This song by Ken Canedo is amongst the gathering and sending forth songs in Spirit and Song Vol 1 and might fill that role for Pentecost, but otherwise is a good selection for Confirmation services. He writes about the song here. We’d probably use one of Michael Mangan’s Holy Spirit songs instead but this song has much to recommend it. The cantor sings the verses while the assembly continues to sing the ostinato refrain, although you could also split the assembly or have a choir sing the verses. Since it might go for a while a bit of Taizé style instrumental soloing wouldn’t go astray.
The text is at spiritandsong, where you can purchase the sheet music for download and hear a snippet.
This clip shows its use at a confirmation service but the tempo is too fast and it seems to trip over itself a bit.
These kids keep it simple and at a reasonable speed.
I really like this gentle, latin flavoured gathering song by Janet Vogt. Having blogged all of As One Voice, which heavily relies on OCP resources, I’m missing out all the songs from Spirit & Song that were used in As One Voice. That leaves a lot of the latin flavoured material. While there is a small Spanish and Latin American community in Australia our ethnic mix is extremely varied and no one culture other than perhaps Irish and Italian Australian really has enough of a presence to demand their music be mainstream in the church, which is very different to the USA.
The text is at spiritandsong where you can hear a snippet and purchase the sheet music for download. The lilting syncopated tune is lovely but there is a mental block about syncopation in some people that I don’t understand but fear is a hard wired problem. The verses are long runs of triplets so be forewarned.
That means I get to play with the latin rhythms of Band in a Box.
I’m working my way through the gathering and sending forth songs from Spirit & Song Vol 1 and on Good Friday I’m up to “Go Tell It on the Mountain”, which I suppose is here as a Christmas recessional. The text by John W Work Jnr is here and the tune is a traditional spiritual.
For some of us, the original lyric is unfamiliar as our first exposure was its use as a civil rights song with the “let my people go” phrase inserted and the verse rewritten using the exodus story. That text is here.
This is a more reflective and subtle recessional written by Chris Rice.
The text is at spiritandsong. This is another song with a key change that recommends guitarist take a capo off, which I think is impractical — just accept that the key change makes life hard and play the barred chords.
There are lots of different versions to purchase for download on the net but many are in a different key to the one in Spirit and Song and be careful, many have simplified the melody. The one at sheetmusicplus matches the key I have and has all the grace notes retained.
This song by Tom Booth is an obvious choice as a recessional. It has a lively African beat, percussion breaks, a Swahili bridge and a French countermelody. It is massively syncopated so sing it while up on your feet and moving.
The text is here (without the Swahili) at spiritandsong where you can also purchase the sheet music for download.
It is a terrific song but has three key changes (D to Eb then Eb to E then E to F) that are suggested to be done by taking a capo on and off – really? Also, my copy in Spirit and Song Vol 1 has a missing Eb chord p224 second last line second bar.
This rehearsal is nice and they substitute alternate English lyrics in the bridge.
We will be singing the whole of Paul Mason’s setting of Ps115 on Holy Thursday night. It is from his “Psalms for All Time.” The octave leap in the verse should wake us all up.
Response
Our Blessing cup is a communion with the blood of Christ
1 How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
2 O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds.
3 A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.
I’m pushing into the songs from Spirit and Song for a topical choice. This song is listed for washing on the feet on Thursday and I’ve never blogged it so I thought I should at least mention it. It can be purchased for download at OCP.
It is by Gregory Norbet and has been done at my current parish forever, although new to me. We will also be introducing Schutte’s “As I Have Done for You” from my previous parishes’ liturgy this year.
Refrain
The Lord Jesus, after eating with his friends,
Washed their feet and said to them:
“Do you know what I, your Lord, have done to You?
I have given you example that you also should do.”
1 “You are my friends and you can have no greater love
than to give your life for your friends.”
2 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to all who live
with sincere love for everyone.”
3 “I am the vine and you, the branch: remain in me
and you will bear abundant fruit.”
4 “Those who come to me will never thirst nor want for food,
A gospel song full of good intentions from Tom Booth continues the gathering and sending forth songs from Spirit & Song Vol One.
The lyrics are at spiritandsong, where you can purchase the sheet music for download. It has some tricky triplets to negotiate and the gospel feel would be easy to lose as some versions on Youtube demonstrate.
This version keeps the gospel feel and nails the coda that I couldn’t get right in my backing.
Pedro Rubalcava wrote this joyful acclamation that can be used whenever we need to thank God — so that’s always. It would be different to live in a parish where bilingual songs made sense. Here there are small groups of lots of different ethnicities but nothing like the Spanish speaking segment of the American Catholic church.
The text is at spiritandsong, where you can hear a snippet and purchase the sheet music for download in various forms.
My backing is in a slightly manic gypsy-mexican style with no offence intended.
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.
