Church Music

This is John Bell’s arrangement of a traditional song from the Cameroon. It’s still Christmas, right.

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

I’m trying to get the Advent songs I missed posted before it’s completely ridiculous.

Mary’s parish played this song by Janet Sullivan Whitaker on CD in Advent and with seven different verses, it’s either that or a cantor.  The refrain is singable enough though for the assembly.

OCP sell the sheet music and you can get the lyrics from the preview there.

Mary’s parish used this song (aka Ave Maria) written by Maria Parkinson. Not knowing anything about this song my suspicion is that it is a local Irish product.

The verses are English and the refrain Latin as you can see in the text here. This seems more a song for personal devotion than for liturgy. I couldn’t find any site on the net selling the sheet music.

Michael Connolly:

There are so many paraphrases and settings of the Canticle of Mary that there probably should be a moratorium for a while.

This one is by Sister Anne Carter and these are the lyrics. The tune is NEW BRITAIN ie the music used for “Amazing Grace”.

…which sounds like this:

Godsongs has, as usual, some useful background and OCP must have sold it at some stage because they still have a preview of the sheet music here, but I damned if I can find anywhere on their site to buy it. Then again, you already know the tune.

I’m still catching up with Advent material despite it being half past Christmas and nearly next year.

This is a traditional Basque carol with the text translated by Sabine Baring-Gould. Hymnary have the text and sheet music but you can also purchase it from OCP.

Once I figured out the 9/8, 12/8 time signature it was fine, but still a dog to get into BIAB.

I got to wander around King’s College when in Cambridge for a visit in January.  This is their choir who weren’t there at the time:

We are eschewing a thanksgiving song for a prayer for the Year of Mercy.

Entrance: We Three Kings

Psalm 71 (McKenna)

Lord, ev’ry nation on earth will adore you, will adore you.

Gifts: What Child is This?

Communion: One Bread, One Body (Foley) AOV 1/129

Once in Royal David’s City

Recessional: City of God (Schutte) AOV 1/57

This is a Mary song and an Advent song in one package.

Willard F. Jabusch’s text strikes me as odd, but then since Marian imagery springs from very slight biblical evidence, imagination and tradition must suffice. It’s like he is singing about an old painting of Mary rather than the woman herself. The tune is a Slovakian folk melody and thoughtfully arranged by OCP so it can be copyrighted.

The text is here and the sheet music is available at OCP.

The ever reliable Chris Brunelle:

A Children’s Choir – surprisingly effective:

Organ & Assembly:

“guitarmusicministry” attack Advent with enthusiasm:

I’m still catching up with Advent songs and Mary songs to which I have been alerted. Ryan’s parish use Mary Louise Bringle’s paraphrase of the Magnificat set to MAGNIFICAT by Michael Joncas.

The text is at Hymnary. I have the music in Together In Song 173 but setting John T. Mueller’s version.

OCP has what should be this song here, but the sample tune is something else, and the link to the sample music doesn’t work so I can’t tell.

This is the right tune but Mueller’s words.

Right tune, right words, muffled singing:

We get Christmas many hours in Australia before the USA, so I’m thrilled to see more parish selections, many unfamiliar,  popping up from faithful correspondents overseas.

Of the Father’s Love Begotten – text and sheet music at Hymnary.

I love Carol of the Bells.

..and Coventry Carol.

Love Has Captured the Night by Josh Blakesley is one I’ve certainly never heard of before.

Happy Boxing Day and back to work for Church musicians tonight and tomorrow!

We rarely get past the tried and true at Christmas mass, so it’s great to get other ideas.

Emma’s parish do the right thing and play some more obscure songs including Australian Christmas Carols, like “Christmas Day (the north wind)” with words by John Wheeler and music by William G James. The north wind is of course very hot and dry as you can see in the text here.

They also do “Sing Gloria” from the same songwriters. I think “Carol of the Birds” is their most well known song.

This is the whole set:

From outside Australia “Lord Today” by Balhoff/Ducote/Daigle of the Dameans is a Christmas song new to me.

…and there’s Michael Joncas’s “A Christmas Carol”.

I love “O Holy Night” but have heard it crash and burn at the hands of an unwary assembly. Of course if you have a backing band like this you’re fine.

I love this version of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” by Andy Williams, but probably because it was on the only Christmas record we had when I was a child and I’ve never heard a better version since.

I’m not sure if even Pentatonix can redeem “Little Drummer Boy.”

To play outside church the greatest Christmas songs celebrate the reality of the human condition, so Merry Christmas one and all: