Church Music

Having been most unwell all week I wasn’t sure whether I’d get a song done. As usual, it is based on the readings for this week. It is played at ~65 bpm and is overly complicated but that’s just how it turned out.

1. The Psalmist says the hand of the Lord shall feed you.

So we all want to sit at his feet.

To learn the secret of where we’re going to

but Jesus says, you give them something to eat.

CH. Be sure your loaves and fishes will suffice.

We must listen to what Jesus has said.

When your lives give, something to eat,

you can be sure that all will be fed.

2. It’s written down that those who have no money

will buy what they need, the finest of wheat.

When they come for their share of the bounty

Jesus says, you give them something to eat.

© 2014 Geoffrey Madden

Sheet Music: Something to Eat

I’ve moved to Spirit and Song Vol. 2 and have skipped the redundant Mass settings.  That takes me to the songs for night prayer and “Compline Hymn” with music by Timothy R. Smith, setting a text by Harry Hagan OSB.

I like this tune although I wonder about the “oh, oh” at the end of each verse. If you listen to the original version it sounds a solo vehicle and as a solo devotional the “ohs” might work.

The text is at spiritandsong where you can purchase the sheet music for download.

This is a song by John Burland that we will be doing for the next two Sundays because they will be for first communion and the children know the song.  I didn’t so I had to learn it.

The text is at his site where you can order the sheet music in a collection called “Celebrating the Sacraments.”

There is a snippet of this song in this clip of Burland in America:

This is a first communion service so some of the songs are already chosen because they have been part on the children’s preparation.

Entrance: Come to the Water (Andersen) AOV 1/74

Psalm 145 (O’Brien)

The hand of the Lord feeds us;

God answers all our needs.

Gifts: Table of Plenty (Schutte) AOV 2/20

Communion: Come to the Table (Burland) AOV NG 33

Do This in Memory of Me (Burland)

Thanksgiving: We Are Many Parts (Haugen) AOV 1/86

Recessional: Our Hearts Burn Within Us (Chinn)  … on CD I hope.

This song is based on the readings for the seventeenth week in Ordinary Time, Year A and has thoughts from the Psalm, the Book of Kings and the reading in Matthew’s Gospel. I tried to incorporate some lines from the medieval poem “Pearl” but I couldn’t get them to fit. The text aspires to be impressionistic in a simple way.

I was thinking of a David Kitt style quiet folk electronica, which doesn’t really lend itself to congregational singing. I did two backings:

1. Precious pearl of great price to decorate a throne

Is Wisdom in the Reign of God

Worth selling ev’rything we own

Chorus

Old Treasure, New Treasure

Old Treasure, New Treasure

Wisdom in the Reign of God

Joy in His command.

Wisdom in the Reign of God.

A heart to understand.

2. Found in a field unearned a treasure more than gold

Is Wisdom in the Reign of God

Worth ev’rything that we have sold.

Chorus

© 2014 Geoffrey Madden

Sheet Music: Old Treasure New Treasure

This is the last the songs from David Haas’s “Table Songs” that I haven’t blogged already. The text could not be more Eucharistic and the tune is interesting and singable but the version on his MySpace page rather soporific. Still, there are an awful lot of good communion songs in this collection, including ones that may have slipped through the net, so it is a recommended purchase from GIA.

These assemblies give the song a bit more life and I prefer them to the original.

This song from David Haas’s “Table Songs” has a specific application for weddings but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used elsewhere.  It is based on 1 Cor 13 and its message is needed more generally than just at weddings. The verses sound like solo vehicles to me, which is what will happen at weddings I suspect. The refrain is more singable.

The text is here (page 20) and can be heard at Haas’s MySpace page.

This is another communion song from David Haas’s “Table Songs”. This is one I haven’t used that I think is really worth consideration. It is based on Psalm 116.

The text is here. You could do it like the original at his MySpace page, with different sets of cantors, tubular bells and a massive “rit” at the end of the verses, or you could just let everyone sing everything and keep it simple with the triplets and interesting tune to keep it going.

This is another communion song by David Haas from his “Table Songs” collection. I worry about texts with “I will make of you a great nation” and “I will curse those who curse you.” I’m not convinced they suit our modern situation of nation states where some countries do seem to think they are especially blessed by God. …and then there’s that singing in the voice of God problem.

The text is here and once again the original version is available at Haas’s MySpace page.

Entrance: All Are Welcome (Haugen)

Psalm 119 (O’Brien)

Lord, I love your commands.  O Lord, I love your commands.

Gifts: I Have Loved You (Joncas) AOV 1/126

Communion: To Be Your Bread (Haas) AOV 1/65

Lord To Whom Shall We Go (Herry) AOV 1/6

Thanksgiving: Bring Forth the Kingdom (Haugen) AOV 2/4

Recessional: We Are Called (Haas) AOV 2/60