I covered as many Jubilee songs as I could find earlier in the year, but Erwin Cabucos has just sent me his contribution, so I will interrupt my slog through CWB I to look at it.
He has taken the salutory path of writing a song with all the elements needed for the Jubilee of Hope, without crippling its long term use by saying the J word. It is joyful yet restrained. I also may never have to play “Companions on a Journey” again – apologies to Carey Landry fans.
While a lot of the songs I am finding in Australia’s Catholic Worship Book are not Australian, just what was suggested for Australian Catholic Churches largely from England, Europe and the United States, this one has a very Australian pedigree.
It is from the Hymnal of St Pius X from 1952, which can be downloaded as a pdf here. Dr Percy Jones, who assembled the hymn book, wrote the setting called O MARY OF GRACES for this Irish poem translated from the Gaelic (A Mhuire na nGras) by Douglas Hyde. For a Marian hymn of that vintage and with Irish descent, it is laudably free of sentiment.
I derived the chords from the organ music in the St Pius X Hymnal for this backing.
1 O Mary of Graces and Mother of God,
May I tread the paths that the righteous have trod.
This song from the Morning Office survived into CWB II with a different setting that I blogged here. CWB II used SPLENDOUR, but CWB I chose the traditional tune, DANBY.
James Quinn’s text is here. CWB I leaves the second stanza in, while CWB II leaves it out.
It looks like I derived the chords for my backing from organ music, likely from Hymnary.
This another song that survived in CWB II with a different setting – actually chant, which I blogged here.
In CWB I, Frederick Pratt Green’s text for anointing was set to DISTRESS, from W. Walker’s Southern Harmony. The words are at Hope Publishing although CWB I leaves out verse three.
I derived the chords from the organ music at Hymnary for my backing, which I prefer to the CWB II because it is metrical.
This is great but I doubt you could sing to it:
This is less flashy and more useful:
Quartet:
This is the chant setting, JESU DULCIS MEMORIA from CWB II from Liturgy Share, who shows it’s not that hard:
I have already looked at this text when covering OCP’s Guitar Accompaniment Book, but in CWB it is set to DAY OF PRAISE instead of the commoner setting of ST THOMAS, and the text has been altered by the editors – really just modernised but not condensed and rearranged like at OCP. The words are by, or attributed, to James Montgomery and are based on Psalm 102 (103).
DAY OF PRAISE is by Charles Steggall. I got chords from TIS for my backing. I think this tune does a very good job of saving the text from the risk of bland versifying.
This is the CWB text:
1 O bless the Lord, my soul, his saving grace proclaim,
And all that is within me join to bless his holy name.
2 O bless the Lord, my soul, his mercies bear in mind,
Forget not all his benefits: the Lord to me is kind.
3 He will not always chide; He will with patience wait;
His wrath is ever slow to rise, and ready to abate.
4 He pardons all my sins, prolongs my feeble breath,
He heals all my infirmities, and ransoms me from death.
5 He clothes me his love, upholds me with his truth,
And like an eagle he renews the vigour of my youth.
6 Then bless his holy name whose grace has made me whole,
Whose loving kindness crowns my days, O bless the Lord , my soul.
I've worked my way through the As One Voice books and other collections making backings on Band in a Box to help me (& you if you're interested) learn new songs for church. This is aimed at churches and musicians that own the collections but haven't exploited them fully. If you don't have them they are certainly worth buying. This site is educational, nonprofit and designed to enhance the commercial prospects of songwriters. This site does not distribute copyrighted sheet music.
Disclaimer
Any opinions expressed here are personal views and not the responsibility of any Church.
All music backings posted are created by myself and the intention is for them to be used to learn the songs. If any copyright holder wishes me to cease publicising and promoting their wares and directing people to where sheet music can be legally purchased please let me know.
Mason’s “Mass of Glory and Praise”
To access my backings for Paul Mason's mass go to Feb 2011 in the archive.