Church Music

Rex Urbano and the choir at Our Lady Of Fatima, Acacia Ridge are marking Mary MacKillop’s feast day tomorrow by singing Gary Pinto’s song about the saint.

You can hear Gary Pinto’s version here.  The sheet music is available here.  It goes very high and can just about be sung down an octave. My backing only uses the MIDI voices on BIAB and since the sheet music is out there I’ll put a link for the MIDI file as well.

VERSE 1

In sacrifice, You lived your life

And in God’s Will, You found your delight.

Child of God, Bride of Christ

Djurumin and shining light.

Through the Cross you show hope to everyone

Shining in the heart of the great southern land.

 

CHORUS

Saint Mary is your name

The angels rejoice.

Through your life you proclaimed

the Name above all names.

Helper of the poor

Mother of the lonely

Pray for us.

 

VERSE 2

You Lifted the head

Of fallen ones.

Raising them up, you helped them to stand.

With all your heart

You served The Lord.

And through God’s Love

You cared for the poor.

Through the Cross you show hope to everyone

Shining in the heart of the great southern land.

 

CHORUS

BRIDGE 

And the heavens sing

Alleluia, Jesus reign.

Oh, children of the world shall sing

Alleluia

St Mary pray for us. 

 

Saint Mary is your name

The angels rejoice.

Through your life you proclaimed

The Name above all names.

CHORUS

Pray for us {“Mary MacKillop, Mary MacKillop”}

(Repeat phrase as needed)

Pray for us

Download MP3 Backing: Mary MacKillop

Download MIDI backing: Mary MacKillop

This is another song by Robin Mann.  The tune starts out as Waltzing Matilda then goes off on its own after a few lines. I worry it gets a bit sing songy but perhaps it would reward careful use.

Verse 1

How shall I call you? Maker of heaven,
poet of sunset and painter of sky,
Father almighty, who’s running to find us,
giving his Son who must suffer and die.

Chorus
Glory to the Father, the Son and the Spirit,
let’s sing it again and again.
Glory to the Father, the Son and the Spirit,
forever and ever. Amen.

Verse 2
How shall I call you? Lover of children,
shepherd and teacher and brother and friend,
healer of blind man and healer of leper;
you are beginning and middle and end.

Chorus

Verse 3
How shall I call you? Spirit of comfort,
cloud in the daytime and fire in the night,
guide as we wander, protector in danger,
listener and helper and giver of sight.

Chorus

Verse 4
How shall I call you? Master and servant,
lord of the seasons and lord of the years;
faithful and constant in loving and mercy,
giver of laughter and taker of tears.

Chorus

© Robin Mann

This setting of Ps 97 is by Owen Alstott, the husband of Bernadette Farrell.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

You can hear it on organ and single voice here or with a choir and extra brass with the descant here. Of course organ music is a relatively modern introduction to the Catholic church from the bawdy houses and, as Psalms are music for stringed instruments, my guitar based backing is far more appropriate.  It is also a lot more joyous. I have put the melody at one extreme of the listening spectrum and after two verses the descant starts at the other end.

REFRAIN

Sing to the Lord! Alleluia! Sing to the Lord all nations!
God has made salvation known. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

VERSE 1

Sing to the Lord! Sing a new song!
Praise the Lord with shouts of gladness! Alleluia!

REFRAIN

VERSE 2

Sing to the Lord! Praise the Holy One!
God alone is our salvation! Alleluia!

REFRAIN

VERSE 3

Sing to the Lord! Sing of wondrous deeds!
Mighty Lord of all creation! Alleluia!

REFRAIN

VERSE 4

Sing to the Lord! Praise God in the heights!
Faithful is God’s love forever! Alleluia!

REFRAIN

Descant

Sing to the Lord all you nations! Alleluia x3

© OCP Publications 1980.

I’m coming across songs that I suppose many people know well and I’m hearing for the first time. This song by David Haas is a communion song that I haven’t come across. Listen here to a very tasteful version. I wonder why we’ve never done it, we do enough other Haas songs.

The text is available here. It can be purchased in various collections at GIA, and oddly at OCP too, or as a single sheet at sheetmusicplus.

Monica Brown’s song “Celebrate” is probably another children’s song that should not be left just for children.

It can purchased in the collection “Praise and Blessings” at Emmaus.

The double handclap after each “celebrate” is not essential unless you are a child of course, in which case it is obligatory  (ie Celebrate [clap clap] what we have been given).  Otherwise it is a popular song that can as noisy as the kids let you make it.

 Refrain

Celebrate what we have been given,

Celebrate what we have received.

Celebrate the spirit of Jesus , alive

In our hearts.

Verse 1

No longer shall you be people who walk in darkness,

It is the Spirit who draws you into the light.

Refrain

Verse 2

Even the earth cries out. It longs to receive new life.

It is the Spirit who fills the world with new life.

Refrain

Verse 3

You who are gather’d here share life and love together.

It is the Spirit who calls you out to give.

Refrain

© Monica Brown and Emmaus Productions 1986.

You can hear enough of this Erica Marshall song in the extract at AOV to get the idea.  It is designed to work as an unaccompanied round or a reflective mantra (or both). My backing strives for a drone like effect.

Breathing now the life of God the Spirit in us singing…

Come light up our hearts with joy! Heal and clear our eyes to see!

Warm our hearts with peace. Warm our hearts with peace.

© Erica Marshall 1990.

This Christopher Walker songs risks a lot in its simplicity.  Sheer repetition and unsympathetic voices can harm a song that lacks flash like this one, but try to imagine it sung by Johnny Cash in the last years of his life or Tom Waits and it might revive the piece. Otherwise you could resort to a children’s choir. Obviously a communion song, very accessible for children, but also simply saying what Eucharist is meant to mean for all of us.

It can be purchased for download at OCP.

I’ve never heard the eight verses done at once but my backing does that if you want to sing it all.

* I have put up a corrected backing after Alexandra alerted me to an error (30/4/2016)

Refrain
Jesus, you are bread for us.
Jesus, you are life for us.
In your gift of Eucharist we find love.

Verse 1

When we feel we need a friend
you are there with us, Jesus.
Thank you for the friend you are.
Thank you for the love we share.

Refrain

Verse 2

When we feel that we need love
you are there with us, Jesus.
Thank you for the friend you are.
Thank you for the love we share.

Refrain

Verse 3

When we feel that things aren’t fair
you are there with us, Jesus.
Thank you for the friend you are.
Thank you for the love we share.

Refrain

Verse 4

In communion we believe
you are there with us, Jesus.
Thank you for the friend you are.
Thank you for the love we share.

Refrain

Verse 5

Gathered in God’s family
you are there with us, Jesus.
Thank you for the friend you are.
Thank you for the love we share.

Refrain

Verse 6

When we help our families
you are there with us, Jesus.
Thank you for the friend you are.
Thank you for the love we share.

Refrain

Verse 7

When we help the hungry ones
you are there with us, Jesus.
Thank you for the friend you are.
Thank you for the love we share.

Refrain

Verse 8

When we help the thirsty ones
you are there with us, Jesus.
Thank you for the friend you are.
Thank you for the love we share.

Refrain

© Christopher Walker 1990.

This is an odd one for the Source: New Songs – a text from the 19th century by Charitie Bancroft with a newish tune by Vikki Cook from the late twentieth century.  This version does it as a P&W slow burn and get rather noisy as it goes, which is fine but I think the tune sounds like an old Irish air and can be left in that register without going all out.  This thoughtful reformed blog posts about it here and has links to what appears to be free sheet music of the song.  I’ll leave that for you to explore. A spent a while reading the blog posts about music there and decided the lovely guy running the blog was far too patient with outright nasty comments that made me pine for the civility (?) of PrayTell. Fundamentalists who don’t like contemporary music are happy to let you know, it appears.

My objection to the obvious substitutionary atonement in the lyrics is really just saying it is a text of its time, not really a Catholic objection. That said, I can’t see it turning up in Catholic Church any day soon, but as a rejigged hymn it is interesting; Judy Bailey has done similar things.  It turns John Bell on his head as he writes new words for old tunes.

My backing is somewhat restrained and gives the tune a chance.

© PDI Worship 1993.

I don’t recall ever using this setting of Ps 84 by Michael Joncas.  Joncas has written many beautiful pieces of church music that we do use and I’m sure I’ll have more backings for him as I work through the As One Voice volumes. His version of the song here is a stately reverent piece but relies on a good choir and helped by some choice clarinet.  Still, no reason the assembly couldn’t tackle the refrain at the very least and good Psalm settings are always gratefully accepted.  It can be purchased for download at OCP.

Refrain

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord God of Hosts!

Verse 1

My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord,

My heart and my flesh cry out;

Even the sparrow may find a home,

The swallow a nest for her young;

Your altars, my king and my God.

Refrain

Verse 2

How happy are they who may dwell in your courts,

How happy when you are their strength;

Though they might go through the valley of death,

They make it a place of springs.

Your first rain will bring it to life.

Refrain

Verse 3

O Lord of Hosts hear my cry,

And harken, O God of Jacob;

One day in your house is worth much more to me

Than ten thousand anywhere else.

The Lord is my sun and my shield.

Refrain

© New Dawn Music 1979.

Another song by Brian Boniwell of Corinda or Toowoomba, but in Queensland at least.  Biographical information is thin on the net so anyone who knows the details please pass them on.

This song is very frequently sung at our church and I must admit having not noticed just how odd it is until I looked at the lyrics printed without the music.  It is sung as if from God, so unsurprisingly no “Yes” from the NLMB, and consists of a series of questions or challenges to our commitment.*  A brave thing to be doing and quite blunted by repeated use I’m afraid. I will have to pay more attention.

This may be also be due to technical problems of a distracting nature that arise when singing this song.  The “will yous” are to be quavers but somewhere along the the line our assembly have voted for crotchets, so if you sing it as written there is a battle on.  Also there is a sign for a pause at “night”, but everyone wants to come back in a different time and so best ignored I reckon. On the other hand the descending chords after “I die” are most effective.  Here is a Youtube clip of solo voice and guitar doing the song.

Verse 1

Will you give me your life forever?
Will you carry my cross every day?
Will you walk in the light of my presence?
Will you follow the truth of my ways?

Refrain

Will you love me as I have loved you?
Will you live with me the darkness as I die?
For the moon and the stars will be gone like
the night,
And the sun will be shining on you.

Verse 2

Like the purest of gold in the furnace,
Is your love strong enough to endure?
Does your faith carry on through the shadows?
Does it shine in the night for the world?

Refrain

Verse 3

Can you walk in the footprints of silence?
Through the wilderness sands in the sun,
From the desert of doubt and temptation.
To the glorious mountain of fire?

Refrain

© Spectrum Publications, 1978.

http://www.spectrumpublications.com.au/

* I was wrong – astonishingly it was approved – they put a bracket at the beginning so the song appeared out of sequence in their list.