Church Music

No, I haven’t forgotten song 165 – all will be explained tomorrow.

This song by Jesse Manibusan is very useful and is played often at our church.  We have used it to frame the prayers of the faithful for special occasions and we did use it as a gospel acclamation for a long time. The very beautiful original can be heard here. It is very restrained, which is difficult to achieve with an assembly singing it, so don’t expect the subtlety heard there. This is more what your going hear in church.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

Jesse Manibusan sings it with a preamble here where you can see and hear the fingerpicking style he uses. For more basic guitarists (ie me) capo 2nd fret.

Open my eyes, Lord
Help me to see your face
Open my eyes, Lord
Help me to see.

Open my ears, Lord
Help me to hear your voice
Open my ears, Lord
Help me to hear.

Open my heart, Lord
Help me to love like you
Open my heart, Lord
Help me to love.

I live within you
Deep in your heart, oh, love
I live within you
Rest now in me.

© Jesse Manisuban 1988.

Bernadette Farrell’s song is a Eucharist song, so always something I’m looking for.  It is awfully slow and would need expert singing to avoid problems I suspect. A version (though not the lyrics as in AOV) can be heard here. You can hear an organ and voice version here that is not quite as slow and seems to sing more easily.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

The lyrics on the recording are:

Refrain.
Bread of life, hope of the world,
Jesus Christ, our brother;
feed us now, give us life,
lead us to one another.

Verse 1.

A child is born for us,
a son is given to us,
in our midst, Christ, our Lord and God
comes as one who serves.

Refrain

Verse 2.

With our own eyes we see,
with our own ears we hear
the salvation of all the world,
God’s incarnate Word.

Refrain.

Verse 3.

You are the hope of all,
our promise and our call,
radiant light in our darkness,
truth to set us free.

Refrain.

AOV has another set of lyrics with the same chorus but different verses:

Verse 1

As we proclaim your death as we recall your life,

We remember your promise to return again.

Verse 2

The bread we break and share was scattered once as grain:

Just as now it is gathered, make your people one.

Verse 3

We eat this living bread, we drink this saving cup:

Sign of hope in our broken world, source of lasting  love.

Verse 4

Hold us unity, in love for all to see;

That the world may believe in you, God of all who live.

Verse 5

You are the bread of peace, you are the wine of joy,

Broken now for your people, poured in endless love.

© Bernadette Farrell 1982,1987.

Bob Hurd‘s song is new to me but is very pretty and suitable for baptismal situations.  We would probably use Andersen’s “Come to the Water” or even Rita Baloche’s “Flowing River” but this is worth a listen.  The original can be heard here.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

Refrain
Flow river flow, flow over me.
O living water, poured out for free;
O living water, flow over me.

Verse 1

You will be mine
and I will be your God,
for I will wash you clean.
And a new heart,
a heart of flesh and feeling,
I will place within you
for your heart of stone.

Refrain

Verse 2

The blind shall see,
the mute shall find a voice,
the lame shall leap for joy.
Rivers will flow
into dry and barren desert,
flowers bloom in splendor,
glory fill the land.

Refrain

Verse 3

Whoever drinks the water I will give
will never thirst again.
The drink I give is an ever-flowing river,
welling up within you to give eternal life.

© Bob Hurd 1986.

Another hymn from Christopher Willcock that sounds as if the the tune is ancient but was published in 1991. The snippet at AOV gives you the idea. It’s not the sort of hymn I’m used to – sort of recent but traditional. The text is a fine one from 2nd Corinthians and makes a subtle eucharistic hymn.

Verse 1

No longer slaves in strange and foreign lands,

Nor children shunned, we build a home with you.

We learn to speak a word that drives out fear.

Refrain

Be reconciled as one, to God in Christ;

Be newly fashoned now, and sent to heal;

Become God’s goodness now to all in need;

Advance the grace of God that you’ve received.

Verse 2

Gathered at bread, and reconciled by blood,

We yield our hate, since life has conquered death.

What is estranged is welcomed and restored.

Refrain

Verse 3

Sent out in peace, we hold within our hands

One Word made flesh, that’s broken and makes whole,

Carried in earthen jars along the way.

Refrain

© Christopher Willcock SJ 1991.

An ancient blessing indeed from Numbers 6:22-27 by Stephen Robinson. You can hear a snippet here at AOV. If you feel the need “the Lord” would replace Yahweh.

May Yahweh bless you and keep you.

May Yahweh let his face shine on you, and be gracious to you.

May Yahweh uncover his face to you and bring you peace.

© Stephen Robinson

Another Bob Dufford song from the seventies still in high rotation nearly forty years later. The original can be heard here. Obviously a candidate for any liturgy needing shepherd songs and an alternative to all the Ps 23 settings – this one draws on Isaiah, Ezekiel and Matthew.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

It is meant to be at a tempo of 100 for the refrain and 104 for the verses.  I can’t be that precise so I do it about 110 all the way through. I also only have ever done a four bar intro rather than the five (!) bar intro as written.

After all these years, I don’t think anyone notices how odd the verses are – the first two start on a “wrong” note and the third is completely different again and has a prolonged note on “shoul-DERS.”  This is a recipe for everyone to come back in whenever they want to and I simply ignore it.

This church gives you more of an idea what it sounds like with an assembly singing and the violin is kind of wild.

Refrain

Like a shepherd he feeds his flock,
And gathers the lambs in his arms.
Holding them carefully close to his heart,
Leading them home.

Verse 1

Say to the cities of Judah prepare the way of the Lord
Go to the mountain top lift your voice
Jerusalem here is your God.

Refrain

Verse 2

I myself will shepherd them
For others have led them astray.
The lost I will rescue and heal their wounds
And pasture them giving them rest.

Refrain

Verse 3

Come unto me if you are heavily burdened
And take my yoke upon your shoulders,
I will give you rest..

Refrain

…leading them home.

© Robert Dufford SJ and New Dawn Music 1976.

A hymn from Christopher Willcock, that has a lot going for it, although I dislike the style of singing in the snippet at AOV. It has a lot of words with extra notes in that might prove a bit fiddly. He has really stretched and cajoled John 15:9-15 to fit the tune.

It can purchased at jwpepper and for download at OCP.

I’ve set the tempo to 95 and hope this fulfills the instruction “without dragging.”

 Verse 1

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

Remain in my love.

Refrain

Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.

Remain in my love, remain in my love.

Verse 2

I have told you this that my joy may be in you,

And that your joy be complete.

Refrain

Verse 3

There can be no greater love than to lay your life down for your friends;

I call you my friends.

Refrain

Verse 4

You did not choose me. No, I chose you.

Go out and bear much fruit.

Refrain

Verse 5

Keep in mind what I told you. You bear witness to myself.

A slave is not above the master.

Refrain

© Christopher Willcock 1991.

This song is extremely popular (& justly so) at our church and sung a lot with great gusto.  It is by Trish Watts and Monica O’Brien. We use it for everything but it works especially well as a gathering song and a recessional. Listen to a snippet here.

It is available to purchase for download at As One Voice.

When I was making a new backing of this I noticed the last note of the chorus in my old guitar AOV is a G and we have always sung an E.  I’m not sure if we’ve always sung it wrong or whether the G is the harmony note but I’ve used what we always sing in this case. I’ve also upped the tempo to 132 bpm.

Refrain

Create a new heart, holy Lord,

Beckon our lives through your word,

Open our eyes to your call,

United as one for your world.

Heighten our minds to your thoughts,

Heal us of pride and of hurt,

May we go forth in your name,

We pray our hearts change.

Verse 1

The heart of the cross lowly and poor, calls us on.

Lord, it is you promising hope, promising truth.

Refrain

Verse 2

Restless the hearts who yearn for your peace in this land.

Deepen the dream, justice brings life, justice redeems.

Refrain

© Willow Connection

PS

My late mother was a huge fan of Englebert Humperdink, so when I first heard this song at mass when I become a catholic I thought, this sounds like “Les Bicyclettes De Belsize”.  I have even seen this song printed with acknowledgement that the tune is adapted from that song and noting the Albert and Sons hold the copywrite. (Incidentally, I wonder if Willow could do a deal to get Kearney’s “Beatitudes” off Alberts.)

To be fair I went back and looked at that song. This backing is the same key, tempo and style as the hymn.

Turning and turning
The world goes on.
We can’t change it, my friend.
Let us go riding all through the days,
Together to the end, to the end.

Les bicyclettes de Belsize
Carry us side by side
And hand in hand we will ride,
Over Belsize.
Turn your magical eyes.
Round and around,
Looking at all we found.
Carry us through the skies,
Les bicyclettes de Belsize.

It really is a very different song isn’t it.  The verse is in a minor key and obviously different. The chorus is only similar for the first three lines really and there isn’t a complete note by note correspondence even there. I doubt it matters to the people who love this song, to whom the hymn evokes a need for openness to God and living in that restless yearning of uncertainty. Englebert’s song is OK too.

This is a terrific song from Monica Brown except its in the key of B.  She suggests capo 1 but capo 4 would cheer up the guitarists more I think. I’ve done it at 98 bpm.

It would be a nice reflection I suppose but I’d love to think of it as something to use for gifts as well.  She has a whole kit at her site of Mother Earth resources if you are looking at environmental themes. Listen to a snippet here.

Refrain

It’s your time, Mother Earth to receive from us.

For so long we have taken so thoughtlessly from you.

It’s your time.

Verse 1

Time to give your barren land a million trees,

To your rivers and seas, water that’s clean.

To your breath of air a chance to be fresh and clear;

‘Cause it’s your time, Mother earth, to receive.

Refrain

Verse 2

Time to give back to you what you’ve given to us

From your womb, Mother Earth, such beauty and grace

In your rhythm of life. God looked upon you and saw you were good,

So it’s your time, Mother Earth, to receive.

Refrain

© Monica Brown and Emmaus Productions 1990.

This song is in AOV Next Gen (No 91) and I blogged about it here last year. Why not spend the next seven and a half minutes not being busy.

Find out more about the nice people at Willow here.