Church Music

Mary suggested that this a song with similar liturgical use to Marty Haugen’s song I blogged recently that was more assembly friendly.

It is by Colin Gibson who I understand is famous in New Zealand.  In the book Alleluia Aotearoa that I found at a book sale and have yet to explore, it’s a toss up between him and Shirley Erena Murray (who I have heard of) for most songs in the hymnal.

If this is anything to go by he is just as socially conscious as Shirley Murray.

Hope Publishing (have I said they are wonderful lately?) have the text and the sheet music.

There is touch of the John Bell’s as well, not only in the social commentary but in the lack of guitar chords. Now to make a backing in BIAB I need these.  I suspect real musicians like these songwriters think anyone can work out chords, but I often struggle.

Sometimes the chords are available separately or have been tabbed somewhere with greater or lesser accuracy.  Frequently, Together in Song, comes to the rescue, especially with songs from Gather Australia that don’t have chords.  If there is any performance of it available on the internet I can record a wave file and run it through BIAB backwards to get an idea – that is great sometimes but often misleading. In this case it was a matter of looking at the piano music and guessing, then adjusting things once entered into BIAB to eliminate discordant sounds.

So my backing has the notes and guessed chords with dodgy bass runs and probably too many minor chords.

I’m sure this is singable, although it has a bit of “My Bonnie” in there. In the book I have the tempo is 100, at Hope Publishing it is 120 but I’ve done it at 130.

A tribute to Colin Gibson:

I’m away at Easter and will probably strum along with the wonderful organist in George Town.

The schedule for the Vigil there is:

Blessing of the Fire – no music

Exultant sung without music (I don’t know what setting)

Gloria (MOSF)

The Lord is My Shepherd AOV 1/26 for Sprinkling

Gifts: Christ be Our Light AOV 2/3

Communion: Alleluia No 1 AOV 1/15

Recessional: Celtic Alleluia AOV 1/13

Here in Queensland I wasn’t around for the planning meeting but I think it’s the same as last year.

Ethan has helpfully put up his parishes’ liturgy from last year’s Vigil:

The Hymns I did at Last Years Easter Vigil were:
Lighting of the Fire:Christ Be our Light Verses 1 and 2
Exultet:Star of Morning Fire Frank Andersen MSC (Chorus sung by the Congregation and Verses Sung by Musicians and Choir)
After Old Testament Readings:Song of the Body of Christ (Chorus)
Gloria (Mass of Renewal)
Gospel Acclamation:Alleluia No 1:AOV 15
Communion:Lord of the Dance AOV18 and Sing a New Song AOV 80
Recessional the Easter Song Lent and Easter Song Book (Number 14)

Feel free to post and compare liturgies – people consult them for years you know!

I am in a small run of “peace” songs in Gather Australia and after skipping the songs I’ve already blogged from other sources I am up to this survivor from the sixties by Lucien Deiss. I have his book Visions of Liturgy and Music for a New Century in which he states “permanent reform of the Church necessitates a permanent reform of the liturgy.” He died in 2007.

The text is here and is based on Psalm 131. the sheet music is available at WLP.

The best I could do with its irregular time was to make it mostly 3/4 and my backing doesn’t really give singable intervals. The snippet at WLP gives an indication of what the sheet music doesn’t convey.

Instrumental:

As a prayer:

Solo + guitar:

Children defeated by an organ:

This is John Foley’s version of the Prayer of St Francis and it is a more attractive vehicle than the Sebastian Temple version I’m used to. I suppose coming from one of the St Louis Jesuits this will be familiar to everyone else but me.

The text is here and it can be purchased from OCP.

My backing is some nifty finger picking from BIAB.

John Foley SJ:

An assembly:

Extreme overdubbing harmony:

A Trio of vocalists:

More social concern, this time from Marty Haugen. He takes the best lines from those well known liberal bleeding hearts, Amos, Micah and Joel and gives us a singalong chorus and five verses that each have a different tune – ie get a cantor.

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

Goodness – a social concern song not written by John L. Bell.

This one is by Brian Wren and  is published by the tremendously wonderful people at Hope Publishing who have the lyrics here.

Hymnary have it set to STANISLAUS and I have that setting in Gather Comprehensive 713.

GA instead uses the Australian tunesmith, Sr Sandra Sears’s ST VINCENT and this is my cello heavy BIAB backing:

GA was certainly a fan of John Bell. This song is in Gather Australia but also in the collection Enemy of Apathy, which can be purchased at Wild Goose.

I can’t find the text anywhere but if you are a subscriber they are at Songselect.

Bell has some important riding instructions for this one:

The idea of ‘reproaches’ comes from the ancient church liturgy for Good Friday in which the cantor, taking Jesus’ part, reminds the congregation of the good that God has done and the evil shown in return.

When this setting is used the response should, in the first verses, be loud and angry, as if Christ should have been more evident in the world. Towards the end the response becomes more quiet and penitent.

The cantor should follow the natural rhythm of speech rather than keep strict tempo for each verse. Extra notes will therefore be added ad lib.

John L. Bell and Graham Maule, Enemy of Apathy.  Wild Goose Publications: Glasgow, 1988. p 45.

BIAB can’t follow the natural rhythm of anything:

We are in a run of social concern songs from John Bell in Gather Australia that fit well with Lent and Holy Week coming up.

The text is at Hymnary where I found the chords that weren’t in the arrangement in GA. I like the urgency of the tune and the matter of fact lyrics. I also have the music in Enemy of Apathy (also without chords – how hard is it?) where he adds this comment:

A song for Good Friday or any day on which we want to relate the death of Jesus, not just in Jerusalem, but to the need for salvation in the contemporary world and in ourselves.

You can buy it in that collection at Wild Goose.

My fussy backing:

I’ve blogged this song here and here but I was never happy that I got the gist of how I play the song into the BIAB backings. They do however accurately reflect the proper melody.

I think Angrisano plays it capo 5, but the chords on capo 3 fit better for me and make the song more playable. It is still starting to hurt my old hands playing it on a 12 string electric but is very comfortable on my little travel guitar.

I’ve made a webcam video, not as a performance piece, but really to show a song surviving my poor singing voice and average guitar playing. Please ignore my dodgy pitch and tendency to make up the melody as I go, the point is whether an assembly could be led to sing this song by very basic solo guitarist and voice if that was all that was available. Personally I would not let me sing anywhere near a microphone and hope for someone with a half decent voice to lead the singing while I play.

It would be an interesting exercise to apply the basic singer/average guitarist test to commonly used songs – would the tempo and key need adjustment? Would the chords need simplification? Without making a song unrecognisable can a functional result be achieved? If so, a lot more parishes without expert musicians could have live music for mass. (Please feel free to ignore this if you have paid musicians in your parish. Out in suburban and country Australia I’ve never heard of such a thing.)

I apologise for adding to the number of YouTube videos of guitarists playing songs to their computer.

Entrance: Blessings on the King (Lynch)  AOV 1/104

Psalm 21 (McKenna)

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Gifts: Be With Me, Lord (Haugen)

Communion: Tree of Life (Thompson) AOV NG 138

Will You Love Me (Boniwell) AOV 1/40

Thanksgiving: Holy Darkness (Schutte) AOV 2/24

Recessional: Were You There? (trad) AOV 1/103