How many of us read “Here I am, Lord?”
This is Paul Mason’s setting of Psalm 40 with the refrain, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”
It is from Psalms For All Time Vol 2, which you can purchase at Liturgical Song.
The text is Psalm 40: 2, 4ab, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, which you can find here.
The melody is his usual shade of loveliness and he has an SATB arrangement for the refrain for the choirs out there.
There are two versions of this psalm covered here in Paul Mason’s Psalms For All Time Vol 2.
They both have the refrain, “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. O taste and see.”
The first one is for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary time Year B and uses Psalm 34: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 22-23. The text is here.
The second is for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B and uses Psalm 34: 2-3, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15.
Mason points out that to suit readings on the Bread of Life we actually use this psalm response for three consecutive from the 19th to the 21st Sunday of Ordinary time in Year B. I did the one from the 19th week from his first volume here.
They can also be used as songs for Gifts or Communion.
This is Paul Mason’s setting for the psalm for the Second Sunday of Lent and the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, from Psalms For All Time Vol 2.
Refrain: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Verses: Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22.
The verse is the same amazing melody from yesterday, ostensibly in D but not quite sure where it wants to go. To suit the different refrain, it changes to Gm… so there’s a lot going on.
I am continuing to look at Paul Mason’s Psalms For All Time Vol 2, with his setting of Psalm 33 for the Easter Vigil.
Refrain: The Earth is full of the goodness of the Lord; the goodness, the goodness of the Lord.
(Unless you are an alto because you get some extra goodness)
The verses are Psalm 33: 4-5,6-7,12-13, 20,22 here, or buy his book.
This tune is a pip. He has an SATB arrangement for the refrain in the which the altos have some fun, and a verse tune that has no right to work but somehow does. How does Gmaj7, Gm9, D(add9), C, C#dim, D(add9), Dmaj9/C#, D6/B, Bbmaj9, C6, D(add9), Gm, G#dim, Asus, A7 strike you as a chord progression to lead a melody full of accidentals back to common sense in the refrain. Wild.
This is the psalm for the second Sunday of Lent as set by Paul Mason in Psalms For All Time Vol 2. It is also a Common Psalm for Ordinary time and suitable for anointing and funerals.
The refrain is, “The Lord is my Light and my salvation,” sung twice. The text is Psalm 27: 1,7-9, 13-14 as seen here, or better still buy his book.
This isn’t up on You-Tube nor at Mason’s site, so here is backing for learning purposes.
Continuing in Paul Mason’s Psalms For All Time Vol 2, this is his setting of Psalm 25 for the first Sunday in Lent Year B. The verses are very syncopated.
The refrain is:
Your ways, O Lord, are truth and love, to those who keep your covenant.
The verses are the same for Advent 3 year C, and also a seasonal psalm for Advent with the refrain that will fit Mason’s setting:
To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. O Lord, I lift my soul.
As a hymn it would suit Gifts and Entrance.
The text is here (Psalm 25: 4-9 minus 7a).
There is a recording of the psalm at Liturgical Song.
My backing has its own feel:
This is Paul Mason’s setting of the psalm for the Presentation of the Lord, from Psalms for All Time Vol 2. It is another psalm that could be repurposed as a hymn for “Christ the King”.
The refrain is “Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord! It is the Lord!”
The text is verses 7-10 of Psalm 24 here.
I make backings so I know how songs go, because I can’t sight read. Here is my backing to help learn this psalm:
Continuing with Paul Mason’s Psalms For All Time Vol 2, we have the psalm for All Saints. Apart from that it is another that could work as an entrance hymn.
The refrain is, “Lord, this is the people who long to see your face,” and Mason repeats, “to see your face.” The text of the verses is here.
He uses the same descending melody line in the verse as yesterday’s psalm – I think he likes it a lot.
Sing along with my backing to learn it:
This is Paul Mason’s setting of Psalm 24 for the fourth Sunday of Advent Year A, which is also an obvious choice as an entrance hymn. It would be fine as a hymn for Christ the King as well. It is from Psalms for All Time Volume 2, which you can purchase at Liturgical Song.
In my grumbling about texts, I haven’t made it clear what the issues are and why I am somewhat bemused and confused by it all.
Currently in Australia we (mostly) use the ICEL refrains and the Grail verses. The Revised Grail has been approved for use in Australia but the new Australian Lectionary is not available yet, so most parishes still use the old Grail texts. Then you have the translations wars for readings between Jerusalem, New Jerusalem, NRSV etc and I have no idea who won that one and no idea when it will be sorted out within Australia.
To increase confusion and anarchy, the English speaking world could not come to an agreement about any of this, including the psalms, so the US is different to Canada which is different to England and Scotland which are in turn different to Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. The copyright for the texts is not surprisingly all over the place with the revised verses from Conception Abbey administered by GIA, while I think their originals are ICEL like the refrains. And just so you can know and despair, Paul Inwood has given us the background to the Grail revisions.
As a parish musician who usually bristles at being told what to do, this is one situation where you would think some uniformity would keep things simple. I propose:
1 Psalms should not be subject to copyright as it is more than seventy years since the author of the original text (maybe King David) died. The Pope should tell the Abbey to make their translations a gift as part of their vocation.
2 The people in Rome who made some terrible top down decisions to screw up the new uniform enforced translation of the mass, don’t get to now make the opposite mistake of unleashing anything goes in the English speaking world for psalms and readings.
3 Just put Paul Mason in charge – simples.
Paul Mason with a view to future is using the Revised Grail, so if you aren’t then you just have to see whether his tunes fit.
Somebody annoyed by all this put the revised texts on the net here. Otherwise check Universalis or your missal or Kate Keefe’s amazing site and do your best. Don’t worry it will all change again soon.
Back to this psalm – it is meant to be joyful and acclamatory. He uses one of his favourite descending melody lines in the verses – for “It is he who set it in the seas” – it turns up in other psalms settings of his.
As usual Paul gives the history and his commentary on the psalm and its usage. These are sometimes adjacent to the sheet music, as in this case, or they may be scattered somewhat randomly throughout the book. Just as randomly the guide to the random distribution of notes is randomly sited at the base of page 24 because … that’s just the way Paul rolls. I’d still put him in charge.
After all that I made a backing:
This is Paul Mason’s response for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, Psalm 23 from Psalms For All Time Vol 2. The text is, ” I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” The verses are the same as for hs setting of “The Lord is My Shepherd”.
