Church Music

This apparently well known song was new to me when it was suggested at a meeting about music for Lent.

I found sheet music, which attributes this song to Mary Kirkbride and Marylou Locke, but hymnary adds Peter West to the list of songwriters and notes he has the copyright. Odd.

The tune is a bit fiddly and I note many singers have smoothed out the barbs.

Ascribe greatness to our God, the Rock,
His work is perfect and all His ways are just.
Ascribe greatness to our God, the Rock,
His work is perfect and all His ways are just.

A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Good and upright is He;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Good and upright is He.

Don Moen rearranged it:

Speaking of copyright disasters (see yesterday), Gio has been fossicking in the bowels of his church and found many treasures from long ago, including a hymn book called Festive People.

He has scanned it for us.

In amongst songs of all sorts and provenances is this one by Paul Keyte and Gerald Crooks, which he has kindly put into sheet music for us.

He also made a MIDI, which is above and beyond…

That didn’t stop me making my own backing:

1 When I behold your works, O Lord,

The moon and stars above.

I wonder why you care for me

And show me all your love.

2 What is this care you show for man

That all these gifts surround him.

You’ve made him little less than God

And with your glory crowned him.

Bridge

And thus we too would come to you

And offer what we can.

Together with this bread and wine

The lowly gifts of man.

3 And as this bread and wine is changed

To make them one with you,

So change our hearts and let your blood

Our very souls bedew.

If a was a crochety, pedantic old cuss, I would rewrite this song thusly:

1 When we behold your works, O Lord,

The moon and stars above.

We wonder why you care for us

And show us all your love.

2 What is this care you show for us

That all these gifts surround us.

You’ve made us little less than God

And with your glory crowned us.

Bridge

And so we too would come to you

And offer everything.

Together with this bread and wine

The lowly gifts we bring.

3 And as this bread and wine is changed

To make them one with you,

So change our hearts and let your blood

Our very lives renew.

I fear I will be indulging in more hymnal archeology with this and other hymnals in Gio’s trove so many thanks.

I asked our lovely parish priest if he had any songs he liked for Lent and said to look up a song called “Coming Home”. He has also mentioned a source called With Joyful Lips, so I looked there and, with the help of Youtube to get where it is filed, found it.

It is a song by William J. Kirkpatrick and sounds a country song, which is how another musician at church who actually had heard of it remembered it. Considering it’s age I doubt it was quite as country to start with.

This blog has posted the whole hodge podge that is With Joyful Lips. It looks a copyright disaster but this one is public domain at least.

Hymnary have sheet music. WJL only use the first four stanzas.

1. I’ve wandered far away from God,
   Now I’m coming home;
   The paths of sin too long I’ve trod,
   Lord, I’m coming home.
   Refrain:
   Coming home, coming home,
   Never more to roam,
   Open wide Thine arms of love,
   Lord, I’m coming home.
2. I’ve wasted many precious years,
   Now I’m coming home;
   I now repent with bitter tears,
   Lord, I’m coming home. [Refrain]
3. I’m tired of sin and straying, Lord,
   Now I’m coming home;
   I’ll trust your love, believe your Word,
   Lord, I’m coming home. [Refrain]
4. My soul is sick, my heart is sore,
   Now I’m coming home;
   My strength renew, my hope restore,
   Lord, I’m coming home. [Refrain]
5. My only hope and only plea;
   Now I’m coming home;
   That Jesus died, and died for me;
   Lord, I’m coming home. [Refrain]
6. I need his cleansing blood, I know;
   Now I’m coming home;
   Oh, wash me whiter than the snow;
   Lord, I’m coming home. [Refrain]

I’ve already blogged this song by Gen Bryant, here, and we are using it as a recessional despite being a less than youthful assembly.

I purchased the download of the sheet music collection some time ago from Willow, but was happy to pick up a physical copy at the APMN conference last year.

The collection is available here and the song here.

I made a new backing to celebrate. This is more most worthy Australian Catholic music to support.

This song by Danielle Rose turned up in a liturgy posted by Gio and it is not one I have come across before.

This is a little bit country and is from her album, I Thirst. It was a WLP song that was swallowed up by GIA and is now available at GIA where the text is in their preview. It might work best as a solo. I like the line in the bridge, “This is Christ in distressing disguise.”

My backing is based on the preview and uses some of the piano arrangement for a change.

I’m wondering why so little of this collection is in circulation these days. Nineteen Seventy-eight was pretty late for the folk mass era and a lot of these somgs aren’t really folk anyway. I also suspect WLP was pretty small beer back then, which of course has now been swallowed by GIA anyway.

I shouldn’t call these mass parts redundant really, because Sonrise has written a still usable Gospel Acclamation and a Great Amen.

The words to the Sanctus have, of course, changed and the other acclamations no longer fit liturgically, but some could still be used as chants in other circumstances I suppose.

So here’s to the lived faith and creativity of Jack Miffleton, Ken Meltz, Angel Tucciarone, Donna Friewer, Neil Blunt, Willard F. Jabusch, Lucien Deiss and Sonrise.

Gospel Acclamation (Sonrise)

Holy, Holy, Holy (Miffleton)

Great Amen (Sonrise)

Praise and Glory (Miffleton)

Glory to You (Miffleton)

When We Eat This Bread (Tucciarone)

Lord, By Your Cross (Miffleton)

I’m nearing the end of A Hundredfold: A Contemporary Folk Hymnal from 1978.

This version of Psalm 47 is by Angel Tucciarone and is a joy filled, singable psalm. It is also very out of print.

Getting back to the collection of out of print songs from A Hundredfold: A Contemporary Folk Hymnal …

There’s a lot to like in Angel Tucciarone’s take of the psalm for Christmas. With all the variations of psalm texts since then it might have to be sung as a song rather than in its liturgical place. She leaves long vocal breaks in the verses giving an opportunity for taking a breath and instrumental solos if desired.

Just when I think history has erased everything from A Hundredfold: A Contemporary Folk Hymnal, another tunes arises phoenix like at GIA.

This Neil Blunt psalm for Penetecost is not out of print. The antiphon should be fine, although doubtless the verses won’t match whatever local or temporal version you or I currently have. I’ll be looking at another volume of Paul Mason’s wonderful psalms soon, which will be another chance to tie down the weirdness of Anglophone psalm wording choices.

The sheet music in Eugene Englert’s arrangement is available at GIA, where the text is in their preview.

Blunt’s original chords work fine:

Englert adds some sophistication so is less “folk” I suppose – note the more inventive bass runs:

This uses the original chords:

These doesn’t:

This is a Seasonal Psalm for the Advent season by Neil Blunt based on Psalm 85. The verses are several iterations from what is used now, soon, whenever, wherever – depending on where you are in the Anglosphere and time – but the response is the same.

It is from A Hundredfold: A Contemporary Folk Hymnal, which is out of print.