Church Music

This is the music chosen by the liturgy team for this week:

Entrance: A New Heart for a New World (O’Brien/Watts) AOV 1/158

Psalm: Isaiah 49 (Landry) AOV 1/89

Gifts: Your Mercies Are New Every Morning (Keady) from emmanuelworship’s “Lifted”

Communion: Table Song (Haas)

We Remember (Haugen) AOV 1/81

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

This was the other Rory Cooney song that I was asked to do a backing for. Again, I don’t know this song and there are no samples of the full music online although there is the melody line from Gather. I ran the music from this clip through Band in a Box to get an idea of the chords and guessed from there.  I suspect my backing is quite inaccurate.

If you like the song you can buy it here.

Refrain:
Do not fear to hope

Tho’ the wicked rage and rise

Our God sees not as we see, success is not the prize.

Do not fear to hope

For tho’ the night be long

The race shall not be to the swift

The fight not to the strong
Verse One:
Look to God when you are sure

Your sin is greater than grace

Look to God whose love is gift

Believe and you can behold him face to face

Refrain
Verse Two:
Look to God when victory seems

Out of justice’ sight

Look to God whose mighty hand

Brought forth the day from the chaos of the night

Refrain
Verse Three:
Look to God when cynics say

Our planet’s doom is sealed

Look to God by whose great pow’r

The dead were raised and the lepers were healed

Refrain
Verse Four:
Look to God when reason fails

And terror reigns in the night

Look upon the crucified

And see beyond into Easter’s dawning light

Refrain

© OCP 1986,2000.

“Frenzy Cool” asked if I could do backings for a couple of Rory Cooney songs.  They called it a “minus one” and I remember I had a music minus one LP record back the dim dark past.

That’s fine except Rory Cooney hasn’t been heard of in these parts (at least by me) and I didn’t have any music for them.

Anyway, OCP has put sample pages of “Change Our Hearts” up on the web, which I used to make my backing. You can hear the real version here. Do buy the sheet music if you like the song.

Refrain:

Change our hearts this time,

your word says it can be.

Change our minds this time,

your life could make us free.

We are the people your call sets apart.

Lord, this time change our hearts.

Verse 1.

Brought by your hand to the edge of our dreams,

one foot in paradise, one in the waste.

Drawn by your promises, still we are lured

by the shadows and the chains we leave behind. But …

Refrain

Verse 2.

Now as we watch you stretch out your hands,

offering abundances, fullness of joy,

your milk and honey seem distant, unreal,

when we have bread and water in our hands. But …

Refrain

Verse 3.

Show us the way that leads to your side,

over the mountains and sands of the soul.

Be for us manna, water from stone,

light which says we never walk alone. And …

Refrain

© spiritandsong.com 1984

In the run of chants in AOV 2, there is this oddity.  A Taize chant by Sr Suzanne Toolan of “I am the Bread of Life” fame. It appears she runs a Taize centre in California. A snippet is available at AOV. There are five other languages available in AOV2 for this chant.

It’s a nice fire.

My backing is at 70 bpm.

When the night becomes dark,

Your love, O Lord, is a fire,

Your love, O Lord, is a fire.

© Ateliers Et Presses De Taizé

A South African Amen by S C Molefe and Dave Dargie. It means “Amen! Praise the name of the Lord.”

The excerpt at AOV has the whole song through once.

This is an amazing choral performance:

This an article by Dave Dargie about Xhosa music that you might find of interest.

Amen! Siakudumisa.

Amen! Siakudumisa.

Amen bawo! Amen Bawo!

Amen! Siakudumisa.

© S C Molefe (text) David Dargie (arrangement)

I don’t know anything about Leo Watt, except that we used to use his “Lamb of God” years ago.  A friend attended mass at another parish recently and was so impressed by this song that she asked about it and was given the music (she thinks) by the songwriter.  I don’t know if it available anywhere but it is a great song. If you’ve done “All are Welcome” to death, you could use this as an entrance.

If anyone has any details about Leo Watt or knows where this song can be purchased, please let me know.

Verse 1

Come to me, you are welcome in my house,

For you are my friends, and I love you as you are.

United in prayer, you listen to my words.

You are welcome, you are welcome,

You are welcome in my house.

Verse 2

Come to me, you are welcome in my house,

And though you are weak and so often you will fail,

I’ll come, raise you up; I am a God of love.

You are welcome, you are welcome,

You are welcome in my house.

Verse 3

Come and see, I will open wide my arms,

To reach out to all, to the strong and to the weak.

Forgive and accept, this is my word to you.

You are welcome, you are welcome,

You are welcome in my house.

You are welcome, you are welcome,

You are welcome in my house.

© Leo Watts

More Taize chanting with a song by Jacques Berthier. The snippet at AOV lets you know what it is meant to sound like.  It develops into a three part round. You can hear more of it at Youtube:

I like this multitracking version.

AOV has the Latin:

Da pacem cordium.

Da pacem cordium

Pacem

Pacem.

…as well five other languages, including English – Give peace of our hearts.

© Ateliers Et Presses De Taizé

Every Lent we use Brian Boniwell’s acclamation. Here’s another version of it.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ,

King of endless glory.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ,

King of endless glory.

No-one lives on bread alone

But on every word

That proceeds from the mouth of God,

Glory to our God.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ,

King of endless glory.

© Brian Boniwell

This is the start of a run of chants in As One Voice Volume 2.

This Taize chant by Jacques Berthier  is a fixture of our Good Friday service. AOV gives the text in ten or so languages. We usually say “watch and pray” like the people in this version.

Stay with me,

Remain here with me,

Watching and praying,

Watching and praying.

© Ateliers Et Presses De Taizé

This weeks liturgy team have selected these songs:

Entrance: Gather As One (McKenna) AOV NG 48

Psalm: A Trusting Psalm (Bates) AOV 1/115

Gifts: A New Commandment

Communion: Table of Plenty (Schutte) AOV 2/20

I am the Bread of Life  (Toolan) AOV 1/49

Recessional: Go Make a Difference (Angrisano-Tomaszek) AOV NG 52