Church Music

Ah the glory of the metrical hymn.  Growing up in the Presbyterian tradition our wonderful long suffering organist, who must have endured hell from we dreadful children, seemed to me to be playing every hymn to one of about three tunes.  While this was not actually true, the metrical hymns we sang did allow the same tunes to pop up for different texts.

In the case of “Love Divine” it is  87.87 and so suitable for several tunes.

Charles Wesley wrote the text:

1.	Love divine, all loves excelling, 
	joy of heaven, to earth come down; 
	fix in us thy humble dwelling; 
	all thy faithful mercies crown! 
	Jesus thou art all compassion, 
	pure, unbounded love thou art; 
	visit us with thy salvation; 
	enter every trembling heart. 

2.	Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit 
	into every troubled breast! 
	Let us all in thee inherit; 
	let us find that second rest. 
	Take away our bent to sinning; 
	Alpha and Omega be; 
	end of faith, as its beginning, 
	set our hearts at liberty. 

3.	Come, Almighty to deliver, 
	let us all thy life receive; 
	suddenly return and never, 
	nevermore thy temples leave. 
	Thee we would be always blessing, 
	serve thee as thy hosts above, 
	pray and praise thee without ceasing, 
	glory in thy perfect love. 

4.	Finish, then, thy new creation; 
	pure and spotless let us be. 
	Let us see thy great salvation 
	perfectly restored in thee; 
	changed from glory into glory, 
	till in heaven we take our place, 
	till we cast our crowns before thee, 
	lost in wonder, love, and praise.

I note the second verse is omitted in some hymnals.

Rather than battle the dodgy church organ VST sound I use with BIAB all just put some MIDIs from the net up for each setting and some You-tube clips because I’m probably the only church musician who doesn’t know this tunes.

Chris’s parish sings this as entrance today to the tune HYFRYDOL by Rowland Huw Prichard as found in Gather Australia 463.

Hyfrydol

Together In Song has this version, but also John Stainer’s setting.

love_divine_stainer

They also suggest BLAENWERN by William Penfro Rowlands.

BLAENWERN

John Zundel’s BEECHER is also noted as a popular setting.

Beecher

I’m blogging the music book “Voice As One Vol 1” and since WLP songs have very little penetration into the Australian market, I’m finding lots of useful songs for liturgy that I didn’t know, and a few nonliturgical sacred songs. OCP and GIA have been the dominant American players here so it is good to hear something different and since most can be purchased on-line they are worth considering even if you haven’t bought the collection yet.

Here I was thinking WLP was just Ed Bolduc when it turns out it’s mostly Paul A. Tate, who wrote this song.

This is a Eucharist song that again has the cantor (or choir) – assembly conversation that we would usually ignore and just have the assembly sing the lot. There really is nothing here an assembly could not attempt. It’s long enough for most sized churches to get through communion.  The fifth verse is really a bridge in a different key if you get to it.

The text is in the sample at WLP where the sheet music can be purchased.

This church has lovely accompaniment but does struggle a little.

So does this group so perhaps it is harder than it looks.

I’ve already done “Go Light Your World”, so I’m up to Paul A. Tate’s “God So Loved the World”.

This is suitable just about anywhere in a liturgy being based on  John 3: 14-21 -entrance, gifts, communion – it fits. The tune is a little fiddly and the third verse is a bridge with a different tune to learn but it would repay the investment of time. Some effort will be needed to avoid being “sing -songy” in the chorus.

The text is in the sample at WLP where the sheet music can be purchased.

This is a song by Paul A Tate and Deanna Light that could be both a gathering song or a Eucharist song. I’d ignore the cantor call and response and just sing the whole thing together.

The text is in the sample at WLP where the sheet music can be purchased for download. A handbell version ,which would be wild, is available at GIA.

This is joyful liturgically useful song from Paul A. Tate.  It can be used in praise and thanksgiving situations (ie all the time).

The timing in the verses is rather tricky and will take lots of practice or a cantor but the chorus is fine.

The text is in the sample at WLP where the sheet music can be purchased for download. There is a snippet there to get an idea how it is meant to go.

My backing is a little slower, which might help with learning the song:

This song by Rory Cooney is a solo vehicle with no discernible liturgical use. It is, however, a song of encouragement, hope and solidarity.

Those with an annual licence from WLP can download the sheet music there, but everyone else will need to get “Voices As One” because I can’t find it anywhere else. The song can be heard here.

My backing has a John Denver vibe about it.

This song with a text by Deborah D. Smith and music by Michael W. Smith is not for liturgy but is the sort of song that makes everyone cry at the end of a school year or for other partings. It is very much a solo vehicle and shares some music ideas with “Lying Eyes” by the Eagles and “You’re My Home” by Billy Joel. It is apparently very popular.

According to this story it was written quickly and it has hallmarks of that. (eg “and friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them”)

The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased for download at various sites on the net including musicnotes.

Entrance: God of Day and God of Darkness (Haugen) AOV 1/56

Psalm 137 (O’Brien)

Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you.

Gifts: Heal Me O God (Norbet) AOV 2/52

Communion: Isaiah 49 (Landry) AOV 1/89

Will You Love Me (Boniwell) AOV 1/40

Recessional: Amazing Grace (Newton/Rees) AOV 1/29

This song is another request. It is a song with lyrics by Dan Schutte and J-Glenn Murray SJ and a tune by Dan Schutte.  The text is inspired by Psalm 8 and has liturgical usefulness as a Eucharist song and for praise and thanksgiving.

The text is here.

I really like Dan Schutte’s work, but this one suffers from pedestrian verses although the refrain is nice and reminds me of the song “Shannon” by Henry Gross.

You can hear a snippet and look at a sample of the sheet music before you purchase it for download from OCP.

This is obviously a song for Eucharist by Paul Hillebrand. The text is here, but you might want to look at the sample at WLP where you can purchase the sheet music, to see that the verse are written as a conversation between the cantor and the assembly. There is also an echo in the refrain the kicks in after the second verse. The verse takes interesting musical detours that sustain interest in the piece. If we were doing it without a cantor we would sing the lot as an assembly and perhaps have a soloist do the echoes.

My backing has the echo piece as well over a guitar heavy backing (but not a heavy guitar backing).