Entrance: All Are Welcome (Haugen)
Psalm 127 (McKenna)
Happy are those who fear the Lord
Gifts: Our Supper Invitation (Bates) AOV 1/185
Communion: Table of Plenty (Schutte) AOV 2/20
One Body (O’Brien- Watts) AOV 2/146
Thanksgiving: God of Day and God of Darkness (Haugen) AOV 1/56
Recessional: Bring Forth the Kingdom (Haugen) AOV 2/4
Janet Sullivan Whitaker and Max Whitaker have written a song for Eucharist that is at least designed for an assembly. There a some notes held for a long time in the verses that might cause consternation and the 3rd and 5th verse share a different tune to the 1st, 2nd and 4th verses but it may be doable. It is slow 6/8 and is very long.
The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download.
Tom Tomaszek wrote this song in the Eucharist section of Spirit and Song Vol 2.
I don’t think it is suitable as a communion song for assemblies as it has odd timings and syncopations and has “yeah, yeah, yeah” and “na, na, na” in the lyrics. At most the refrain is singable and a cantor is needed for the verses. I like the way interlude works toward the key change for the last refrain.
I think it would be better thought of as a gentle P&W song. You can listen to the original here.
The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download.
Tom Tomaszek and Sarah Hart with pretty pictures:
This is a song for Eucharist by Craig Colson.
It is a gentle 6/8 and singable with a key change for the final refrain to add interest.
The text is here. (scroll down in the window)
You can listen to the original here.
My backing increases the tempo just a little.
I’ve got through the rather disappointing section of songs for gathering and sending forth in Spirit & Song Vol 2 and arrived at the Communion songs. Too many of those songs were P&W songs unsuitable for assembly use.
This, however, is a great song for Eucharist by Jaime Cortez. A pleasantly singable 6/8 tune with a refrain in English and Spanish and two verses in each language. It has a lovely counter-melody and the only caveat is whether your church finds bilingual Spanish/English songs enhance participation.
The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download. There is also a snippet of the original to listen to there.
I didn’t add the harmony line to my backing.
This choir director will teach you both:
A Nicaraguan choir:
I’ve already blogged “Trading My Sorrows” so I’m up to a reggae recessional by Dan Brennan, Ken Canedo and Jesse Manibusan. It is actually fairly singable if your assembly can cope with reggae. You can hear the gentle reggae original here.
The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download.
My backing’s not as relaxed.
This is a praise and worship song associated with the Christian vocal group “Avalon”. Despite being another committee song (written by Paul Field, Henk Pool, Ralph Van Manen and Robert Riekerk0) there is nothing special in the text. It is in the Gathering and Sending Forth section of Spirit & Song, however it is not suitable for an assembly to sing at all.
The text is available here.
My backing gets noisy in the refrain as it should.
Avalon’s original is pure pop:
Avalon live:
Wynonna Judd does the country version:
New Hope Christian Fellowship:
This is sweet:
There seem to be an awful lot of dancing going on with this song, for example:
This is a terrific pop song by Joshua Blakesley and Cooper Ray but I’m not sure it is a gathering song. Spirit & Song seem to be putting a lot of praise & worship songs into this category.
The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download.
My backing shows what several glasses of wine can achieve with BIAB.
This is a gathering song with a refrain in Spanish and English and a choice of English or Spanish for the verses. The tune by Bob Hurd sets an excellent and functional text by a committee comprising Hurd, Pia Moriarty, Ana Victoria Demezas and Jaime Cortez.
The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download.
My backing is BIAB at its most crudely Spanish.
I believe this is the original:
This is a surprisingly good keyboard solo.
This is quite restrained from a mass:
This lady tries to teach the SATB melody lines with what sounds like a beginner drummer practising in the background.
What a choir can do with it:
This is a Rich Mullins song in the Gathering and Sending song section of Spirit & Song Vol 2. I don’t think it is suitable for either really as only the sing-along refrain is suitable for assembly singing. It goes fairly high and realistically is a solo piece.
It sounds like a sort of traditional American folk song with all the repetitions.
We are singing in the voice of Christ here, which may be a problem.
The text is here. The sheet music can be purchased for download from musicnotes, although their version simplifies the chords greatly.
I couldn’t get all the chords into BIAB to do the riff properly but watch some of the Youtube guitarists to get the idea.
The original:
This cover version sensibly drops the key down to D from G.
This brave soul is in the original key:
This song encourages young men with guitars in bedrooms doesn’t it:
…and older men.
…and brothers.
…enough.
