Church Music

I’m continuing to stalk Chris’s parish’s music selections, looking for songs I’ve never heard.

This is a text by Armand Negro (vs 1&5) and Claudia Foltz (vs 2-4) to a traditional tune “Picardy”. It is a Eucharist hymn that has lots of minor chords and sounds a bit “Lentish” and is specifically suggested for Holy Thursday.

You can buy it for download at OCP, where you can also hear a snippet.  I found it in Gather Australia No. 206.

Cantus Mundi have the text and some Youtube versions of varying quality.

I’ve made a backing on BIAB as a learning exercise.

Chris’s parish is doing many songs for the first week of Lent that I haven’t run across before. One of them is “There is a Longing” by Anne Quigley. It is a song for Lent but could also be used for Advent, funerals, anointing, etc. My copy is No. 208 in Spirit & Song Vol 1, but you can also buy and download the sheet music at OCP. There is also a snippet to listen to there.

The lyrics are available here.

I suppose no-one can know all the songs out there but this is a nice one for us never to have used.

This version has nice bongos.

Yola mentioned this song a few weeks ago as being sung in her parish.  I’ve never heard of it, but it is by David Haas. It suitable for Lent, so I thought I’d do a BIAB sketch in case anyone wants to learn it.

You can hear the original at You Tube.

GIA themselves don’t seem to have it on digital download (try sheetmusic plus for an individual sheet but still no download) but it is available in a couple of David Haas collections there, as well as being in several versions of Gather but not Gather Australia. Those details are available at Hymnary. You can get the text here.

The verses have some fiddly variations and long high D’s that might find resort to a cantor advisable. Still there are quite a few YouTube versions available that suggest it is popular in the US so perhaps I’m quibbling.

Rounding out Erica Marshall’s fine Missa Santa Clara is her Agnes Dei.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:

have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:

have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:

grant us peace.

 

This is another mass with much to recommend about it. She reviews both her masses herself here.  As previously noted, you can buy her mass through As One Voice.

Moving into Lent, we will not sing the Gloria obviously, but also have no Thanksgiving hymn, just a period of silence. We will continue to use the Mass of St Francis, but will use the Lenten Gospel Acclamation from Paul Mason’s Mass of Glory and Praise.

Throughout Lent we will be singing David Haas’s The God of Second Chances for the Procession of the Gifts.

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

Psalm 51 by Jenny O’Brien

Have mercy on us O God, for we have sinned.

Communion: On Eagles Wings (Joncas) AOV 1/153

Tree of Life (Thompson) AOV NG 138

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

This is the Great Amen from Erica Marshall’s Missa Santa Clara. It is a lively 6/8 setting that is suggested to be sung twice.

Yola’s parish is doing this recent song by Bernadette Farrell, so I though I’d have a look at it. You have to hand it to OCP, they have really got the I-Tunes idea that if you pitch the download at a reasonable price there is no point trying to work the music out for your self or stealing it. So for $US2.00 I have my copy, which has a piano version, a guitar version and the assembly edition. You can view a preview and buy your copy here. I found a snippet to listen to here.

You can see the lyrics in the preview. It is based on the consoling part of Revelation (7:16-17;21:1-6) and I note it is a reading for New Years day.  Any suggestions for other applications?

The more I listen to it the more I like it. There is a hint of the style of “You’re My World” even if the tunes are worlds apart. I like the descending bass runs and there is even a very high descant if you can hit the notes.

These are the memorial acclamations from Erica Marshall’s Missa Santa Clara.

We proclaim your death, O Lord,

and profess your Resurrection

until you come again.

 

When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup,

we proclaim your death,

O Lord, until you come again.

 

Save us, Saviour of the world,

for by your Cross and Resurrection,

you have set us free.

Getting back to Erica Marshall’s “Missa Santa Clara”, this is the Sanctus.

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Hosanna in the highest.

 

This a waltz setting and I don’t think I’ve quite got her “lightly” instruction right but my sketch on BIAB is just for learning purposes. She repeats the “Hosanna” at the end to fill out the setting. There is a jump in the middle of “full” which makes the line more interesting and memorable I suppose, if everyone can keep the timing together.

Our music liturgy team has decided that we will learn “The God of Second Chances” by David Haas during Lent.

It can be purchased at GIA here, where you can hear a snippet.

It is a lovely simple tune that could be sung as is or with the suggestions for solo verses, men only verses and a capella verses.  The arrangement has a recurring building interlude before the fourth, fifth and sixth verses. There are C instrument lines, a cello part and many harmony lines suggested. You could good well and truly over the top with this one if the circumstances were right or do it starkly and simply for Lent. I’m looking forward to it.

You can find the lyrics here on page three of this bulletin.

My Band in a Box sketch has the interludes and I’ve varied the instruments to mix things up a bit. I hope it helps if you want to learn the song.

This choir displays many of the features of the suggested arrangement.