Church Music

A terrific text by Congregational minister, poet and hymn writer Brian Wren with traditional music adapted by Carlton Young.

The sheet music is at Hope Publishing.

This interview gives some background to Brian Wren’s work and his comments on removing the veil of archiac language sound oddly relevant. Its unconventional view of God appears to have been embraced by the Unitarians in particular and to have upset others. I suspect it is lyrically just too challenging for the current Catholic church, but this episcopal church gives it a go.

Bring many names, beautiful and good,
celebrate, in parable and story,
holiness in glory, living, loving God.
Hail and hosanna! Bring many names!

Strong mother God, working night and day,
planning all the wonders of creation,
setting each equation, genius at play:
Hail and hosanna, strong mother God!

Warm father God, hugging every child,
feeling all the strains of human living,
caring and forgiving till we’re reconciled:
Hail and hosanna, warm father God!

Old, aching God, grey with endless care,
calmly piercing evil’s new disguises,
glad of good surprises, wiser than despair:
Hail and hosanna, old aching God!

Young, growing God, eager, on the move,
saying no to falsehood and unkindness,
crying out for justice, giving all you have:
Hail and hosanna, young, growing God!

Great, living God, never fully known,
joyful darkness far beyond our seeing,
closer yet than breathing, everlasting home:
Hail and hosanna, great, living God!

The second last verse was altered by Wren (read about it here) from this:

Young, growing God, eager still to know,
willing to be changed by what you’ve started
quick to be delighted, singing as you go,
Hail and Hosanna,
young, growing God!

© Hope Publishing Co. 1989.

Another VST version – still on a learning curve:

A setting of Ps 121 by Australian composer Robyn Horner. You can hear a snippet and buy the individual sheet music at AOV.

 Antiphon

I will walk in the presence of my Lord,

In the land of your loved creation.

I will live in the radiance of your gaze,

From the warmth of your heart, my God.

Verse 1

When I lift my eyes up to the hills

I wonder who’ll be my help?

My help will be from the Lord who made me,

Made the heavens and the earth.

Antiphon

Verse 2

May the Lord be sure you do not fall,

Never sleeping, always your guard.

You shall be at peace, for the Lord is mindful

of your footsteps and your ways.

Antiphon

Verse 3

God is your protection and your shade,

Standing ever close by your side.

Neither the sun nor the moon shall harm you,

by day or by night.

Antiphon

Verse4

From evil, the Lord will keep your soul

and will hold your life in safe arms.

As you walk, your God will guard your going,

for ever your true strength.

Antiphon

© Robyn Horner 1991.

This is another VST experiment:

Another great song by John Bell and Graham Maule of the Wild Goose Resource Group. What do you do with a text as challenging as this? Sing it to a well known French Christmas carol I suppose, so no-one has to learn the tune. This version is very nice but takes a lot of liberties with the song, while this is more like what you’ll hear in church.

Verse 1

Jesus Christ is waiting,
Waiting in the streets;
No one is his neighbour,
All alone he eats.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I am lonely too.
Make me, friend or stranger,
Fit to wait on you

Verse 2

Jesus Christ is raging,
Raging in the streets,
Where injustice spirals
And real hope retreats.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I am angry too.
In the Kingdom’s causes
Let me rage with you.

Verse 3

Jesus Christ is healing,
Healing in the streets;
Curing those who suffer,
Touching those he greets.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I have pity too.
Let my care be active,
Healing just like you.

Verse 4

Jesus Christ is dancing,
Dancing in the streets,
Where each sign of hatred
He, with love, defeats.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I should triumph too.
On suspicion’s graveyard
Let me dance with you.

Verse 5

Jesus Christ is calling,
Calling in the streets,
”Who will join my journey?
I will guide their feet.”
Listen, Lord Jesus,
Let my fears be few.
Walk one step before me;
I will follow you.

© WGRG, Iona Community, 1988.

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

This lovely song with words by Trisha Watts and Monica O’Brien and Music by Trisha Watts is also in AOV: Next Generation, so I have already blogged it here. You can hear AOV snippets, firstly of Trisha singing it here, and also a wild harmonised version here. It’s still a great song.

So I’ve just tried a version with a new melody line courtesy of VST.

This surprising song was written by Digby Hannah, a Baptist minister from Melbourne. It is noted to be in a folk style and you can hear that in the snippet at AOV. When I put it into BIAB it seemed more of a great gospel style song. In that style, I think this is another lost classic Aussie Hymn. How about we use it instead of “Come to the Water.”

Verse 1

There’s a river running deep within the silence of our souls,
Where the quenching healing waters carve their art
At its source a spring of living water surging and sustained,
It’s the voice of Jesus waiting for the listening of our hearts.

Chorus

When the living waters flow in us
When the living waters flow again,
They will carry us, they will wash us down.
They will quench our thirst again.

Verse 2

Sometimes the river of our life winds wandering away,
Sometimes the rapids tumble restlessly,
Comes the time to stop and find the deeper river running strong
To drink refreshing waters, and hear the spirit’s song.

Chorus

Verse 3
Hear the call to thirsty people, there’s no need to thirst again,
To the weary come beside still waters lie
Full of goodness full of mercy our cup will overflow

When the call of that deep river is a voice we’ve come to know.

Chorus

© Digby Hannah 1994.

I’m still learning how to replace the melody line in BIAB with a VST plugin instrument. Here’s another experiment:

This is Taize chant we’ve never used.  AOV gives seven language alternatives to sing to the very fine melody. You can hear it in French here (after an ad which you can skip).

In English it is:

Jesus, your light is shining within us,

Let not my doubts and darkness speak to me.

Jesus, your light is shining within in us.

Let my heart always welcome your love.

© Ateliers Et Presses De Taizé

This VST experiment was a bit of a fail I think:

We often sing this song by Marty Haugen, especially as a recessional. You can hear some of the original here and it is very jolly. If you play it slowly on an organ it sounds all wrong. This more like it.

The text is at spiritandsong. It can be purchased for download at OCP, which is passing strange as I have it as a GIA copyright song.

I’ve always thought this song was a bluegrass song hence my backing:

Another huge hit, this time by Bernadette Farrell. You can hear the original here. We do it a little faster and with more enthusiasm. This solo version takes some liberties with the timing but is OK. This version is probably too fast, but the crying baby makes it for me.

It can purchased for download at OCP.

We often don’t get past the first three verses, which is a pity, as the text is worth singing the whole song and it is a justly popular hymn.

Verse 1

Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.

Refrain
Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.

Verse 2

Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has pow’r to save us.
Make us your living voice.

Refrain

Verse 3

Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed.

Refrain

Verse 4

Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
walls made of living stone.

Refrain

Verse 5

Many the gifts, many the people,
many the hearts that yearn to belong.
Let us be servants to one another,
making your kingdom come.

Refrain

© Bernadette Farrell 1993.

Here’s another experiment using a VST instrument for the melody line:

In church terms, this is a hit song by David Haas and it is in extremely high rotation. It transgresses the singing in God’s voice “rule” but I can’t see that getting in the way of its use because it is much loved, important to the faith lives of many pew sitters and I strongly suspect a well written hymn. Having played it very frequently it is a sign of its quality that it does not fill me with dread to play it. It is has uses all over the liturgy but it makes a great funeral song.

I think this is original. I play it slower than I used to but I can’t do it quite this slowly. This is more the speed I’ve heard it played. There are any number of churches singing this song on Youtube if you want to go looking, a sure sign of popularity. Note that the first two verses are played before the first chorus. We often repeat the last line of the chorus right at the end and it fits the music in the AOV guitar version well.

The text is available here. It can be purchased for download at GIA.

According to my People’s edition of As One Voice Volume Two, it was published in 1996 only four years after the first one was published. It is subtitled, “Uniting God’s People in Song.”  It has some more traditional hymns, like its predecessor, but concentrates on the eighties and early nineties.  Within these two volumes, the vast majority of our local church’s repertoire has been found.

The first song is a Wild Goose Collective song by John Bell and Graham Maule, a setting of Ps 47.  John Bell describes it as “a song of great celebration and demands a lively tune which should motivate the feet as much as the mouth.”

I don’t think I quite got this backing right, so you can use it for learning the tune but brighten things up with percussion and noise. It looks best done as call and response.

Verse 1

Clap your hands all you nations, Amen, Hallelujah!

Shout for joy all you people: Amen, Hallelujah!

Holy is the most high; Amen, Hallelujah!

Mighty over all the earth. Amen, Hallelujah!

Verse 2

God subdues ev’ry nation, Amen, Hallelujah!

God is king of all creatures; Amen, Hallelujah!

God has given this land Amen, Hallelujah!

to the people he loves. Amen, Hallelujah!

Verse 3

To the shouting in triumph, Amen, Hallelujah!

To the blasing of trumpets, Amen, Hallelujah!

God has gone up, Amen, Hallelujah!

God ascends over all. Amen, Hallelujah!

Verse 4

Praise the Lord with your singing, Amen, Hallelujah!

Sing God psalms forever. Amen, Hallelujah!

God is monarch of all, Amen, Hallelujah!

sov’reign over the earth. Amen, Hallelujah!

Verse 5

Those on earth who are mighty Amen, Hallelujah!

still belong to our Maker, Amen, Hallelujah!

God exalted on high Amen, Hallelujah

God forever our Lord. Amen, Hallelujah!

© WGRG, Iona Community, 1993.

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