Church Music

I’m able to skip quite a lot of the songs in GA because of the shared repertoire with As One Voice, and so I’m up to this song, which is another John Bell composition. GA has an awful lot of his work and that is a good thing to offer an alternative to the Australian and American music in the collection.

If you don’t mind the assembly singing in the voice of Christ this looks a vibrant entrance song or even (verse 2) for Eucharist.

The text is here. I also have a copy in the collection Heaven Shall Not Wait, which is available for very little at Wild Goose. There he suggests accompaniment is a disadvantage so why not try it without once the tune is familiar. He also suggests considering a bodrhan in the chorus.

However, I make backings on BIAB to help learn songs so here goes:

Drums + choir and parts:

Marty Haugen wrote this, which is his version on the the Breastplate of St Patrick.

It’s a little odd in that the first verse has an entirely different tune to verses 2-5.

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

My backing is a bit new age:

This is more like it:

This song by Timothy R Smith was used at RS’s parish last week. It was new to me and I find it a gentle prayerful song. I appreciate people putting the musical choices for their parishes in the comments as it leads me to nice songs like this one.

It sounds a solo vehicle but I’d be interested in hearing what as assembly could do with it.

The text and some commentary is here and it seems a lovely song for personal reflection – but I’m happy to find out if it works differently. The sheet music can be purchased from OCP.

There is a a few bars interlude after the second refrain – most parishes will ignore that but I’ve left it in my backing.

The songwriter:

Smith live:

Lots of styles:

A traditional sounding recessional with a text by James Quinn SJ (1919-2010) set to SONG 34 by Orlando Gibbons (1593-1625). Orlando didn’t think to put guitar chords on and there are none in GA, but Together in Song came to the rescue for me.

The text is here and the tune is out of copyright by several centuries. The lyrics are often set to other tunes and sound great to JERUSALEM.

My backing of this tune is feeble fake organ on BIAB. Oddly there are 3 bars of 4/4 followed by 3/4 for the rest of each verse.

This is the right tune setting Charles Wesley’s “Forth in Your Name, O Lord, I Go,” and the similarity hints at possible homage to Wesley paid by Quinn.

This is a text by Graham Maule based on Luke 6:20-26 – the Sermon on the Plain – set by John Bell.

I can’t find the text anywhere (its a paraphrase of the Beatitudes alright) but there is a snippet to listen to at GIA.

It can also be purchased there very cheaply as part of the collection Love from Below. The same collection is also available directly from Wild Goose.

Their snippets are spirited and lively.  My backing is more restrained.

The music liturgy team selected these songs for mass next week:

Entrance: Come As You Are (Brown) AOV 1/31

Responsorial Psalm for Lent: Be With Me (Haugen)

Gifts: God of Second Chances (Haas)

Communion: Unless a Grain of Wheat (Farrell) AOV 1/35

Take and Eat – Mantra (Russell) AOV 2/162

Thanksgiving: You Are Mine  (Haas)  AOV 2/2

Recessional: A New Heart for a New World (O’Brien/Watts) AOV 1/158

Gather Australia being, well Australian, you are bound to come across songs by Christopher Willcock SJ. They will be musically interesting and best performed with pipe organ and well rehearsed choir.

I thought this was more usable than usual until some eclectic timings in the refrain. Apart from going too high for groaners like me it has lovely melodies and is very moving.

The text is in the preview at OCP who sell the sheet music here.

My survey of songs from GA that I haven’t already blogged continues with another song by John Bell.

It’s a wonderful reflection on God’s love for us throughout our lives.

The text is here. I also have a copy in his book Heaven Shall Not Wait (available at GIA), where he notes its use for baptism and confirmation.

My BIAB backing is kept simple.

I never come across this one before. The song is by Sr Anne Kelly IBVM and based on Micah 6, which certainly makes it liturgically useful.

The text is at Godsongs where she points out the offending Yahweh:

The original text was “Hear then what Yahweh asks of you”, but many people who use the hymn have now changed it to “Hear what the Lord God asks of you” – and this is reflected in the files here.

I believe the songwriter is the Sr Kelly active in the fight against human trafficking.

Gather Australia is the only source I can find for the sheet music.