Church Music

This group have put together in one page many of the problems in the Church. (see the story in SMH )

You can read the text here and sign the petition if you agree.

I don’t think it will make any difference to the current leadership in Rome, but I think is important to sign it, if only to put some discord into the echo chamber of self congratulation in support of reaction in the Church.

This piece by Donald Fishel is another Gospel Acclamation we have used a lot over the years, but less since we have been trying to do whole mass settings.  He is a flautist, which explains the solo instrument line that would sound great with a real live flute. There are four verses to pick from in AOV and while you could sing all four, it would disrupt the liturgical flow.  Fishel actually wrote it as a whole song to be sung with the five (? what is missing in AOV) verses, so perhaps we should forget about it as a piece for a specific part of mass and just sing it.  My backing is just refrain/verse/refrain, however.

Refrain
Alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the risen Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Give praise to his name.

1. Jesus is Lord of all the earth;
He is the king of creation.

2. Spread the good news o’er all the earth:
Jesus has died and has risen.

3. We have been crucified with Christ;
Now we shall live forever.

4. Come, let us praise the living God;
Joyfully sing to our Savior.

PS I’ve found the missing verse:

God has proclaimed the just reward
Life for all men, alleluia!

Having absolutely nothing to do with the liturgy or music today at Mass, I went and talked to people beforehand, sat in the pews and sang along, went to Eucharist and stayed behind to talk some more.

The music was provided by a pianist doing an extra spot, filling in for someone who was away.  The singers who led us were about ten strong and were led by an enthusiastic lady.  They have no pretentions for choral excellence but sing in normal voices that blend with the assembly.  We stumbled our way through the new version the Mass of Creation (and the responses for that matter) and we sang new songs and old songs.

…and the Spirit was there as much as any Cathedral and survived the lack of pretension (and incence) and was recognisably Catholic and there was a suitably short, apposite and to the point homily bringing the gospel into our lives from the Priest.  None of this is extraordinary and I’m sure it goes on all the time, but, for example, we used a Haugen recessional, “Bring Forth the Kingdom” without traumatising anyone noticeably.  We sang a reverant new song by Amanda McKenna, “Jesus, Bread of Life” that was picked up (the chorus anyway) by the pew sitters and sung.

We also sang Ruach, an old Hebrew melody according to the music:

Choir

Spirit, Spirit, Spirit of God

Descant

Not by might or power,

But by the Spirit of God.

None of this is to say that what happens in the Cathedral can’t be a work of the Spirit, although the anonymity of it all must make it a struggle, just to say that we have no power in the suburbs, we are the anawin of God, but the Spirit moves nonetheless and we shall see where it goes.

This setting is by the late Br Colin Smith. He was well known for his Mass Shalom, recently revised by Paul Mason.

My backing just gives the tones for the verses.  You get a better idea from this excerpt.

Response

Today is born our Saviour,

Christ, our Saving Lord.

Verse 1

Sing a new song to the Lord.

O sing to the Lord; bless his name.

Verse 2

Proclaim his help day by day and his glory among the people,

And his wonders among all the nations.

Verse 3

Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad.

Let the land and all it bears rejoice.

Verse 4

For the Lord rules the world with justice,

And he judges the people with truth.

© Colin D Smith, 1990.

Everyone knows this Gospel Acclamation by Fintan O’Carroll and Christopher Walker.  It has lots of alternative verses and is most useful.  We have used it a lot less since we have been trying to do complete settings for the Mass.

It is often played capo 2 for guitarists, which is easier, but that didn’t occur to me for so long that I could play it as written in my sleep and just keep doing it that way.

The text is available here and it can be purchased for download at spiritandsong.

Mary Haugen’s ultimate gathering song.  According to As One Voice it was written by Mary, but we can safely assume they meant Marty.  You can follow pages of arguing over this song here.  Again, I think repetition and mangling have driven some people to distraction, but, this is a great song of realised eschatology, just perhaps in need of more delicacy in execution, as in the original.  I doubt my backing provides that.

You can get the actual text at Hymnary. The sheet music is here and the SATB can be purchased at J W Pepper. Oh…I suppose it can also be purchased in various collections at GIA.

Then again, there are the parodies:

Gather us in, the rich and the famous,
gather us in, the poor and obscure,
gather us in, the slightly eccentric
and all the late-comers out there by the door.

Gather us in, the hairy and balding,
gather us in, the skinny and fat,
gather us in, the chic and and frumpy
and anyone wearing a big flowered hat.

Gather us in, the handsome and homely,
gather us in, from near and from far,
and don’t forget the man in the Buick
who dropped off his wife and is parking the car.

Gather us in, the Packers and Bears fans
gather us in, who do not like sports,
gather us in from every direction
but keep out the flip-flops and tank tops and shorts.

It is perhaps beyond the wit of the parody writer to note that these people are indeed welcome, and some people dress in thongs and shorts as their normal attire.  They are invited to the feast because the pious were too busy.

Helen Beha wrote this song in the 80s and she was from Tasmania.  Since there are handclaps in the music, I assume it was for schools.  She wrote settings for Psalms called ‘Promises.”  Amazingly in the internet age, she has left no other traces on the net.

The song is a lost gem, emphasing the importance of the laity.  Unsurprisingly it did not make the Bishops’ Yes list.

I’ve rocked this up a bit.

Verse 1

Let’s lift our hearts and voices in praise of our God.

The family of Christ united as one.

New people, new life: a symbol of God’s love,

The church assembled to proclaim the work of Christ begun.

Refrain

You are people of God,

You are a Holy Nation, a Royal Priesthood, a Chosen Race. (Rpt)

Verse 2

A sacramental people, gifted by his grace,

He calls us to be holy, a witness to his way.

New people, new life, be Christ to each other.

The gift of Eucharist is our strength: the hope for each new day.

Refrain

Verse 3

We are the Church: a ministry of love,

The Father’s chosen image of Jesus, the Son.

New people, new life, rejoice in your God.

Celebrate your priesthood through the risen One.

Refrain

© Helen Beha 1988.

This was the doxology in the Presbyterian church I grew up in, and so I sang it every Sunday for many years.  The tune is the Old Hundredth and I discover now that we were singing it wrong!  We didn’t have long notes on the bless – ings – flow bit.  The tune pops up everywhere (eg Be present at our table Lord…)

I wonder about old tunes like this.  They are completely foreign to modern ears and the language is as foreign as the music.  If you were brought up to associate this tune with reverence as I was you might get that feel from it.  I have no idea what people who have no connection with this sort of music and language think of it.  I suspect they are bored, think it silly or perhaps something from a museum.

Listen to it on church organ here.

Verse 1

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heav’nly host;

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Verse 2

From all that dwell below the skies,

Let the Creator’s praise arise!

Let the Redeemer’s name be sung.

Through ev’ry land by ev’ryone.

Verse 3

Eternal are thy mercies, Lord.

And truth eternal is thy word;

thy praise shall sound from shore to shore.

Till suns shall rise and set no more.

Rpt Verse 1

This is a traditional Irish song whose origins are explained here to the accompaniment of a scary MIDI file.  You can hear a less terrifying version here.

You can see the intent of the first As One Voice collection to be comprehensive having old and new hymns, mass settings and even Christmas carols.

This hymn has a lot of different English translations so I’ll use the one in AOV. Making backings for these old songs is a problem, so I’ll just do the best I can.

Verse 1

Be though my vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Verse 2

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;

I ever with thee and thou with me Lord;

Thou and thou only, first in my heart,

Great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.

Verse 3

Great God of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’ns Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

Since this is a PD tune and it was requested, here is a MIDI file.

This is an early example by Monica O’Brien and Trisha Watts of the up tempo AOV songs found in greater numbers in AOV NG.  You can hear a snippet here.  I’m not sure if it ever became popular but it hasn’t got a Yes from the NLMB, and to be fair may have been more a school song rather than a liturgical song.   Speaking from the point of view of God and using “Yahweh” would disqualify it before they even got upset about use of rock idiom.

It can be purchased for download at As One Voice.

We’ve never used it locally in my memory, but asking the assembly to wake up would be a good idea as an entrance for our Sunday evening service, or perhaps the chorus could be used as a gospel acclamation.  The lyrics are simple worthy sentiments in a singable rock style, so even at 22 years old it’s worth a thought.

Refrain

Wake up, my people, listen to my word,

Proclaim my love among you, let this song be heard.

Verse 1

Yahweh has spoken, and is speaking now to you.

The Spirit is longing to reveal the living truth.

We gather together and wait expectantly

For the fire of life that will set us free.

Refrain

Verse 2

We’re one in the Spirit embodied in your love.

We’re brothers and sisters; as one family we come,

Praying for justice and freedom in our land.

Lord, our lives are in your hands.

Refrain

© Willow Connection 1989.