Church Music

This is a P&W setting of an old anonymous American text from the nineteenth century written by Timothy R. Smith.

The text and links to purchase for download are at spiritandsong.

It might work as a recessional at Easter Vigil or other joyful occasions, but its triumphalist nature would require discernment at other times, esp in P&W format. My backing has guitar solos where they are indicated in the music but not the written ones.  As that would have taken work I just asked BIAB for solos and it obliged.

Entrance: Blessings on the King (Lynch) AOV 1/104

Psalm 22 (O’Brien)

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Gifts: God of Second Chances (Haas)

Communion: Tree of Life (Thompson) AOV NG 138

Were You There (trad) AOV 1/103

Recessional: We Remember (Haugen) AOV 1/81

The main purpose of this blog is for musicians of modest talents, like myself, to have an idea how a song goes according to the actual music, so they can learn to play it. Many strummers like myself can’t just look at all those notes and figure it out, so I’ve always made a backing on Band in a Box to get the idea. I’m wary of the recorded versions which have solo embellishments and the YouTube clips of other parishes attempts where I might learn their mistakes. I know I have played many songs with the wrong feel I learnt over the years in my parish and was often surprised when I had a good look at the music and entered in the actual notes.

I’ve done all the As One Voices (except the Kids) and miscellaneous songs I’ve been asked to play over the years or had requested, and now I’m going to teach myself some songs that are new to me. I’m starting with Spirit and Song Vol 1 published in 1999 by OCP. I’m using it because OCP really have their act together with downloadable sheet music so that if you hear something you like you can buy it cheaply from them. The whole paperback book cost me all of $A20 some years ago. It is roughly contemporaneous with the first two AOV collections and so there are overlaps that I will leave out, as Willow leant heavily on OCP for AOV. The Mass settings are of course redundant and while there are excellent psalm settings I’ll leave them for another time. The first tranche of songs are gathering and sending forth songs.

Janet Vogt was not a composer with which I was familar. You can hear her song “Age to Age” at MySpace. I think there is a good song under the American style of church music recording that I find hard to take. This version is better:

The text is here (scroll down). It can be purchased for download at OCP.

Vogt uses passages from Isaiah and Matthew in her song that could also be used for Eucharist, mediation and healing applications. It probably needs a lighter touch than I give it. The tune has delightful subtlety but the verses have just enough variation to cause concern and slow the learning process.

The sheet music of this piece was in a sample bag given away at one of the As One Voice conferences. “Take,Lord” is a choral piece written by Matt Wessel using the prayer Suscipe attributed to St Ignatius of Loyola. It is a beautiful meditative piece.

The text is at Wessell’s site. It can be purchased at GIA.

This is his choir at Marquette University singing the song properly with all the harmonies and counter melodies and restrained accompaniment.

Can’t do that on BIAB so my backing is just melody and backing.

This is a Taize chant I found at the bottom of a folder of forgotten backings. The text is at Cantus Mundi.

My backing is just the music of the basic chant repeated ad nauseum. Learn then discard.

I’m still in an old folder of backings for songs that I have nearly forgotten.  I don’t think we used this one too often and it fell out of use.

The text is here. (scroll down)

On reflection it’s not a bad tune by John Foley. It can be purchased for download at OCP.

I’m renovating old posts, looking for bad links etc, and I’ve found that I never blogged this song by Christopher Willcock SJ. I made a backing and forgot all about it I’m afraid.

It is a setting of Psalm 102 in his distinctive grand style.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

BIAB is not really the right program for Willcock’s music but they are meant for learning purposes only.

Antiphon

Let all the peoples praise you, O Lord,

Let all the peoples praise you. (Rpt)

 

1. Nations shall fear the name of the Lord

and all the rulers of earth your glory,

when the Lord shall build Sion again,

coming in glory. Alleluia!

 

2. Let this be written for ages to come,

peoples unborn may praise the Lord,

who has come down from the sanctuary on high

to set the prisoners free. Alleluia!

 

3. Sion shall hear the name of the Lord,

and God’s praise in the heart of the city.

Peoples and nations shall gather to praise,

worshipping God our Lord: Alleluia!

© Christopher Willcock 1991.

This is a very beautiful funeral song by Marty Haugen that we used in other liturgies by just singing the refrain. I got it as part of the collection “All Are Welcome,” which can still be purchased at GIA.

The text of the refrain is here. You can hear the whole song at Haugen’s My Space page.

This old backing was just of the refrain repeated.

This song by Jesse Manibusan, of “Open My Eyes” fame, must have played at least once for me to have had to make a backing.  The question is why we didn’t keep doing it – it sounds great. It is a setting of Psalm 72.

The text is at spiritandsong where you can also purchase the song for download. I found it in Spirit & Song Vol 1 No 70, which I know I didn’t own when I made this backing.

This is another backing from the recesses of my hard drive. When I started playing in a Catholic Church there were songs that were in the pores of everyone in the pews that I’d never heard and had to learn. This was one of them, although I haven’t heard it for a while.

1. Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing.
You reign now in heaven with Jesus our King.

Refrain
Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria!
Ave, Ave, Maria!

2. In heaven the blessed your glory proclaim;
On earth we your children invoke your fair name.

3. We pray for our Mother, the Church upon earth,
And bless, Holy Mary, the land of our birth.

Hymnary tells me the tune is the Lourdes hymn, and the first stanza is by nineteenth century priest, Fr Jeremiah Cummings and the second to seventh are by the late Fr Brian Foley. Wikipedia says the Lourdes hymn is a traditional French tune and the words are by Abbe Gaignet. This is all very interesting but the lyrics I find on the net vary in content and number of verses so I have no idea who wrote what. Some have been updated to promote apparitions other than Lourdes.

This site has:

Immaculate, Mary!
Our hearts are on fire.
That title so wondrous
Fills all our desire!

We pray for God’s glory,
May His Kingdom come.
We pray for His Vicar,
Our Father, and Rome.

We pray for our Mother,
The Church upon earth.
And bless, sweetest Lady,
The land of our birth.

Three verses will do I suspect.

The sheet music is available here in the public domain, but I note many other links to different arrangements on the net.