Church Music

No 20 of AOV NG is an old song that we have sung occasionally over many years called ‘Canticle of Creation.”  It is by Trisha Watts and Monica O’Brien and the version in this book is a new arrangement with an interesting leap on the second chorus into the repeat.  The original sheet music we had was hard to follow and this is much better.  Now, if we have sung it at mass it must have fit into a liturgy somewhere, perhaps as a gifts song, not sure.

If you don’t have the AOV NG collection (and why not?) you can download this as a single sheet at As One Voice.

Verse 1.

As night gives birth to the dawn

And I see all the grandeur of each day.

I long to have and to hold, all the wonder of your heart,

All the power in your love, all the mystery embodied in your word.

Chorus

Spirit breathe your breath of love!

Creation yearns for you to come.

Renew your earth, outpour your healing care.

Lord restore the harmony where humankind may learn to see

The hope, the dream, in your almighty plan.

Verse 2.

The earth is blessed and adorned

By the breath and presence of your love.

All those who dwell in this land – shall awaken to your voice,

They shall stand to give you praise, and your faithfulness will reign for evermore.

Chorus 2

Spirit breathe your breath of love!

Creation yearns for you to come.

Renew your earth, outpour your healing care.

Lord restore the harmony where humankind may learn to see

The hope to dream again in Your almighty plan.

Repeat Chorus 2

© Monica O’Brien and Trish Watts 1984.

No 19 in AOV NG is “Can You See God”. This is another song by Chris de Silva and is not easy to sing but worth the effort. Again, I can’t see this one sung except as a performance piece, but it is a lovely piece of music. The breathless repetition works very well indeed.

The text is available here and you can purchase the music at GIA.

My backing is to assist you to learn this song.

No 18 in AOV NG is “Can We Love?” by Tom Booth another spiritandsong performer.  This is an important song as it is a kind of anti (praise and worship) song.  It challenges the song without works theology that appears in some quarters and is a rousing song to boot.  It’s a stretch but as a recessional chasing us out with a flea in our ear it would be a hoot.

You can purchase and download the sheet music and hear a snippet at spiritandsong.

Refrain
Can we love?
Can we lay down our lives?
Can we wear his crown of thorns?
Can we drink the cup that He drinks?
We must lay down our lives!

1. It’s more than raising our hands,
it’s more than singing this song.
It’s saying “yes” to the Giver of life,
it’s righting the ways that are wrong! (to Refrain)

2. It’s more than shouting God’s name,
it’s more than singing His praise.
It’s bringing forgiveness to injury’s wound,
and hope to those imprisoned by shame. (to Interlude and Verse 3)

3. Loving the Lord our God
with all our heart, mind and soul,
loving our neighbor as ourselves,
the kingdom of love we will know! (to Verse 4)

4. With feet secure on the ground
and hearts humbled by love
we stand before God’s anointed one
and ask the question, and ask the question: (to Refrain)

© Tom Booth 2007

No 17 in AOV NG is from Brisbane locals emmanuelworship so this is one of the few groups providing music to the collection I’ve heard play a few times.  This one is by Roby Curtis with Patrick Keady helping out with the lyrics.

We use Keady’s Fire Mass at Daisy Hill and I have several of their books of music but not “Revolution” that has this song on it.  Apart from the Fire Mass I have trouble finding liturgical music from emmanuelworship as the songs are generally very much praise and worship songs and very good for getting very loud and emotional.

The text is available here where you can also listen to the song.

How beautiful are the feet of those
who bring good news of freedom
How powerful are the hands of those
who bring justice and healing
How wonderful are the lips of those
who speak mercy in Jesus
How beautiful are the hearts of those
who’ve been touched by Your love

Where would I be if I had not heard
You calling out to me?

Every man who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, shall be saved
And every woman who calls on
the name of her God shall give praise,
shall give praise
And every child who calls up-on
the name of the Lord shall be saved,
shall be saved
And all creation that bows
before the Lord our God
shall give praise, shall give praise to You

Jesus, I’m calling out to You (repeat)

© Patrick Keady and Roby Curtis 2005

I’m a few songs ahead making backings for this collection “As One Voice: The Next Generation” than I have blogged yet and I’m very impressed indeed with the standard.  I even like the songs that I don’t think are suitable for assembly use far more than I expected.

One of those is No. 16, “Call for Mercy” by Judy Bailey.  She is from Barbados originally and now based in Germany and seems to have a broad following outside the Christian community as well.  I don’t think there is a hope that this could turn up in a mass, but it’s a great song nonetheless.  The lyrics are a world away from safe communities singing love songs to Jesus.  The last two lines of the bridge are special and have stuck in my mind to her tune.  My backing is not subtle enough as usual but I wanted the melody line very pronounced to help me learn it.

God Almighty we look to Thee
Our hearts are heavy so Yours must bleed
We pray for the victims of tragedy
That by Your grace O Lord somehow they’ll find relief

Chorus

For all who suffer we are calling on You Lord
O Lord Lord hear our call for mercy
For all who’re dying and need to know Your love
O Lord Lord hear our call for mercy

For those who are missing for those who wait
For anger that threatens to turn into hate
We pray for Your presence in their pain
And ask that You reveal Yourself in Jesus name

Chorus

Hear our prayer
Hear our cry O Lord Lord
Hear our prayer
Hear our cry O Lord Lord

Bridge
Lord bless all the innocent, the families torn apart
Help those who care for them, Your rays of hope inside the darkness
Soften our hearts, don’t let us be deaf just because we’ve strayed from You
To the least of them whatever we do we’re doing it to You
To the least of them whatever we do we’re doing it to You

Chorus

Hear our prayer
Hear our cry O Lord Lord
Hear our prayer
Hear our cry O Lord Lord

Additional verse:
For nations evading the reality still
For those steeped in denial for the silence that kills
We pray for the governments that are overwhelmed
Secure their people’s future, shine Your light on them

©  Dyba Music/Judy Bailey 2008

There is an arrangement in a lower key available at garagehymnal.

If I’m after liturgical music, then I can’t complain about No 15 in AOV NG.  “Bread of Life” by Michael John Poirier is a Eucharist song, almost a chant really.  The sample on the AOV site is quiet and reflective and is not the same as the tune in the book.  The backing is the tune as written and I’ve gone all reflective with pan pipe and synth waves but you’ll get the idea at least.  I don’t think it is up to the standard of the others I’ve looked at in the collection, but perhaps I need to hear it in a liturgical context to get its full effect.

The lyrics are available here and you can hear the song here. You can buy the single sheet from WLP.

My backing is to help those with the music learn the song.

Having interrupted the numerical order to get Advent suggestions out there, it’s back to No 14 in AOV NG.

“Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt and Beth Redman uses Ps78 so if you can find a use for this as a responsorial Psalm I can guarantee a noisy liturgy of the word.  Even I’ve heard of Matt Redman – I’ve run across O Sacred King, Let Everything That Has Breath and Let Your Glory Fall in the Source volume 2 and he gets >1000000 hits on YouTube so he is well enough known.

The sheet music is available to buy and download at various sites on the internet including musicnotes. Worship Together has lyrics and chords.

This is another praise and worship slow build to freak out song but a good one for all that and really could be used as a psalm in a liturgy I suppose.

Verse 1

Blessed Be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name

When I’m found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed Be Your name

Prechorus

Every blessing You pour out

I’ll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Chorus

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Verse 2

Blessed be Your name

When the sun’s shining down on me

When the world’s ‘all as it should be’

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there’s pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

Prechorus

Chorus

Bridge

You give and take away!

You give and take away!

My heart will choose to say,

“Lord, blessed be Your name!”

Rpt

Chorus

© Thankyou Music 2002

A big jump to No 91 “Like a Candle” by Monica O’Brien and Gina Ogilvie, published through Willow.

Verses

Hope is like a candle, shining like a light in a dark place.

(week 1 Hope/week 2 Peace/week 3 Joy/week 4 Love)

Chorus

Jesus you are light in the world.

Jesus you light the way.

© Monica O’Brien and Gina Oglivie 2009

The sheet music is also available as a download from As One Voice.

The idea is to use each verse for a week of advent to bring a candle forward at the beginning of mass.  This was a handout with ideas for the use of the song, given out at the AOV conference in September.

Light a Candle

Thirteen in the collection is a wonderful song for the procession of the gifts.  I am actually getting fond of some of the praise and worship songs in this collection, but from a practical point of view I’m looking for liturgical music and this song fits the bill.

Amanda McKenna is one of Willow’s artists so it’s no surprise she turns up in As One Voice: the Next Generation.  I really like this one and it’s one of the songs I’ll be pressing for including at our church.  I think it would be great unaccompanied once everyone has sung it a few (thousand) times.  I’ve noticed she doesn’t sing it quite as she wrote it, but it’s her song so she’s allowed.  My backing follows the tune as written.

Take this bread, gift and work of human hands,

Take this wine from this branch of your vine.

Take our lives as an offering to you,

God of mercy, singing “Blessed be our God!”

© Amanda McKenna 2006

* I note a violin part is available at AOV and you can also buy a downloadable version of the sheet music from AOV.

No 12 in AOV NG is Bless the Lord (Ps 103:1-6) and is by Marcy Weckler Barr, a very experienced music liturgist from Chicago.  The refrain would be fine for when this psalm comes up, as it is straight from ICEL text.  The verses are noted to be written by the songwriter and if used makes this just a good song, not something to be used as a psalm in liturgy.  If sung I suspect they are cantor material in any case.

If you haven’t got AOV NG you can buy at single sheet at WLP.

There is no sample at the AOV site and so I had no idea how it went apart from the tempo so the backing is basic and is just for learning the tune if you have the words and music.

Refrain:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, bless the Lord my soul!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, bless the Lord my soul!