Church Music

I was having a gripe about Fiona Dyball’s otherwise exemplary presentation on sung prayer in high schools, in that so little of the material she used was Australian.

Let’s redress that here with a song by Fiona Dyball herself. I struggle a bit with Marian songs, probably due to my protestant upbringing, but this is quite a nice piece of music and as good a Mary song as I’ve heard.

She notes about her song:

God’s Call is a response to the account of the Annunciation, as told in Luke 1: 26-38. Mary’s call to discipleship is the call for us all: how will each of us respond to God’s invitation of love to fullness of life? This is a unique discernment for each person. The fruit of this deep listening to the Spirit is the joy of God’s faithful accompaniment as we move forward in our lives. God is with us as we build and sustain communities that are a living sign of faith, hope and love.

The piece was commissioned for an international Catholic pilgrimage to Israel in 2019. It premiered at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth on New Year’s Day, 2019 on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. 

I purchased the sheet music for $A8.95 at Liturgical Song.

The download package contains MP3 and PDFs of the Full Score, Cello, C instrument, and Assembly A5.

You can also listen to the song there to get an idea of the lyrics. One of the sample sheets show the SATB for the alleluias at the end so you can get an idea where it’s all heading.

I made two backings, one somewhat following her arrangement ( the piano is BIAB not her piano part) and one with interludes, harmonies and alleluias cut back to fit what might work in a normal parish. The down side of that is having to remove the instrumental parts that presage the melody of the alleluias – can’t have everything. I couldn’t put all the alleluia lines into the backings so best to listen her version for that. The verse lines that lead in to the chorus seem a familiar trope to me, Rob Galea’s “Fill Us Up” is similar too, but I’m sure there’s a famous hymn that has a similar tune for that phrase and I just can’t place it.

Fiona Dyball finished up her presentation on “road tested repetoire for prayer services at Catholic Secondary Schools” following Taizé with people imitating Taizé.

Incidentally, the link from her presentation to her article on school liturgy is now dead but it can still be accessed here.

A bit like her presentation at the APMN conference, I bet everyone’s heads were spinning after all that music in one sitting. There was actually even more but I was able to axe all the David Haas selections, which slimmed things down a bit.

I Will Walk in the Presence of God by Tony Alonso

This is new to me and a mantra that is a call to prayer. The sheet music is at GIA and the text is in their preview.

Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today and Forever by Sr Suzanne Toolan

Toolan wrote this in the style of Taizé. The link Dyball provides goes to a collection at OCP, but it is available as a single sheet from GIA just not under it’s title – use this link. The text is in their preview.

Where Two or Three by Br Michael Herry

The sheet music is free at the Marist website. Caution is advised – you may get stuck there looking at all the music he has written and never emerge. He is the third Australian to get selected here after Fr Rob Galea and Gen Bryant – not counting Hillsong, of course.

So, Fiona Dyball’s presentation is a great resource for high schools, but also for sung prayer suggestions more generally and she deserves congratulations for her road testing.

Fiona Dyball devoted a section of her talk on “road tested repertoire for prayer services at Catholic Secondary Schools” in 2018 to Taizé. She notes you can purchase then for download at their website, but good luck sorting through that lot. I have the book “Songs and Prayers from Taizé”, which is likely all you will ever need and you can buy that from them or from all over the internet including sheetmusicplus. They are also in CWB II and many are in various Willow and GIA hymnals – AOV, Gather, Worship, Gather Australia, etc – ie you may already have these somewhere. Taizé provide the text for the refrains to which I will link.

Taizé provide all sorts of extra instrumentation, but my advice is keep it as quiet and simple as possible just discrete piano or guitar with voice.

My chant backings come with the usual warning that BIAB is lousy at chant – best to watch the videos then strip it back to the minimum. Replace excess music with darkness and candles.

Confitemini Domino text CWB II 475

Eat This Bread text CWB II 484

In the Lord I’ll Ever Be Thankful text CWB II 522

Jesus, Remember Me text CWB II 526

Laudate Dominum text CWB II 531

Stay With Me text CWB II 317

Ubi caritas et amor text CWB II 633-4

Veni Sancte Spiritus text CWB II 391

Wait for the Lord text CWB II 251

I’m expanding on Fiona Dybell’s presentation she gave in 2018 looking at “road tested repertoire for prayer services at Catholic Secondary Schools”.

Who Will Speak by Marty Haugen (there is a misprint on the handout – it’s not by Bernadette Farrell).

This is the ultimate social justice hymn/prayer but I find hard to play without getting “sing songy”. I sort of do it with a reggae stumble because gospel is beyond me. The sheet music is at GIA. The text is here.

Your Grace Is Enough by Matt Maher

This is a praise and worship song but is indeed a sung prayer on the subject of grace as well. The text is here but it is the Chris Tomlin version that replaces “God of Jacob” with “God” and ruins the wrestling reference, although I note Maher also drops it in his recorded version too. The sheet music is at OCP.

Quietly, Peacefully by Lori True (adapting Dvorak’s New World Symphony”)

This one is new to me but I have a copy in Gather 3 (this also alerted me to the fact that I never got to the third volume of Gather 3rd edition – oh dear). The text is here and you can purchase the sheet music at GIA. It is popular for funerals.

Continuing with my amplification of Fiona Dyball’s presentation:

O God You Search Me by Bernadette Farrell.

Dyball suggests this for wonder, God’s love and trust. The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased at OCP (NB the link on the handout is wrong).

Oceans by Hillsong (Matt Crocker, Joel Houston and Salomon Ligthelm)

This is noted to be a prayer of trust and the Spirit. The text is here and the sheet music is at praisecharts.

Sacred Silence by Tom Booth

This is a sung prayer with Trinitarian and Marian verses. The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased at OCP.

Send Us Out by Gen Bryant

This is a great recessional that Dyball notes has themes of discipleship and thanksgiving. It is also only the second Australian song used here. There is a heavy USA/OCP emphasis, and while there is nothing wrong with the usefulness of the material she has chosen, there is a distinct lack of Australian music generally and an allergy to Willow/AOV material in this presentation that I find rather perplexing, considering it is for Australian high school use. (The whole push of CWB II being the official liturgical music source for the Australian Catholic church always seemed to me to be a continuance of the hierarchy’s antipathy to Willow and jealousy over the success of As One Voice in Australia, but I can’t see why that should be an influence here.)

The text is at Gen’s site and the sheet music can be purchased at Willow, which I note is not linked in the handout – it may have too new for that at the time.

Fiona Dyball’s notes for those playing along at home.

I Will Choose Christ by Tom Booth

This is a sung prayer on the theme of discipleship. The text is here and you can purchase the sheet music at OCP.

Like a Child Rests by Christopher Walker – for Peace/Mary/God’s love.

The text is here and the sheet music is also at OCP.

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher (actually a committee of Daniel Carson, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, and Jesse Reeves).

This is a new one for me. Dyball suggests it for reconciliation. The text is here. the sheet music is available at various places on the internet including musicnotes.

My Evening Prayer by Sarah Hart

This is also one I haven’t heard before from the ever reliable Sarah Hart and suggested for morning and evening prayer. The text is here. The sheet music is at OCP.

Looking further at Fiona Dyball’s presentation of road tested repetoire of music for prayer and devotion there is:

Fill Us Up by Fr Rob Galea

Dyball notes this to be a prayer about God’s love, which is fair enough. The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased in a collection at GIA. I couldn’t find it at As One Voice anymore.

Healing Waters by Trevor Thomson

This is a song that could be used in a sprinkling rite but is also a sung prayer about mercy. The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased at OCP.

Hold on to Love by Jesse Manibusan

She notes this to be a prayer of hope. The text is here and the sheet music can be purchased at OCP.

How Can I Keep From Singing?– traditional – another prayer of hope – Dyball notes Audrey Assad’s version.

The text and sheet music are at OCP, but the tune is public domain and can be sourced elsewhere.

Last November I latched onto Fiona Dyball’s presentation at the APMN conference, “Singing the Sacraments”, and expanded it into some posts here.

I found another of her presentations looking at “road tested repetoire”, this time for prayer services at secondary schools. Since we could all use some “Music for Prayer and Devotion”, I’ll expand her notes into some blog posts.

The link here allows you to link to a lot of her recommendations.

Most of these I have blogged before but a few are new to me. I will put a backing up with the usual links to sheet music. It will take several posts, as she is a master of compression in her presentations.

A Rightful Place by Steve Angrisano.

I thought this one was new to me, but I have blogged it before. It is lively and a call to unity and action, so suitable in a social justice setting. The text is here. You can purchase the sheet music at OCP.

This is my original funk backing:

I made a country one this time, having heard his version:

Adoration by Matt Maher

… is for Adoration.

The lyrics are here. Fiona links to praise charts but it is easier to get the sheet music at OCP.

And All the People Said Amen by Matt Maher

Fiona notes that this is a prayer of thanksgiving. The text is here. This one’s sheet music is probably is better through Praise Charts, but OCP have it in a collection of the same name. I note the “And” is sometimes left off.

Benedictus by Steve Angrisano

This one is new to me. It is for morning or evening prayer. OCP sell the sheet music, which comes with a setting of the Magnificat to much the same tune. The text is in their preview.

I’ll finish this run of Lenny Smith songs with this one, that would work for a Sprinkling Rite or Baptism.

This is is an easy flowing(!) song in a country style. The text is simple and direct like many of his songs.

1 You are the river, running through my soul.

You are the river, that makes this body whole.

You are the river, my source and my supply.

You are the river, that never will run dry.

Chorus

Flow, river, flow through me,

Flow, river, flow to the sea.

Flow river, flow through me,

Flow, river, flow to the sea.

2 You are the river, from the mountain flows.

You are the river, that to the ocean goes.

You are the river, coming from God’s throne.

You are the river, that carries me back home.

© 1998 New Jerusalem Music

Lenny has been in touch with some news of his current and upcoming releases:

My three albums can be purchased as cds and/or downloads at:  www.greatcomfortrecords.com, my son’s label.  Each album has a songbook.  They can also be purchased from the label.       

      I have selected 17 unrecorded songs of mine for my next album, NO ME WITHOUT YOU.

I note at his son’s label, the sheet music is freely downloadable and the MP3s and CDs can be purchased. I really like his singable heartfelt songs.

This Lenny Smith song goes all the way back to 1976. It is based on Colossians 1:25-27.

The verse in in D, but the refrain goes to Am, which is quite the modulation.

The sheet music can be purchased here.

I made two backings, one of which is sensibly country:

The other, suggested by the amount of syncopation, is not sensibly Latin (but not chant):

1 Whenever the cares of life weigh on your mind

And you feel your heart going to break,

Remember the one who laid down his life;

The one who died for your sake.

Chorus 1

Christ in you the hope of glory.

He has sworn to see you through.

He will finish what he started,

Christ in you is your only hope of glory.

2 Remember the word of God you heard at first,

Remember the way it used to be,

The mystery hidden from the ages past,

Has now been revealed to you and me.

Chorus 1

3 Look up when the sun is shining in your sky.

Look up when he brings clouds your way.

Your day isn’t evil just because you cried,

You may be learning how to say.

Chorus 2

Christ in me the hope of glory.

He has sworn to see me through.

He will finish what he started,

Christ in me is my only hope of glory.

© 1976 New Jerusaelm Music