Church Music

Brian Boniwell has written songs that are used in parishes all around Australia and overseas and is much loved. I get many hits on this site from people looking for his sheet music.

Just so you know, you can buy Brian’s sheet music direct from the song writer:

I have two song books available, “People of the Resurrection” and “Spirit of Love”. These are words, melody line and chord editions only, not full accompaniment.

People can email me boniwell@aapt.net.au or phone 07 5520 7581 to arrange for copies to be posted to them.

I have listed the songs in each album below.

People of the Resurrection
1 Christ is risen
2 Candle song
3 We are your people
4 In memory of me
5 No greater love
6 Where there is joy
7 People of the resurrection
8 The Lord is my shepherd
9 Paul’s prayer
10 Walk upon the water
11 He came as a servant
12 Wherever you go
13 Like a cedar of Lebanon
14 Love is the gift

Spirit of love
1 Spirit of love
2 The sower
3 Will you love me?
4 Let your light shine
5 Keep me safe
6 Mission song
7 The body of Christ
8 Prepare the road of justice
9 Baptism song
10 Let us be as one
11 Holy family
12 Holy Lord
13 Gather together
14 Beatitudes

With blessings and thanks

Brian Boniwell

After Advent housekeeping I’m back in the communion section of Spirit & Song Vol 2. This is another committee song by Bobby Fisher, Greg Less, Craig Aven and Ken Canedo.

The refrain is singable by an assembly but gets a bit high after the key change. The verses have enough difference in tune to cause confusion and are really just too syncopated for assembly use.  That said the bridge (also too high) is a neat transition to the key change in the final refrain.  Altogether a clever pop song with a gentle Latin lilt that would be better as a solo vehicle.

I’m not a fan of the word “fam’ly”.

The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download.

This is the original:

A professional looking video with a fine vocalist:

A fine cover version from an empty church:

This is another nice version with some idiosyncratic piano.

Some young people keeping it together surprisingly well in the verses:

Chris’s parish are going all Bernadette Farrell for Advent including her litany.

The text and a recording are at OCP, where you can buy the sheet music.

It’s powerful chant for cantor and assembly that benefits from mixing up the voices, instruments and tempos.

…unlike my backing of all sixteen verses.

I pushed for Angrisano’s “Emmanuel” as a new song for advent this year locally, but only just noticed this free trial from Marty Haugen for Advent 2014. It is really very good – a stately piece of music for advent.

The sheet music is here. (I expect the link to be dead by 2015)

This is his request:

New Advent Song–Abide with Us, Emmanuel

You are invited to preview a new unpublished Advent song I have written. If you wish, you may share it with your own community this coming season (only one community, please). All I am asking is that

1) if you use it, you destroy all copies (except one reference copy) as of December 25th, 2014, and
2) if you use it, you give me feedback about the piece (text, music, whatever),
3) if you use it (and are able) please make a donation to an organization working for peace and reconciliation (such as
Oxfam or Doctors without Borders) or to Southside Family Nurturing Center (www.ssfnc.org) a therapeutic preschool working with families at risk.

This is my backing:

Unsurprisingly, nothing on YouTube yet.

I noticed Yola’s parish used this song, and someone did ask for a backing years ago.

The text is at Hymnary. The refrain is by Satish Kumar inspired by the Upanishads. The text of the verses and the tune is by Marty Haugen. The sheet music can be purchased at various places on the net including sheetmusicplus and GIA.

I’m not sure my backing really does the song justice and is somewhat approximate.

This appears to be the original and while it may seem churlish when compared to the problem of world peace, the style of singing in the refrain is the strange church choir sound that I can’t stand that you often hear on recordings like this. If you go to You Tube the lyrics are there as well and the song is also attributed to Marc Anderson as well, but Hymnary is sticking with Satish Kumar and GIA credits no-one other than Haugen.

Entrance: Come to Set Us Free (Farrell) AOV 1/39

Advent Wreath: All is Wonder (Watts) AOV NG 4

Psalm: To You O God I Lift Up My Soul (Hurd) AOV 2/14

Gifts: Emmanuel (Angrisano) SAS 2/290

Communion: Seed, Scattered and Sown (Feiten) GA 195

A Trusting Psalm (Bates) AOV 1/115

Thanksgiving: Into the Darkness (Dawn) from “Songs of Fellowship” Book Five (No 70)

Recessional: Christ Be Our Light (Farrell) AOV 2/3

This song by Ken Canedo and Jesses Manibusan is listed as a communion song, which would work when the reading from 1 Cor 13 comes up. You’ll need a cantor for the verses I suspect, although the refrain should just about a work if the assembly can handle gospel and the key change into the last chorus.

They left the lyrics off the site at spiritandsong where you can buy the sheet music for download, but they are available in the sample at OCP. Jesse Manibusan wrote a commentary saying that it was mainly a Canedo song. You can hear the original here, that demonstrates its strength as a solo or duet.

Another solo effort – I’ve seen this church before because I remember the grand piano.

I really should like this communion song by Vince Nims. It’s singable – a bit high in the verses I suppose – only gentle syncopation and gently rising and falling notes etc – all the right things for assembly singing.

But I fear it is too prosaic. Is this what we should be singing, because if we haven’t got the “it’s more than wine; it your blood” idea going already it maybe we are in the wrong place? Do we really need to remind ourselves of that in such a bald way, when mystery would be better approach poetically and allusively?

The text is on page 5 of this bulletin. This piece is used in a reflection at spiritandsong where they appreciate its qualities better then I. I can’t find a place to purchase the sheet music for download on the net so you may have to get it from Spirit & Song Vol 2. You can hear the original here.

This is better than the original and also has the lyrics:

An excellent church choir:

A lovely stripped back cover:

A drummer’s view of the song:

This is another proper communion song from Spirit & Song Vol 2, this time written by Timothy R Smith. The refrain and the lead into the verses are fine and the song has a counter-melody/harmony if you are up for that, which you can hear in the original. The tune of the verse maybe gets a bit too clever in the first line where there is an elongated note in an odd spot (“us” in the first verse).

The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download. With seven verses there is plenty of choice for liturgical needs.

This is a gentle lyrical setting of Psalm 34 by Tom Booth that would certainly be suitable for Eucharist. It has a nice triplet leading into making us “radiant”. I’d love to hear it done with all the harmonies in the refrain. The original appears to have a different countermelody to the version in Spirit & Song.

The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download.