Church Music

These early Easters certainly let Lent sneak up on you.

Ash Wednesday is his week. One thing I’ve noticed in this small town I live in, is that many events assume that you either retired and can attend at any time, or you are working and too busy to be bothered. I can’t get to any Ash Wednesday service locally, as there is one at 9am, including the school, and one half an hours drive away at 5.30pm. In the suburbs there was usually a 6.30am Ashes for the workers. I only work three days a week but it includes Wednesdays and let’s just say there is a shortage of GPs in rural Tasmania so on the days I work I am there before 8am and rarely way before 6pm, so neither service locally is feasible. I should be grateful there is a Catholic church here at all, but there is a little irony if my Lenten penance is to not attend Ash Wednesday services.

It also means I hadn’t thought much about music for Lent. It will be low key and have lots of repetition over the weeks leading up to Easter.

For Gifts over Lent we will do “Oh God, Why are You Silent.” We will do Mason’s “With the Lord There is Mercy” as a seasonal psalm. I will insert Alonso’s “Merciful God” in its various guises and use “Glory in the Cross” as well.

Entrance: Merciful God – Entrance (Alonso)

Psalm 129 (Mason)

With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Gifts: Oh God, Why Are You Silent (Haugen)

Communion: Tree of Life (Thompson) AOV NG138

Recessional: Lord, the Light of Your Love (Kendrick) AOV 2/59

This is Paul Mason’s setting for Psalm 72 for the Second Sunday in Advent Year A, as found in his book Psalms For All Time Vol 2.

The psalm is also used in hope in a mass in time of war.

The refrain is, “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever.” The verses are Psalm 72: 2, 7-8, 12-13, 17.

I’m getting through Paul Mason’s Psalms For All Time Volume 2. This one is his setting of the psalm for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The refrain is meant to be joyful:

Turn, turn, turn to the Lord in your need and you will live. O turn, turn, turn.

The verses are reflective: Psalm 69: 14 and 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36ab and 37.

Since there are no samples on Mason’s site, nor YouTube clips, I use a BIAB backing to help learn the psalm.

This is the psalm for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time as set by Paul Mason in Psalms For All Time Vol 2.

The refrain is actually from Luke 8:8, “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.” The verses are Psalm 65: 10abcd, 10e-11, 12-13a, 13b-14.

I’m looking through Paul Mason’s Psalms For All Time Vol 2, which can be used with cantor and assembly if you are up for that, or just as hymns in themselves.

This one is for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time and the refrain is the title sung twice. The verses are Psalm 54: 3-4,5, 6, 8.

This is Paul Mason’s setting of the psalm for the Fifth Sunday of Lent Year B from his Psalms For All Time Vol 2. I’ve already blogged the psalm with the same refrain and some of the same verses that is for the Easter Vigil from the original volume.

There are two tunes used for the verses so practice is needed. I note that compared the analogous tune in the original volume, Mason has smoothed things out a little. The refrain is just, “Create a clean heart in me, O God,” twice. The verses are Psalm 51: 3-4, 12-13, 14-15.

I am working through Paul Mason’s Psalms For All Time Vol 2, which can be purchased at Liturgical Song.

This is his setting of Psalm 42 for the Easter Vigil and Anointing of the Sick. The refrain used here is, “Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my soul longs for you, my soul longs for you, my God.” The verses are Psalm 42: 3, 5bcd, Psalm 43: 3, 4.

Mason has an SATB arrangement for the refrain with a descant for the final chorus. I don’t usually look at keyboard accompaniments much because I strum a guitar and BIAB uses the chords too, but even I can tell that there he is going above and beyond in the sheet music and I would love to hear it played properly. Very few of these psalms have sample music at Liturgical Song or on Mason’s Youtube page unfortunately.

My backing is much more basic and all BIAB strings.

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.