Church Music

After a refreshing sojourn with songs from the Iona Community, it is time to return to Australian music. I have covered an awful lot of Australian music over many years, especially those collected in As One Voice Vol 1, 2 and Next Generation. I’ve also done Gather Australia and individual collections by esteemed songwriters such as Frank Andersen, Michael Mangan, Brian Boniwell, Leo Watt and Chris DeSilva.

There are those outside the AOV axis, like Emmanuel Worship, that I have barely touched upon, as well as those still being published in As One Voice’s digital platform. I have said repeatedly, a certainly unintended consequence of the excellence of selection of songs in As One Voice was a closure of the canon in many churches, who have not looked for anything new to sing since the 1990s. The death of the printed hymnal has also meant that there are numerous songwriters who would be justly famous, amongst Catholics at least, if there were still printed songbooks in which to be published.

Peter Grant is one of these who deserves more recognition. I have already blogged twelve of his songs (check by searching!) and I will start my return to Australian music with some more of his output. His “Communion Song” was included in As One Voice and “Christ Light Shining in the Darkness” brightened up the stodginess of Catholic Worship Book II. We were using the latter at St Peter’s, Rochedale before I moved to Tasmania and, while I am introducing new music cautiously down here, it will be a priority to add to the repertoire.

“Look to the Shepherd” would have been great for last Sunday (sorry) if you have done all your shepherd songs to death. It takes some guts to do yet another setting of Psalm 23, but he also was inspired by Isaiah 40:11.

The tune is all that we have come to expect from Peter. I love the held notes in the second last line of each verse.

The sheet music can be purchased at Willow. Sometimes they don’t give enough of an idea of the tune in the preview, but in this case there is a lovely understated instrumental to listen to and a enough of a sample of the sheet music to get the idea. It would be better to have a sung snippet if that was feasible, and better yet if a church that was using this song could post it on YouTube. It would be a great aid to practice, as Chris suggested recently.

Despite the perfectly acceptable instrumental at Willow I made my own BIAB backing.

Refrain

Look to the Shepherd to lead you back home;

Follow his footsteps to safety.

Rest in his arms if your lost and alone.

Follow the Good Shepherd, Jesus.

1 He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,

And gathering lambs in his arms.

He is longing to hold you close to his heart;

He is calling you home.

2 With the Lord, your shepherd you will not want;

In pastures of green you will lie.

He will lead you to waters so still and so clear

To refresh your tired soul.

3 From the Lord your shepherd you will not stray;

He keeps constant guard on his flock.

Surely goodness and kindness will follow your life

When you dwell with the Lord.

© 2016 Peter Grant

After this in Heaven Shall Not Wait there are some useful chants that I won’t cover just yet. I have other books from this source, including the Enemy of Apathy collection that I will return to in the future.

This, though, is a thoughtful hymn of rage that is a potent call to social action. It is from the Iona Community’s Heaven Shall Not Wait. It is set to SALLEY GARDENS (Irish Trad.), a lovely tune.

The text is here. Sing the whole thing.

The Willow Facebook page noted hymnist, Richard Connolly’s death recently, and the ABC has put up an obituary that goes beyond his justified fame for writing the Play School theme.

His is music is still available at Willow. My copy of the The New Living Parish Hymn book has twenty of his songs, only exceeded by the editor of the hymnal John de Luca. He also wrote the text of a few of the hymns but usually deferred to his poet collaborator James McAuley (1917-1976).

The sheet music for this collection is also available at Willow.

This is a song celebrating the goodness found in ordinary weak humanity with a catalog of new Testament characters to demonstrate the theme. You can find it in the Iona Community’s Heaven Shall Not Wait.

It is set to WAE’S ME FOR PRINCE CHAIRLIE. The text is available here.

This is a majestic song of praise from the Iona Community with their usual well written and relevant text. By linking his kingship to nature and love they find a new angle to make monarchy acceptable.

If you sang this with Bells’ setting MARBLE QUARRY to organ accompaniment it would soar. It is from Heaven Shall Not Wait.

I rolled out the BIAB fake organ for this backing.

1 Jesus is Lord of all, monarch of mountain and wave,

Fuser of wind and fire, sculptor of crag and cave.

Jesus is Lord! God’s mighty word creates:

Each feature, worn or wild, to his intent relates.

2 Jesus is Prince of Peace: atom and neutron must cower.

Hate roots their suspect strength, but suff’ring love’s his power.

Jesus is Lord! God’s mighty Word converts

Weapons to welcome signs as foe to friend reverts.

3 Jesus is King of Love. Enemy, neighbour and friend;

They, with the self, are bound in love which knows no end.

Jesus is Lord! God’s mighty Word engraves,

Bold on the cross, that Christ-like love disturbs and saves.

4 Jesus is heaven’s high priest; earth is his altar below.

Sectarian pride he chides that Christian faith may grow.

Jesus is Lord! God’s mighty Word unites.

Those whom the past divides, he to the feast invites.

5 Jesus is Lord of Life! To him let every mind bend:

For him let every pulse and never their purpose spend.

Jesus is Lord! God’s mighty Word requires

Hands, hearts and head to demonstrate what he inspires.

Words: John L. Bell & Graham Maule, copyright © 1987 Wild Goose Resource Group/ WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH, Scotland. Melody: MARBLE QUARRY by John Bell. Websites: wgrg.co.uk & holycity-glasgow.co.uk

This is a lovely song from the Iona community to see you from womb to tomb. It is from Heaven Shall Not Wait and is set to TRAVELLER by John Bell.

The text and a delightful commentary is here.

This is an Iona Community song that we have used a lot over the years and I highly recommend it. Heaven Shall Not Wait was the collection it came from originally. It is set to a traditional Scottish tune, KELVINGROVE.

I’ve already blogged this song here because it was in As One Voice: Next Generation, and the text is there. It is one of the Wild Goose songs that you can purchase as an individual piece of sheet music from Willow.

There are notes on its use in the book:

This song has been successfully used at commitment and confirmation services. Verse 4 is sung solo and those wishing to do so, leave their seats and move to the front of the congregation. Then all sing the last verse together. In some places, people may prefer to sing this song in 2/4 time in which case simply change dotted minims to minims.

They advise that the piece should be played “not too slowly”. We found that it can be sung solo briskly but our assembly needed to breathe, so I would say neither too fast nor too slow.

I have looked at the backing I made eleven years ago and it is a good example of Band In a Box allowing you to start simply and sequentially add instruments. I replaced the melody line’s ordinary MIDI guitar sound with a HiQ sound that wasn’t available back then.

This is a song of praise that uses aspects of Jesus’ life. It is from the Iona collection Heaven Shall Not Wait. It is another fantastic and unusual text.

I made a backing but the chords in the piano arrangement defeated me. I chose a much simplified set of chords for this backing.

Chorus

Blessing and honour, wisdom and wealth, freedom to save or to sever:

These we proclaim belong to our God, Lord of creation forever.

1 Safe as the atom, unsplit in its shell, strong as the sea in intention,

Fine as the weave of a dragonfly’s wing: power is God’s perfect invention.

2 Born of a woman and skilled at the lathe, forfeiting glamour and glory,

God, in the flesh of a carpenter’s son, practiced the power of a story.

3 Tempted to transform the stones into bread, taunted to call help from heaven,

Christ showed how strength lay in carrying the cross, forgiving seventy times seven.

4 Power is made perfect where weakness is strong; weakness is meant for our healing;

Healing is found at the feet of the poor where God, as servant, is kneeling.

5 Made in the image of one who, unarmed, challenged the great and the greedy,

Ours is the privilege to claim and express justice for all who are needy.

Words: John L. Bell & Graham Maule, copyright © 1987 Wild Goose Resource Group/ WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH, Scotland. Melody: BLESSING AND HONOUR by John Bell. Websites: wgrg.co.uk & holycity-glasgow.co.uk

Rex in Queensland wanted a backing for this song his group is singing soon. The author of the text is unknown. It has numerous settings to choose from. Mary at Godsongs has looked at this but I don’t think the clips she provided are actually using the tune MELITA as she thought.

I could not find a name nor any sheet music for the tune requested so I made a stab at it and made a basic backing.

O Mother of Perpetual Help,
To thee we come imploring help.
Behold us here from far and near,
To ask of thee our help to be.
Behold us here from far and near,
To ask of thee our help to be.

Perpetual Help we beg of thee,
Our soul from sin and sorrow free.
Direct our wandring feet aright,
And be thyself our own true light.
Direct our wandring feet aright,
And be thyself our own true light.

Be thou to us through all this life,
The starlight of this earthly strife.
And Mother when I come to die,
Be Thou thy spouse and Jesus nigh.
And Mother when I come to die,
Be Thou thy spouse and Jesus nigh.

And when this life is o’er for me
The last request I ask of thee;
Obtain for me from heave’n this grace
To see my God there face to face
Obtain for me from heave’n this grace
To see my God there face to face

This is a solo song in the voice of Jesus that would lead to contemplation. It is from the Iona Community’s Heaven Shall Not Wait.

The tune by John Bell is a dramatic piece that would be suitable in a musical.

The text is here.