I keep an eye out for songs I don’t know that other parishes are using. This one from Chris’s parish has a text by Luke Connaughton. The version in Gather Australia is to the tune “Woodlands” by Walter Greatorex.
The text is here. “Woodlands” has been used for other texts and this text has been set to other tunes. (eg Colin Brumby in Together in Song 282) The sheet music is available at Hymnary.
My backing resorts to the dodgy free church organ VST plug in.
I’m always looking for communion songs and Brian Wren’s text fits the bill as the words are simple and challenging and can be found at the Hope Publishing site. To digress for a moment, if you want to go beyond GIA/OCP/WLP and in Australia AOV, Hope Publishing is worth a look. Social justice is a major concern there and their texts are often reset by the majors.
They have a setting for this text by Anthony Feddell that you might like to look at, but the one in “Voices as One” is by Carl Johengen.
The WLP site has sample pages, a small sound sample and liturgical suggestions, and you can also buy the sheet music there.
My backing, unfortunately, does not do the lovely second vocal line in the refrain.
Youtube has a spirited solo voice and piano version.
Ed Bolduc has rewritten this traditional hymn by nineteenth century hymn writer Caroline Maria Noel and added a refrain and his own tune. I like this because it could be used in a P&W setting but has lots of liturgical uses and is singable by an assembly. Of course, more of the original verses could be used if appropriate.
As usual with these songs, WLP has a page were you can link to the text in the sample page, hear a snippet and purchase the sheet music for download. It is also available at the Voices As One site.
This is another song by Ed Bolduc in a relaxed MOR style. The verses are recommended for a cantor, which is probably right as it has a rhythmic structure that will make it hard for the assembly and in any case the last note of the verse is sung over by the refrain.
It is a lovely tune and a serviceable text that will work in many liturgical situations.
The WLP site has the text in the sample pages, a snippet for listening and is where you can purchase the sheet music for download if you wish.
I’ve sped up up my backing just a little.
This is a delicate and beautifully mournful song that would be suitable for Lent written by Paul A Tate.
The refrain has SATB call and response and harmony if you have the need. The WLP site has the text in sample pages and a snippet of the tune to listen to where you can also purchase the sheet music for download.
This song is being used as an entrance this week and I have never heard of it before, although I am assured it has been used for years and everyone at my current parish knows it. It is by Debra Kerner and from a collection of songs by “Psalty” the cartoon Psalter.
The text is at their site and you can listen to the song there. The sheet music is also available to purchase in one of their collections.
It is really not very suitable for kids with the odd timings and octave leaps and long held high notes. It looks like it is taken down from G to F locally, but the range is still very wide (still a low A to D). My backing is in F.
Entrance: Welcome to the Family (Kerner)
Psalm 31 (McKenna)
I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble,
and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Gifts: Come As You Are (Brown) AOV 1/31
Communion: Seed, Scattered and Sown (Feiten) GA 195
One Bread, One Body (Foley) AOV 1/129
Thanksgiving: Heal Me O God (Norbet) AOV 2/52
Recessional: Sing a New Song (Schutte) AOV 1/80
This is a fine Gospel Acclamation by Ed Bolduc should you need a stand alone one.
It can be purchased for click and print and a sample page with the text is available all at WLP.
My backing is faux gospel.
This is another request. It’s a very loose paraphrase of the Magnificant by Rory Cooney to the traditional tune “The Star of County Down”.
The text is here. The sheet music can be purchased at GIA or for download at musicnotes.
This is the original:
Here are some nice covers:
Choirs slowing it down a lot:
Just for fun here is the real song:
Voices As One is the site for WLP’s contemporary area of liturgical music. They have several volumes of sheet music published in this area and excellent song writers that I haven’t been looking at, since I’ve been going through OCP’s spiritandsong collections. A few WLP songs were picked up for the As One Voice Collections in Australia, but in general they have very little penetration into the Australian market. As far as American music is concerned, which is widely used here, GIA and OCP have far more influence in Australia than WLP. I have used some of their material in the past when I was looking for a specific song to plug a liturgical hole and have always been impressed.
Despite being modern music it appears to be more liturgical rather than P&W, which is what I’m looking for, and has quite a variety of modern styles. It isn’t all Ed Bolduc either.
Their website will generally give a preview of the sheet music, a snippet of the song for listening purposes and some guidance as to it’s purpose and weeks of the liturgical year when it is particularly useful. I find this to be more consistent and helpful than OCP’s background material. They also provide a link to cheaply purchase for click and print in case you like the song and want the sheet music.
My plan is to blog my learning of the songs in the collection by my usual method of making a backing. Since WLP provide the text in the preview on their web site, I will just link to their page where you can find all their material and purchase the sheet music. I will also start linking to author pages again, as since the same songwriters were coming up over and over again it had become superfluous. With a new bunch of liturgical musicians this is no longer so.
I will otherwise assume you have the Voices As One Collections and, like me, you can’t just sit down and play the music, but need some help to learn the pieces.
All Will Be Well is an unusual chant by Steven C Warner based on a text by Julian of Norwich – one of the C14 English mystics who are all worth a read, including Richard Rolle and especially “The Cloud of Unknowing”. The words of consolation are suggested for Lent, Good Friday and healing masses and you can see why from the text. It has even inspired a blog that has the text as well. Apart from purchasing the music through WLP it is available elsewhere on the net (eg Sheet Music Plus – more expensive there) amazingly including a handbell version at GIA.
Remembering that chant and BIAB don’t go well together my backing is the usual fail but is just to help learning. The ostinato remains constant, but the verses alternate melody lines. The verses are meant for a cantor, but they are extinct where I live and there is nothing that would stretch an assembly here.
