Church Music

This is another psalm setting, this time of Ps42 by John Bell and Graham Maule of the Wild Goose Resource Group. Have a listen to the short extract at AOV –  it is a beautiful piece of music. The text would be great as a blues I reckon.

John Bell’s notes for this song are:

Psalm 42 is a very poignant lament of someone for whom the days of fulfilling faith and worship seem in the past. Fate, choice or circumstance has removed the individual from his or her own spiritual roots and the memory of the happy past contrasts with the depressing present.

This paraphrase of vv1-5 is in long metre. When using this tune, it is very evocative to have the middle two verses sung solo with the other voices humming their parts.

(Psalms of patience, protest and praise p23)

If you get a chance to see the session John Bell gives on the Psalms in his DVD “Singing the Unsung”, it is most worthwhile.

My backing is at 114bpm and is more lamentable than lament.

Verse 1

Just as a lost and thirsty deer

longs for a cool and running stream,

I thirst for you, the living God,

anxious to know that you are near.

Verse 2

Both day and night I cry aloud;

tears have become my only food,

while all around cruel voices ask,

“Where is your God? Where is your God?”

Verse 3

Broken and hurt, I call to mind

how in the past I served the Lord,

worshipped and walked with happy crowds

singing and shouting praise to God.

Verse 4

Why am I now so lost and low?

Why am I so troubled and confused?

Given no answer, still I hope

and trust my Saviour and my God.

© WGRG, Iona Community, 1989.

http://www.iona.org.uk/wgrg_home.php

A setting of Ps 89 by Christopher Willcock. Go to AOV to hear an extract. It is very grand and very long. It is classical enough to have been played on ABC Classic FM.

The verses have different tunes – 1&2 similar, 3&4 similar, and 5 different again. The time signature is 4/4 except when it’s 3/2. Like most of his work, this is supercharged cathedral stuff and probably not for a guitar and a couple of voices.

My backing is at 70 bpm and totally inadequate to the task. Get the SATB version, a massive pipe organ and a huge choir and give this one a bash.

Antiphon

My peace be upon you forever,

My love be within your heart,

My Spirit will keep you safe all your days

Verse 1

I will sing forever of your love, O Lord;

Through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.

Of this I am sure that your love lasts forever,

That your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

Antiphon

Verse 2

With my chosen one I have made a covenant

I have sworn to David my servant;

I will establish your dynasty forever

and set up your throne through all ages.

Antiphon

Verse 3

The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord;

The assembly of your holy ones proclaim your truth.

For who in the skies can compare with the Lord

or who is like the Lord among the heav’nly beings.

Antiphon

Verse 4

For yours is a mighty arm, O Lord;

Your hand is strong, your right hand ready.

Justice and right are the pillars of your throne,

Love and truth shall walk in your presence.

Antiphon

Verse 5

O Happy the people who acclaim such a king,

Who walk, O Lord in the light of your face,

Who find their joy ev’ry day in your name,

Who make your justice the source of their bliss

Antiphon

© Christopher Willcock 1991.

The liturgy team for this week have selected these songs for Mass this week.

Entrance: Christ Be Our Light (Farrell) AOV 2/3

Psalm: Heal Me O God (Norbet) AOV 2/52 before and after read psalm

Gifts: Come As You Are (Browne) AOV 1/31

Eucharist: Jesus, Come to Us (Haas) AOV 1/148

Holy Is Your Name (Haas) tune: “Wild Mountain Thyme”

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

The last of the chants on this run in AOV2 – there are psalms after this.

Don’t bother going to AOV to listen for this one as they have the wrong tune linked.

This one is a traditional Russian Orthodox Kyrie.

© WGRG, Iona Community, 1990.

http://www.iona.org.uk/wgrg_home.php

Another chant, for a baptism in this case, words by Pastor de Lasala and music James Jacka Coyle, a classical composer. As with the other chants, you can hear pretty much all you need to listen to in the snippet at AOV.

My backing was done on a new toy – Protools SE that came with a microphone I bought.  I made a MIDI file in BIAB and put different sounds in using ProTools. This is all new to me so it will take a while to get it right.

Come, Holy Spirit, over this water;

Breathe new life over those you have chosen.

Come, Holy Spirit, over your people;

Breathe new life over those you have chosen.

© Pastór de Lasala, James Jacka Coyle 1994.

This is like a long chant, I suppose, to fit in with the run of chants in  AOV 2. It is by Robin Mann and it sounds like something Paul McCartney could have written in the early seventies. Listen to a snippet at AOV here. Obviously a Eucharist song you can read his comments on the song here.

My backing is at 85 bpm.

Verse 1

Feed us now, Bread of life,
in this holy meal;
let us know your love anew:
we hunger for you.
Feed us now, Bread of life,
come and live within;
let your peace be ours today,
Lord Jesus, we pray.
Verse 2

Piece of bread, glass of wine:
Lord, this food is good;
love and mercy come to us —
your promise we trust.
Piece of bread, glass of wine;
who can understand
how his mercy works in these?
Yet, Lord, we believe.
Verse 3

God is here, O so near,
nearer than our thoughts.
Stay with us where’er we go;
Lord, help us to grow.
God is here, O so near,
in this heaven’s meal.
May we always feed on you —
on the bread that is true.

© Robin Mann 1976.

We are still in a run of chants in AOV 2, this one is a traditional Argentinian melody arranged by John Bell of the Wild Goose Resource Group. We have sung this and in the original language – but I can’t remember why.  It is a lovely melody though, as you can hear by going to AOV and listening to the excerpt there. This version is impressive. This one is a long way from home, but more how we sounded.

Santo, santo, santo,

Mi corazon teadora!

Mi corazon te sabe decir:

San toeres Senor.

Holy, holy, holy,

My heart, my heart adores you!

My heart is glad to say the words:

You are holy, Lord.

© WGRG, Iona Community, 1990.

http://www.iona.org.uk/wgrg_home.php

This is the music chosen by the liturgy team for this week:

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

Psalm: Isaiah 49 (Landry) AOV 1/89

Gifts: Your Mercies Are New Every Morning (Keady) from emmanuelworship’s “Lifted”

Communion: Table Song (Haas)

We Remember (Haugen) AOV 1/81

Recessional: Christ Be Our Light (Farrell) AOV 2/3

This was the other Rory Cooney song that I was asked to do a backing for. Again, I don’t know this song and there are no samples of the full music online although there is the melody line from Gather. I ran the music from this clip through Band in a Box to get an idea of the chords and guessed from there.  I suspect my backing is quite inaccurate.

If you like the song you can buy it here.

Refrain:
Do not fear to hope

Tho’ the wicked rage and rise

Our God sees not as we see, success is not the prize.

Do not fear to hope

For tho’ the night be long

The race shall not be to the swift

The fight not to the strong
Verse One:
Look to God when you are sure

Your sin is greater than grace

Look to God whose love is gift

Believe and you can behold him face to face

Refrain
Verse Two:
Look to God when victory seems

Out of justice’ sight

Look to God whose mighty hand

Brought forth the day from the chaos of the night

Refrain
Verse Three:
Look to God when cynics say

Our planet’s doom is sealed

Look to God by whose great pow’r

The dead were raised and the lepers were healed

Refrain
Verse Four:
Look to God when reason fails

And terror reigns in the night

Look upon the crucified

And see beyond into Easter’s dawning light

Refrain

© OCP 1986,2000.

“Frenzy Cool” asked if I could do backings for a couple of Rory Cooney songs.  They called it a “minus one” and I remember I had a music minus one LP record back the dim dark past.

That’s fine except Rory Cooney hasn’t been heard of in these parts (at least by me) and I didn’t have any music for them.

Anyway, OCP has put sample pages of “Change Our Hearts” up on the web, which I used to make my backing. You can hear the real version here. Do buy the sheet music if you like the song.

Refrain:

Change our hearts this time,

your word says it can be.

Change our minds this time,

your life could make us free.

We are the people your call sets apart.

Lord, this time change our hearts.

Verse 1.

Brought by your hand to the edge of our dreams,

one foot in paradise, one in the waste.

Drawn by your promises, still we are lured

by the shadows and the chains we leave behind. But …

Refrain

Verse 2.

Now as we watch you stretch out your hands,

offering abundances, fullness of joy,

your milk and honey seem distant, unreal,

when we have bread and water in our hands. But …

Refrain

Verse 3.

Show us the way that leads to your side,

over the mountains and sands of the soul.

Be for us manna, water from stone,

light which says we never walk alone. And …

Refrain

© spiritandsong.com 1984