Church Music

I blogged this already from its appearance in Gather Australia.

Set to SLANE, this text is by Jan Struthers is a sung prayer that would suit a wedding or where there is need for consolation.

John de Luca gave us his own arrangement in this hymnal.

… but he cannot be blamed for my fake organ backing:

1. Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
   Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy,
   Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
   Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.
2. Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
   Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
   Be there at our labours, and give us, we pray,
   Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.
3. Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
   Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
   Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
   Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.
4. Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
   Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
   Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
   Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

Getting back to the New Living Parish Hymn Book, we have this sung prayer.

I’m thinking of uses in Lent or at a funeral.

It was originally written by Synesius of Cyrene (375-430) the Bishop of Ptolemais and was translated by Allen William Chatfield in the 1800s and arrived in this C20 hymn book with a little alt to the text (eg Jesus for Jesu).

It is set to SOUTHWELL from William Damon’s “Psalms” (C16), which is a gorgeous tune.

I got chords from TIS to make a backing with fake BIAB organ.

Verse 1
Lord Jesus, think on me,
And purge away my sin;
From earthborn passions set me free,
And make me pure within.

Verse 2
Lord Jesus, think on me,
By care and woe oppressed;
Let me your loving servant be,
And taste your promised rest.

Verse 3
Lord Jesus, think on me
Amid the bitter strife;
Through all my pain and misery
Become my health and life.

Verse 4
Lord Jesus, think on me,
Nor let me go astray;
Through darkness and perplexity
Point out the heavenly way.

Verse 5
Lord Jesus, think on me
That, when the trial is past,
I may your radiant glory see,
And share your joy at last.

This song from GIA Unbound is not just for weddings. Adam M.L. Tice has been inspired by the love chapter in 1 Cor 13 but takes it beyond the cliches into something remarkable. The tune by Eddie Cavazos is a fine accompaniment.

To buy the sheet music go to GIA and read the words there in the preview.

So that’s just a sample of the GIA bound material. Now that I know they have a Youtube archive I might go back and look at the ones for which they made videos. While I’d rather review Australian material, for American songs they aren’t half bad, and even as random selections are more impressive than some of the Breaking Bread material from OCP.

This is another great text in GIA Unbound. Written by David Bjorlin, it is an antidote to fear that excludes and divides. The tune was written by Eddie Cavazos.

Find it at GIA and read the words in their preview.

These songs are often too new to have YouTube clips, so sing along with my backings to learn them.

This is a delightful song for Christmas and beyond written by Chris Shelton and set to OLD CORNISH CAROL (aka MY DANCING DAY). It is found in GIA Unbound.

Read the great lyrics in the preview at GIA and you will love the tune too. It is a great new song for us to learn for Christmas.

This is a Christmas song for those whose Christmas is in winter. It’s not as recent as some of the others in Unbound, but they were putting up a lot of Christmas songs to give us material for the season coming up quickly.

It has words by Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr. and music by Perry Nelson.

The sheet music can be bought at GIA, who provide the text in their preview.

I suppose the initial inspiration was Shakespeare, but Shakespeare’s text makes for a very different sort of carol:

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.

In GIA Unbound this is a very new version of an very old text to a very old tune. Alan J. Hommerding has created his take on the “The Prayer of St Francis” for the eight hundredth jubilee of the saint. He set it to TALLIS’ CANON.

As always, the sheet music can be purchased at GIA, where the text is in their preview.

GIA Unbound does have a YouTube page but none of the ones I chose are there.

In my random look at songs from GIA Unbound I found this recent Carol Meier song for the Season of Creation set to her arrangement of the traditional tune WAYFARING STRANGER.

It works rather well.

The sheet music can be purchased at GIA, who provide the text and commentary in the preview.

I have noticed that GIA keep recycling the songs that it displays in the “Unbound” section, so by the time I blog these songs they are no longer highlighted there. They are still recent songs available at GIA in any case.

This is a singular text looking at the link between science and faith that suggests itself for the season of creation and was written by Mary Louise Bringle. I initially thought it was “From Wisdom to Wonder” which a different but interesting thought.

The sheet music can be purchased from GIA who provide the text in their preview.

The setting is by Benjamin Brody.

This is another selection from GIA Unbound and is ideal for the season of creation.

The text by David Bjorlin is set by William Beckstrand (FOREST FEN). It can also be sung to KINGSFOLD.

The words are in the preview at GIA where you can purchase the sheet music.

This one has a clip on Youtube from the composer.