Church Music

Having just introduced a new mass setting (Paul Mason’s excellent Mass of Glory and Praise) all other music, apart from the psalm response will have to be familiar for a while, so no new songs until everyone’s comfortable with the tune for the mass setting.

Entrance: All Are Welcome (Haugen)

Psalm 95 (O’Brien)

If today you hear God’s voice,

harden not your heart.

Gifts: A New Commandment (Unknown)

Communion: Hosea (Norbet) AOV 1/30

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

Thanksgiving: Who Will Speak (Haugen) AOV 2/102

Recessional: We Are Called (Haas) AOV 2/60

I’ve written a song for Jeremiah who in the reading for this week (20:7-9) is a little upset with God and the world and everything. There may be occasions when others would want to sing along, so if you are a frustrated prophet feel free.

1. Why does the Word of the Lord

appear to the world so wrong?

Violence and ruin and derision,

insult all day long.

Chorus

I will not think about him.

No more will I speak in God’s name.

But He’s imprisoned in my bones

and I fear my heart’s aflame.

2. I am a laughing stock,

to what have I been reduced.

The butt of ev’rybodies’ jokes,

by the Lord I’ve been seduced.

chorus

© 2014 Geoffrey Madden

Download sheet music:Jeremiah

This song is based on Psalm 24:1-3 and the text is the ICEL translation of the Entrance Antiphon for the first week of Advent. The tune is by Greg Lee and Bobby Fisher. Since they didn’t write the text I’ll put it up here. It is a rock song and not nearly as interesting as other settings (eg Hurd). I couldn’t find anywhere to buy the sheet music, so you’ll just have to find it in Spirit and Song Vol 2.

Refrain

To you, my God, I lift my soul, I trust in you.

To you, my God, I lift my soul, I trust in you.

1. Let me never come to shame. I trust in you.

Do not let my enemies laugh at me. I trust in you.

2. No one who waits for you – I trust in you.

is ever put to shame. I trust in you.

 

This is an Advent song from Steve Angrisano that is joyous and uplifting. The verses have a hint of the traditional song , “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” in the tune and of course they share the source material from the “O” Antiphons.

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

This is the original:

This video proves an assembly can sing it and so can a choir:

Still in Spirit & Song Vol 2’s Advent songs, we find Joshua Blakesley’s setting of Isaiah 12.

This is more singable than some of the other songs in here, with the syncopation within reasonable limits, but the third verse is more a bridge with a different tune to the laid back  first two verses. It’s a good pop song and I can see it being useful when Advent arrives. You can hear the original here.

The sheet music can be purchased for download at spiritandsong where you can also find the text.

My backing doesn’t have the echo of “Cry out with joy” in the chorus.

This is another very professional job by the Arch Street Band, but they lose some of the nuance by rushing things a little:

This song was sung at Chris’s parish recently and since I hadn’t heard of it I had a listen.

Hymnary has all the details including links to the text, sheet music and arrangements (don’t you just love public domain). The text is by Samuel J Stone and the music is called Aurelia and is by Samuel S. Wesley.

My backing is in Eb and is fake church organ.

Entrance: All Are Welcome (Haugen)

Psalm 63 (O’Brien)

My soul is thirsting for you, my God.

Gifts: Song of the Body of Christ (Haas) AOV 1/27

Communion: Unless a Grain of Wheat (Farrell) AOV 1/35

Seed, Scattered and Sown (Feiten) GA 195

Thanksgiving: The Summons (Maule-Bell) AOV NG 149

Recessional: Lord the Light of Your Love (Kendrick) AOV 2/59

Our parish will begin using this mass this week so I’ve made some rough recordings with a couple of the singers.

We didn’t need the Alleluia because we’ve been using that for a while.  I blogged this mass in 2011 starting here.

I am going through Spirit and Song Vol 2 making backings to get an idea of what the songs are like.  I’m up to Advent songs and this is a gentle song from Steve Angrisano.

The text is at spiritandsong where you can purchase the sheet music for download.

My backing brings in the harmony line in the second refrain and for clarity I’ve put the two vocal lines at the opposite ends of the stereo spectrum. The verses don’t lend themselves to assembly singing but perhaps if the cantor did the verses and the harmony line and left the main  line of the refrain to the congregation it could work.

This is Pedro Rubalcava‘s setting of the Entrance Antiphons of the four Sundays in Advent. He adds a fifth to seventh stanza with general Advent themes, so you could sing the whole song or pick the appropriate verse for the week in Advent.

The text is here (page 5) and the sheet music can be purchased for download at OCP, where you can listen to a snippet of the original.

My backing is just for using the song as an entrance: refrain/verse/refrain, rather than the whole thing, but it gives you the idea of the 4/4 refrain moving into the 6/8 verse.