marian hymn is translated from German by Brian Moore SJ (“Maria zu lieben”) and here set to a traditional English tune, GALLERY CAROL.

1 To love you O Mary is all my desire,

In joy and in sorrow my heart all afire

With love and with longing true service to give,

Your own still in dying, your own while I live.

2 O Mary, O Maiden, most gentle and just,

As greatly I love you so greatly I trust.

You are, and have shown it, a mother to me,

 In living and dying your child shall I be.

3 O Mother, your grace to my promise impart,

Your name sealing steadfast my mouth and my heart:

Be with me in dying and reach down your hand

and graciously lead me to the heavenly land.

This Youtube clip is a different tune but has a commentary on the hymn and a different translation.

This is the original use of the “Gallery Carol”.

This is a hymn of praise, which CWB say is a translation of an anonymous C16 work called Summa parentis filio, translated by Edward Caswell and further adapted by the editors. The particular theme of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a little watered down in CWB’s version of the text.

It is here set to NARENZA, itself a C19 adaptation of an earlier tune by William Henry Havergal.

I got the chords for a backing from the ever wonderful Together In Song, which is indispensible if you want chords for old hymn tunes.

To be fair to the editors there are a lot of variations in this text.

Hymnary use the text from Worship.

1 To Christ, the Prince of Peace
And Son of God most high,
The ruler of the world to come,
We lift our joyful cry.

2 Deep in his heart, for us
The wound of love he bore,
That love with which he still inflames
The hearts that him adore.

3 O Jesus, victim blest,
What else but purest love
Could make your sacred heart pour forth
God’s graces from above?

4 O fount of endless life
And spring of water clear,
O heav’nly flame which cleanses all
Who unto you draw near!

5 Enfold us in your heart,
O Jesus, Savior blest,
So shall we find your plenteous grace
And heav’n’s eternal rest.

It’s always fun to look for the firm hand of the CWB editors:

1 To Christ, the Prince of peace,
And Son of God most high,
The Father of the world to come,
We lift our joyful cry.

2 Deep in his heart for us
The wound of love he bore:
That burning love he kindles still
In hearts that him adore.

3 O Jesus, victim priest,
What else but love so fine
Could make your so to welcome us
Into your heart divine.

4 O fount of endless life,
And spring of water clear,
With flame celestial cleansing all
Who to your heart draw near!

5 Keep us in your dear heart,
For there we all would be,
To live in grace, and after death
Gain immortality.

6 Praise to the Father be,
And sole-begotten Son;
Praise, ever holy Paraclete,
While endless ages run.

This site gives the Latin and another translation. I’m not sure how “victim” becomes “priest” in CWB.

This is a Marty Haugen song that CWB says is based on Psalm 94 (95) and 95 (96). Psalm 118 is obviously involved as well for the refrain.

The verse goes into interesting melodic territory – B# in a song in E anyone?

You can still buy it at GIA where the text is in their preview.

I had more trouble than usual with BIAB for this song as it is in cut common time and my usual trick of entering everything and just reducing everything by half won’t work with chords on quarter notes – I worked around it.

I’m afraid this is another obscure one from CWB.

The text is by Don and Nancy MacNeill. The tune is by Daniel Moe and called OPENING HYMN. It was from a collection called Worship For Today and also was in the hymn book, Ecumenical Praise, and of course CWB.

I can’t find a trace of it on the internet and the music is kind of ornery with frequent changes to the time signature.

I guessed the chords and tried to make sense of the rhythm, so for those with CWB I, I made a strange backing.

I covered this James Quinn text while I was doing Gather Australia, but they used JESU DULCIS MEMORIA. CWB say they set it to EISENACH, but it is in fact set to JESU DULCIS MEMORIA as well.

The words are at Hymnary.

I made a simple backing this time with made up (ie wrong) chords, because I piked on the chant last time.

This is a setting of Psalm 26(27) from the Grail by Tobias Colgan OSB.

He is a Benedictine from St. Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana.

They have kindly posted a songbook that includes this song’s words and music on page 12.

… which helped a lot with this backing I made:

This is another song CWB sourced from the New Catholic Hymnal, and is a paraphrase by Anthony G. Petti of a song by Thomas Aquinas called Verbum supernum prodiens. It is both Eucharistic and Trinitarian.

CWB set it to Percy Buck’s GONFALEN ROYAL.

I got chords from TIS for a backing:

1 The word of God from heaven came,

But did not leave the Father’s side;

Fulfilled his mission here on earth,

And for mankind was crucified.

2 The very night before he died

And to his passion he was led,

He gave to his disciples life,

His own true self in form of bread.

3 His body and his precious bloood

He offered under either kind,

And in the fullness of his love

Gave food of life to all mankind.

4 Dear Saviour, victim for our sins,

To lead us to eternal life:

Protect and guard us in your grace,

And keep us from all earthly strife.

5 To your great name be endless praise,

O ever blessed Trinity;

We pray you, grant us perfect life

With you throughout eternity.

This is a Dutch hymn for confirmation by Huub Oosterhuis. CWB I sets it to a traditional Dutch tune, GELUKKIG IS HET LAND. The translation is by Anthony Barr.

The words and music are in this sample at Hymnary.

OCP retranslated the text slightly and used a setting by Timothy Smith.