I don’t know what to make of this song by Rory Cooney and Claire Cooney. It is based on Psalm 69 seemingly reimagined by Barry Manilow. It says the verses are cantor and the refrain is by all, except the bridge is a conversation between the cantor and the choir who have been waiting very patiently. The snippet at WLP is a duet + choir and that is about right so while feasibly liturgical, good luck on getting it to work.
The text is in the sample at WLP where you can hear a snippet and purchase the sheet music.
I just couldn’t get this song in their style so I put in an over busy Bachesque piano with some strings and this is how the backing turned out.
While this song isn’t my cup of tea and I had to be introduced to Rory Cooney’s work by readers of this blog, as he hasn’t caught on much in this part of the world, he has written some fine songs. This is a sobering post he wrote about the realities of being a liturgical composer.
John Michael Talbot’s take on the Magnificat is a lovely restrained folk tune. It is delightful as a solo, but I’ll have to see if YouTube records any assemblies having a go at it (It does – see below). The tune shares some motifs with John Denver’s “For Baby (For Bobby)”.
The text is at spiritandsong and the sheet music can be purchased for download at OCP.
The original:
Some Methodists sing a wonderful harmonised version:
But Catholics can sing it too:
The Magnificat seems to suggest a solo female version to me:
There are lots of versions on Youtube so it must be well known – even in Poland:
This is Steven C Warner of the Notre Dame Folk Choir’s setting of Psalm 40. Like most of the songs in Voices As One it has liturgical uses beyond just the Sundays when the Psalm is set.
The text is available in the sample pages at WLP where the sheet music can be purchased.
The refrain is arranged SATB with the tenor line a counter melody. You can listen to the piece here. It is a lovely prayerful tune.
I went to Archbishop Coleridge’s first session in a series called “Living Biblically in a Secular World” last Wednesday night. I figured if it was lousy it could be my Lenten penance. It wasn’t.
There were some problems, although not of Coleridge’s making. The crowd was too big for the planned venue so it was moved to the Cathedral. Apart from the long echo, it did not make for an interactive session but it is certainly worth listening to the talk here. There was altogether too much deference shown by the overawed young people running the session and certainly no-one was going to engage the archbishop if there were problems with his presentation.
I had heard that he was at his best as a teacher and he certainly seems more comfortable in that role rather than a pastoral one.
Coleridge has some baggage as a a churchman and a scholar. His support for the revised missal was embarrassing in its support of its dreadful English. Some of his messages that get played at Mass for Lent etc are just patronising. He has been pinged for plagiarism in the past and has been known to go on the attack inappropriately when crossed.
That said the lecture was rather good. I was disappointed at him putting history and myth at odds and saying that Myth was not involved in the Bible. Myth is story that shows us the truth and whether it happened or not is irrelevant. His exposition of living in the story of Exodus is an example of how myth works, but he seems unwilling to take that step. It would have been a good conversation to have, but these lectures are not conversations.
There was music before the talk: “Here I Am to Worship”, “Refiner’s Fire” and “10 000 Reasons”, and well played and sung too. I’ve blogged the first two but not the latter, which was written by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin.
The text is here. The sheet music is available to purchase at musicnotes.
The tune seems very familiar but I can’t place it – is there a traditional tune like it?
I can’t see that I’ve ever blogged this song that we will be singing on Passion Sunday.
The words are by the famous Australian poet James Phillip McAuley and the tune is Forbes Street by the Australian composer Richard Connolly. It has two chords (Dm & Am9), that’s all, so I’m glad I’m not playing as I just have my guitar.
Connolly is also famous as the composer of the theme music for Play School!
The text is here. (Scroll down to 9) The sheet music is available in the collection “Year of Grace Music Book” at AOV but my copy is in Together In Song (No 354).
You can switch to playing D Major instead of D minor the last two times the refrain is sung if you wish.
I don’t know if Connolly was inspired by the folk ballad “The Streets of Forbes” but it’s a good enough excuse to hear the wonderful voice of June Tabor.
This is Ed Bolduc’s adaptation of Psalm 145 but it could easily by a song for Eucharist as well. The verses are designated for the cantor who will need to to do a show tune style leap in “He’s our Lord!” in the verse.
The text is in the sample at WLP where the sheet music can be purchased.
I've worked my way through the As One Voice books and other collections making backings on Band in a Box to help me (& you if you're interested) learn new songs for church. This is aimed at churches and musicians that own the collections but haven't exploited them fully. If you don't have them they are certainly worth buying. This site is educational, nonprofit and designed to enhance the commercial prospects of songwriters. This site does not distribute copyrighted sheet music.
Disclaimer
Any opinions expressed here are personal views and not the responsibility of any Church.
All music backings posted are created by myself and the intention is for them to be used to learn the songs. If any copyright holder wishes me to cease publicising and promoting their wares and directing people to where sheet music can be legally purchased please let me know.
Mason’s “Mass of Glory and Praise”
To access my backings for Paul Mason's mass go to Feb 2011 in the archive.
