Since it’s in Spirit and Song Vol 1, and for completeness, I made backing, but everyone knows this one anyway. It is by the wonderful Bill Withers and is a terrific song, but probably not a liturgical option.
This song by Suzanne Toolan RSM is in the Taizé style, which is hardly surprising as she has written for Taizé and the refrain was suggested to her by phone by Brother Roger from Taizé.
The ostinato refrain is sung and the cantor sings the verses over the choir/assembly.
The sheet music can be purchased for download at OCP, where you can see the text in the preview. The original can be heard here.
My progress through the Prayer and Praise section of Spirit and Song Vol 1 leads me to praise the editorial policies at As One Voice. AOV used all the songs here that could be used by an assembly, so all the ones left that I doing now aren’t really suitable for liturgical use.
That said, this song by Charlie Peacock is a great pop song and I had a lot of fun making a backing for it.
The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased for download at musicnotes.
Peacock channels “Sting” in this late version:
This is the DC Talk version:
This is the original “pop” version by Peacock:
This is fairly recent cover version by Anthem Lights:
I’m still blogging the prayer and praise songs in Spirit and Song Vol 1, which mean songs for the assembly are less frequent. This song from Martin Smith is a good example. You can sing along with the chorus but the verses are too syncopated for group use and the bridge is not going to work at mass. It’s great for a P&W service though.
The text is at spiritandsong where the sheet music can be purchased for download.
This is a song for solo devotional use by Tom Booth.
The text is here (scroll down) and I don’t feel comfortable with it at all – do I really give permission? Is that the same as accepting unmerited grace – I don’t know. You can hear it at this site.
My backing hasn’t quite got the correct unhurried vibe.
I like this song by Bob Hudson, even though I reservations about the need to use the word “thyself.” It is based on James 4:10 but the author of James did not speak Elizabethan English. It really needs the two groups of singers to be effective.
David asked about this song by Jodi Page Clark. It is a few collections including “Singing the Faith” and the “Celebration Hymnal”.
The text is here. I don’t have the music so I thought it would be fun to figure it out. It has some sort of weird timing and even now I’m not sure I’ve got it right. I was trying to follow the track at small church music which I figure should be accurate. For what it is worth, here is an approximate backing and I hope it doesn’t confuse anyone further.
This version has a more regular timing and smooths things out, but since I don’t have the sheet music I don’t know who is right.
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.