This gets trotted out occasionally – it has been used on Palm Sunday as an extended processional. My tattered copy says author unknown. Some kids have fun with it here.
He is the King of Kings
He is the Lord of Lord
His name is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Oh, he is the King.
A Geoff Bullock song sounding vaguely Ps 23ish that we must have used for something years ago. The tune sounds familiar – not sure what it is being influenced by though.
You can listen to a duo perform it here. You can listen to a sample and buy the sheet music here.
My backing is slow and restrained.
Verse 1
Oh Lord you lead me
By the still waters
Quietly restoring my soul
You speak words of wisdom
The promise of glory
The power of the presence of GodRefrain
Have faith in God
Let your hope rest on
The faith He has placed in your heart
Never give up
Never let go of the
Faith He has placed in your heartVerse 2
Oh Lord You guide me
Through all the darkness
Turning my night into day
You’ll never leave me
Never forsake me
The power of the presence of GodRefrain
© Nightlight Music 1993.
I get the impression this one is imprinted on the brain of every cradle Catholic – I was spared. It is by Patrick Brennan and George Elvey, although Grattan Flood also gets a mention.
It sounds great on pipe organ. You can get better backing tracks than mine and sheet music here. Mine is just slightly out of control and very fake church organ.
Verse 1
Hail Redeemer, King divine!
Priest and Lamb, the throne is thine;
King, whose reign shall never cease,
Prince of everlasting peace.Refrain
Angels, saints and nations sing :
“Praise be Jesus Christ our King;
Lord of life, earth, sky and sea,
King of love on Calvary!”Verse 2
King, whose name creation thrills,
rule our hearts, our minds, our wills;
till in peace, each nation rings
with thy praises, King of kings.Refrain
Verse 3
King most holy, King of truth,
guard the lowly, guide the youth;
Christ the King of glory bright,
be to us eternal light.Refrain
Verse 4
Shepherd-king, o’er mountains steep
homeward bring the wandering sheep;
shelter in one royal fold
states and kingdoms, new and old.Refrain
Extra verses
Crimson streams, O King of grace,
drenched thy thorn-crowned head and face;
floods of love’s redeeming tide
tore thy hands, thy feet, and side.Eucharistic King, what love
draws thee daily from above,
clad in signs of bread and wine :
feed us, lead us, keep us thine!Sing with joy in ev’ry home :
“Christ our King, thy kingdom come!
To the King of ages, then,
honour, glory, love : Amen!”
My mind has come up blank for this very lovely tune by Bob Hurd setting a text by Owen Alstott. I suspect the refrain would be more useful without the set prayers and the sheet music suggests a musical interlude for spoken prayers. You can buy it here. I think we’ll have to start using this again.
Refrain
Gracious God, hear us.
Gracious God, hear us.
Verse 1
For all who shepherd this, the flock of Christ:
Strengthen them; fill them with your love.
Refrain
Verse 2
For all who govern nations great and small:
Make them wise; bless their hands with peace.
Refrain
Verse 3
For all the hungry, all the poor on earth:
May your Church care for all in need.
Refrain
Verse 4
For those here present, fragile vessels all,
Day by day trusting in your word.
Refrain
© Bob Hurd 1988.
We always use this Acclamation by David Haas for Advent, Christmas and beyond. You can hear a sample and buy the sheet music here. I think their version a little staid.
Refrain
Alleluia, alleluia.
Alleluia, alleluia.Advent
1. You are the joy of ev’ry human heart,
king of all the nations.
Lord Jesus, come!2. You are Lord, our justice and our mercy.
Show us how to live:
Lord Jesus, come!3. Eternal light, and sun of justice,
shine in all our darkness:
Lord Jesus, come!4. Emmanuel, the joy of all nations,
come to us and save us:
Lord Jesus, come!Christmas
5. Born today, our justice and our mercy,
God in flesh among us:
Lord, Jesus Christ!Epiphany
6. You are light that shines in the darkness,
star to guide the nations:
Lord, Jesus Christ!Baptism of the Lord
7. You are born of water and the Spirit,
fountain of our dreams:
Lord, Jesus Christ!
© David Haas 1986.
This is a round for children and I can’t for the life of me remember who wrote it so if anyone knows please tell me.*
Good news, good news, hear the word of God.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, hear the word of God.
© 1979 WLP.
*I’ve since discovered it is by Jack Miffleton.
This is a particularly splendid song for the Tridium by Dan Schutte that has been the backbone of our celebrations for some years now. I think it works extremely well. You can read a blurb and hear samples here. You can buy the sheet music at OCP.
The instrumental link back to the beginning of each verse is meant to vary, but that is really a bit much so we just use the first link all the time and that simplifies things a lot.
You can hear a small group sing it here and an organ version here.
Holy Thursday
1. Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ,
our salvation and our hope.
Let us bow in homage to the Lord of Life,
who was broken to make us whole.
There is no greater love, as blessed as this:
to lay down one’s life for a friend.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.2. Let us make our journey to the cross of Christ,
who surrendered glory and grace
to become a servant of the great and small,
that all people may know God’s face.
Though his birth was divine, he knelt as a slave,
to wash common dust from our feet.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.3. Let us tell the story of the cross of Christ
as we share this heavenly feast.
We become one body in the blood of Christ,
from the great to the very least.
When we eat of this bread, and drink of this cup,
we honor the death of the Lord.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.4. Let us stand together at the cross of Christ
where we see God’s boundless love.
We are saints and sinners who are joined
by faith here on earth and heav’n above.
Neither woman nor man, not servant or free,
but one in the eyes of the Lord.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.Good Friday
1. Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
who redeems us with his blood.
Let us tell the story of the cross of Christ
and the pow’r of his saving love.
Like a lamb he was slain;
he carried our shame,
to show us the mercy of God.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.2. Let us bring our burdens to the cross of Christ
who has known our sorrow and tears.
In the great compassion of the heart of Christ,
God has walked in our hopes and fears.
He was mocked and betrayed,
deserted by friends,
and banished to die among thieves.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.3. Let us kneel in homage at the cross of Christ
where we see God’s human face.
We behold the Maker of the sun and stars
as he hangs on the throne of grace.
As we share in his pain,
his sorrow and shame,
our hearts will be tested in fire.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.Easter
1. Let us ever Glory in the cross of Christ,
our salvation and our hope.
Let us bow in homage to the Lord of Life,
who was broken to make us whole.
There is no greater love, as blessed as this:
to lay down one’s life for a friend.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.2. Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
who is risen from the grave.
He will come in glory to receive our hearts
at the dawn of the lasting day.
For the trumpet will sound,
the dead shall be raised,
and death shall defeat us no more.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.3. Let us raise our voices to the cross of Christ
where the earth and heaven unite.
God has wed creation on the tree of hope
where the darkness becomes our light.
Let us join in the dance of heaven and earth,
give thanks for the goodness of God.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God’s great love.
© Daniel Schutte 2000.
We were at the “More than a Song” conference run by the As One Voice people in Sydney last weekend, which was very good indeed, but Jetstar decided to move our flight home forward so we missed the closing mass that featured Amanda McKenna’s new “Mass of Love.” That was very annoying, particularly as I didn’t get to hear what it is supposed to sound like. Nonetheless, I’ve had a go at making backings to learn it, from the music she sent out to those attending the conference. You can buy the mass here.
My backings are typically cluttered and noisy but I don’t think even I can completely destroy her work. I’m not doing the Kyrie because we don’t sing that locally.
The Gloria is a straight through setting so doesn’t take all day, and despite repetitive motifs to aid participation it has enough flare to be memorable, including triplets and unexpected timings (eg Lord God Heavenly King). She very kindly leaves us lots of spaces to breathe. The rush to final lines is actually exciting.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of goodwill. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, We give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord, Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, You take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us; You take away the sins of the world, Receive our prayer; You are seated at the right hand of the Father, Have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, With the Holy Spirit in the Glory of God the Father. Amen! Amen!
The Gospel Acclamation switches to waltz time and is repeated with the inflection going down on the last note on the repeat.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! (rpt)
The Holy Holy slows down somewhat but retains familiar phrases from the Gloria. There is some mild syncopation, which is fine and she has found a new way to sing the words “holy, holy, holy” and that’s a feat.
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
We do the “When We Eat This Bread” Acclamation so that’s what I’ve done here. Again she is using familiar motifs throughout the mass to hold things together.
When we eat this bread and drink this cup, We proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.
The Amen keeps to the style of the other responses but ends on the high C of the Holy Holy not the low C of the Memorial Acclamation.
Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen!
The Agnes Dei uses the triplets from the Gloria and the same tune for each line until it ends on a very indeterminate and pleading A. A lot of Lamb of God’s are just minor chords but they don’t predominate here.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, Grant us peace.
My first impressions are that she has produced a very practical mass setting and that is not surprising considering her long years of work playing in schools and churches. I also sense under a somewhat up-tempo collection of tunes a melancholy that is quite touching, which may be why her Lamb of God doesn’t have to overdo that side of things. Even the initially joyous Gloria seems to hedge its bets. I rather suspect that a less hamfisted approach than mine would reveal the subtlety of her songs a lot better. As I’ve said about other Australian masses I’ve blogged, I hope in doesn’t get lost in the tidal wave.
I suspect As One Voice will have sound samples up soon, so we can all hear what it is meant to sound like, but in the mean time, you can at least sing along with her mass and see what you think. I think it’s great.
We have used this as a recessional especially at Easter in years past. It is a Geoff Bullock song designed for power chords and a loud exuberant chorus.
I failed to find a place on the net you can get this but if anyone can pass that on I’d be grateful.
CHORUS
Glory to the King of Kings
Majesty, Power and Strength to the Lord of Lords x2VERSE 1
Holy One, all creation crowns
You King of kings
Holy One, King of kings
Lord of lords, Holy OneCHORUS x2
VERSE 2
Jesus, Lord with eyes unveiled
We will see Your throne
Jesus, Prince of Peace
Son of God, EmmanuelCHORUS
© Nighlight Music 1992.
This is another Michael Mangan song that works for all ages, rather than just kids, and since it is a Eucharist song should be considered – there aren’t enough Eucharist songs. You can hear a sample and buy this in the “Setting Hearts on Fire” collection at Michael’s website here.
Chorus
Oh take, take and eat. Oh take, take and drink.
This is my body, this is my blood.
Oh eat of this bread and drink from this cup.
This I have given for you.
Verse 1
We are called to share this table of new life:
Old and young, weak and strong.
Come and eat, come and drink from the cup of life.
Come and lift your voices, join the song.
Chorus
Verse 2
We are called to share the story of our lives:
Rich and poor, blind and lame.
Sharing together in mystery of life,
As we gather here in Jesus’ name.
Chorus
Verse 3
We are called to share the journey of our lives:
Rich and poor, blind and lame.
Bringing our joys and hurts, our hopes and dreams.
Though one body, we are many parts.
Chorus
© Litmus Publications 2001.
