Church Music

This is another song from the gathering and sending forth songs in Spirit & Song Vol 1. It is by Timothy R Smith and is based on passages from Luke 12 and Psalm 41. I think it is more a Gifts song myself and but perhaps it could be a recessional. It really is a bit of a grab bag affair with many images used over the four verses and I’m not sure it hangs together as a text. The tune is nice and has a singable range.  The third verse is more a bridge than a verse and the fourth verse introduces some minor changes to the chords for some reason.

The text is a spiritandsong where it can also be purchased for download. You can hear the original here.

This Taiwanese church slows things down a bit and it works well.

I’m blogging songs from Spirit & Song Vol 1. The ones I’m missing out I have blogged already, mostly because they were in As One Voice as well.

This is another bilingual song with music by Jaime Cortez and lyrics by Jaime Cortez and Bob Hurd. It is noted to be slightly Caribbean, but is very Latin. The text is at spiritandsong where you can purchase the sheet music for download. If your assembly is up for a latin style hymn this is a gathering song that would also suit for Eucharist.

This church in Minnesota does a great job:

This song by Jaime Cortez is in Spirit & Song’s section for entrance and sending forth songs. He based it on Psalm 33. I would put this gentle gospel style song in for Gifts instead. The tune is simple enough and has an easy range for a change.

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

This version is by the songwriter:

This one is the slick commercial version:

…and this is a fine bunch of Lutherans:

You could ratchet up the “gospel” feel a bit from all these versions — I think the Lutherans win out here.

The music selections for this week are:

Entrance:

The Joy of the Gospel (Text Fr James Lyons; Tune Beethoven’s Ode to Joy)

Psalm 16 (O’Brien)

Lord you will show us the path of life.

Gifts: Open My Eyes (Manibusan) AOV 1/166

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

To Be Your Bread (Haas) AOV 1/65

Thankgiving: Emmaus (Alonso) AOV NG 41

Recessional: Jesus is Risen (O’Brien-Ogilvie) AOV NG 82

This rock song by Jesse Manibusan could be used as a gathering song but the verses are very much a solo vehicle and I’m not sure I want the assembly limited to the chorus. On the other hand, it is a crunching guitar song that would work in other settings outside mass.

The text is at spiritandsong and you can purchase the sheet music in a collection at sheetmusicplus.

This is another gathering song from Spirit & Song Vol 1, with specific application to Pentecost. The music is by Kevin Keil and the text of the refrain is by the Ursuline sister, Maryanne Quinlivan OSU, with the verses translated by Edward Caswell from an ancient Vene Creator Spiritus by Rabanus Maurus.

The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased for download at OCP. It is also available at the Hope Publishing Company. You can hear the original recording here.

I love the trumpets in this parish and they sing it better than the recording.

I’m still in the gathering and sending forth songs from Spirit & Song Vol 1 and this one is obviously for Easter. As I have noted previously, because As One Voice used a lot of OCP material, and I have already blogged all of As One Voice, there is a high proportion of songs not favoured for an Australian parish audience that comprise these remainders in Spirit & Song. The editors at As One Voice not only avoided the Spanish/English bilingual songs, but also those that were better as solo vehicles.  I agree with their judgement in most cases.

This one by Jaime Cortez  is for the assembly though, with a call and response in the verses with the assembly repeating the cantors line and the refrain shared after the cantor does the initial “Alleliua!” I don’t think I could get away with this song, but it would be great to try.

The text is at spiritandsong where you can hear a snippet. It can be purchased for download at OCP. The whole song can be heard here.

My backing is more fun in the Latin backings with Band in a Box. I do two call and response verses then into the extended “No-one in the tomb” third verse. In the last refrain the “No-one in the tomb” sung over the alleluia.

Jesse Manibusan wrote this call and response song, which was used at World Youth Day 2002 for obvious reasons. Malo Malo means thank you in Tongan.  The song was part of his Missa del Mundo.

The text is at spiritandsong where you can buy the sheet music for download. Cantus Mundi has aggregated some good Youtube versions.

I can’t think of broad liturgical use for this (my lack of imagination probably) but with so many languages, a parish with many ethnicities may find a use for it.

The text for this is an old hymn by Jan Struther of Mrs Miniver fame reset by Timothy R Smith. This is another put in Spirit & Song’s section for gathering and sending forth songs for lack of somewhere else to put it.  It is a praise and thanksgiving song I suppose.

The text is at spiritandsong and it can be purchased for download at OCP, where you can listen to a snippet of the song.

The setting is sympathetic with an optional change in tune in tune for the third verse that acts like a bridge — and well worth crossing.

My backing has the different tune for the third verse and is Band in a Box going all string section on us.

You have to be confident to write a new setting when the text is usually set to Slane (ie the tune of Be Thou My Vision). Listen to the original setting:

I found Ukulele Mike Lynch’s instrumental version of Slane on You Tube.  Since he is a well known hymn composer in his own right I’ll give him the last word.

I’m not sure sure this is really a gathering or sending forth song even though it is in that section of Spirit & Song. Darrell Evans has written a song that might work for confirmations, but would be best as a solo vehicle. It has too many quick notes in the verses to be a comfortable fit for the assembly, perhaps they can sing the refrain. It really is more at home in a praise and worship service which is hardly surprising with its origin in Vineyard.

The text is at spiritandsong and it can be purchased for download at musicnotes or in a collection at OCP.

Darrell Evans does it slower than the speed noted in Spirit & Song.