Church Music

A wildly popular song by Michael Joncas based on Ps 91.  Sometimes called the “Yoohoo” song because of its startling and inventive opening two notes it is rightly lauded as a beautiful and subtle tune but also the cause of a few disasters if you don’t pitch the first note correctly. Each verse has minor variations in the tune to watch out for.

You can hear the original here. I’ve noted that a lot of the versions on Youtube start with the refrain, which robs the song of a lot of its interest.

Verse 1

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,
who abide in His shadow for life,
say to the Lord: “My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!”

Refrain:  And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of His hand.

Verse 2

The snare of the fowler will never capture you,
and famine will bring you no fear:
under His wings your refuge, His faithfulness your shield.

Refrain

Verse 3

You need not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day;
though thousands fall about you, near you it shall not come.

Refrain

Verse 4

For to His angels He’s given a command
to guard you in all of your ways;
upon their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Refrain

And hold you, hold you in the palm…

of his hand.

© New Dawn Music 1979.

PS This is a render of a very old MIDI file from a long time ago:

A Taize chant for Good Friday by Jacques Berthier.  Best done with little or no backing and repeated until all are suitable drained, teary and upset. Listen here.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.

© Ateliers Et Presses De Taizé

This is another Marty Haugen song that I’ve never heard sung, except in the sample at AOV and the sample from GIA. We use Dan Schutte’s “Table of Plenty” instead, which is in AOV 2.

It can be purchased at GIA and you can hear the whole song at Haugen’s MySpace page.

It is very long and as written is a solo piece with the assembly singing responses.  I see no reason why the assembly couldn’t sing the whole thing but I suspect you would have to pick and choose the verses to sing and possibly dispense with the key change since I doubt you’ll make it to the fifth verse. That is unless you are baptising an awful lot of people at once, in which case, knock yourself out.

The text is here – scroll down to page twelve.

I’m still using my battered (so battered it is no longer combined) combined AOV Vol1&2 guitar book I bought years ago.  I was looking around the AOV site for something else and discovered it has been reissued with the new mass settings (and Yahweh expurgated).  It gives you 320 songs for $70 so if you don’t own AOV 1&2 and just want melody line and chords this is a great idea. AOV 1&2 have the cream of the overseas repertoire and Australian songs collected that are pretty much unavailable elsewhere.  … and don’t forget AOV Next Gen that I blogged from last September, which has a higher proportion of Australian songs than the original AOV collections and a more contemporary feel.

They also have an increasing number of individual songs for download as sheet music.  These are all Australian songs I believe, so this helps if you don’t really need the whole collection.

This song sounds very seventies from the perspective of lyrics.  Writen by Gregory Norbet in the seventies when he was still a monk, there is something vaguely disturbing about a line ” and for me that’s just where it is”. We’ve sung it a lot and I suppose in fifty years it will be a shining example of the best of mid twentieth century hymnody.

You could just use the refrain as a mantra and in that form it has been combined with what I think is a sufi chant.

You can hear a vocal and keyboard version here.

Chorus

All I ask of you is forever to remember me as loving you.

Verse 1

Deep the joy of being together in one heart
and for me that’s just where it is.

Chorus

Verse 2

As we make our way through all the joys and pain,
can we sense our younger, truer selves?

Chorus

Verse 3

Someone will be calling you to be there for a while.
Can you hear their cry from deep within?

Chorus

Verse 4

Laughter, joy and presence: the only gifts you are!
Have you time? I’d like to be with you.

Chorus

Verse 5

Persons come into the fiber of our lives,
and then their shadows fade and disappear.

Chorus

Forever as loving you.

Copyright © 1973
The Benedictine Foundation of the State of Vermont, Inc.,
Weston Priory, Weston, Vermont.

www.westonpriory.org

Christopher Walker wrote this paraphrase of the Nicene Creed back in the 80s when that was OK.  I suspect it isn’t any more as “we” don’t believe anymore, “I” believe. Incredibly he manages this without ever using the word consubstantial.

It is not easy to set the creed to music, even in paraphrase, but this is not a bad piece of music at all. I can’t find much on the net about it but there is this solo guitar/vocal version.

If you don’t have AOV or have it in another collection and so need the music, the downloads of these songs are ridiculously cheap.  If you scroll through the OCP site you can add this piece to the cart for about $2. The sample pdf suggests playing capo 3 and that will hurt your guitarist a lot less. (ie You can purchase this for download at OCP.)

 Refrain

We believe in God the Father, we believe in God the Son,

We believe in God the Spirit, God the three and God the one.

Verse 1

God who made all there is, all of the things we see:

The earth, the sky, the land, the seas,

The flowers, the fishes, animals and trees.

God who made heaven and earth,

Mighty God who gave us birth.

Refrain

Verse 2

Jesus was born for us, Jesus, God’s only Son.

He was crucified, on the cross he died,

But then he rose again, ascended into heav’n.

Jesus, God’s only Son,

You will judge us every one.

Refrain

Verse 3

And we believe in you, Spirit of God

The Lord, who speaks God’s word through holy people,

Spirit of the Father, Spirit of the son.

Spirit of God the Lord,

Gives us life and makes us one.

Refrain

Verse 4

And we believe in one Church filled with the saints of God.

That God forgives us all our sins

And we will rise again and live forever more.

God, we believe in you:

Father, Son and Spirit One.

Refrain

© Christopher Walker 1989.

This song by David Haas has always been in high rotation at our church. You can hear it done properly here. There is no way an assembly can do the light and shade shown there and the long high notes at the end of the verse are a little hopeful really. It’s popularity suggests the words must be resonating.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

This church do a fine job (ignore the recording quality) and I suspect this is a better guide to what is achievable.

A completely unfair quibble is that it reminds me of “Wake Up Jeff” by The Wiggles.

Refrain:

Jesus, come to us; lead us to your light.
Jesus, be with us, for we need you.

Verse 1

Lord, we come before you, listen to our prayer.
Fill us all with hope and your love.

Refrain

Verse 2

Lord, we come to praise you for your faithfulness through night.
You will be with us; this we know.

Refrain

Verse 3

Lord, you give us wonders, your glory to all.

We believe in you; come to us.

Refrain

© OCP 1981,1982.

Anglican Sr Sandra Sears from South Australia had a couple of her songs from the eighties turn up in As One Voice. I suppose this is a children’s song but you have to applaud creativity when applied simply and Christmas is upon us so it may have a place this year.

 My heart is a stable, all lowly with animals.

My heart is a manger, all bedded with hay.

My heart is a wrapping, a mantle of swaddling bands.

My heart is a cradle where my Lord Jesus lay.

 

My heart kneels before him, my Jesus in a manger.

My heart pleads forgiveness for so mean a bed.

My heart offers incense and gold to this kingly child.

My heart lays these gifts at his feet and his head.

 

My heart is a stable he takes for his mansion.

My heart is a manger he takes for his throne.

My heart is a wrapping of thanks for his loveliness.

My heart is that cradle he takes for his home.

© Sandra Sears CSBC

This is a Marty Haugen song that I don’t know at all, which I think means my thought that our church had sung everything he had ever written turns out to be an exaggeration. It goes a bit high in the verses, which might have led to it being ignored locally. The fourth verse varies the tune and the first half of the refrain is repeated as a coda.

The text is here. It can be purchased for download at GIA.

This organ and voice version doesn’t let you hear the assembly, but the song leader demonstrates the song well.

This is one of Paul Inwood’s stirring hymns. It is deceptively clever song, designed as a two part canon, with the parts one bar apart in the refrain and two bars apart in the verses. It is a bit odd discussing a hymn from the 80s, that I’m sure is well known, that I’ve never heard before. I suppose without the canon it is a lesser work and maybe that is why we have never sung it in our church.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

My backing has the two parts running at opposite sides of the stereo spectrum.

Refrain

Holy is God, holy and strong!

God everliving, alleluia.

Verse 1

Sing the Lord’s praise, ev’ry nation,

Give him all honor and glory.

Strong is his love for his people,

His faithfullness is eternal.

Refrain

Verse 2

Praise to the Father almighty,

Praise to his son, Christ the Lord;

Praise to the life giving Spirit;

Both now and forever, Amen

Refrain

© Paul Inwood 1984