A Voice Is Heard

I’m going to continue blog the song book As One Voice: the Next Generation.  I’ve decided I still have the gall to second guess the talented people who have put it together.  Perhaps a view from the suburbs is needed, if only because the very talented may not always see the difficulties faced by the less talented.

By the way, I’ve heard enough of the music now to just recommend you buy the thing.  It will save you a lot of looking for new material and it is 70% Australian composed which is a good thing to support.

This song is by established Australian songwriters, Monica O’Brien and Trisha Watts, and is loosely based on Ps 19:1-4.  The sample on the website is very sedate and polite but I’ve heard it done in a more lively way to better effect.  It has a lot of pushes half way through bars that will test the non syncopating singers in the assembly, but really the song has the rhythm of speech and is quite intuitive.  It should work fine.  I’d like to use it as the psalm when it is close enough to the Psalm of the week (I know that’s “wrong”) or just the refrain as a sung response.

My backing is pretty basic.  I use two different horn sounds for the call and response to aid with learning it and they are mixed up higher than you normally would for a backing track.

Refrain

Come, let us praise our God, Come, let us sing for joy,

With a heart of thanks we give honour.

You are a mighty God, You are the source of life.

Creator God we give praise.

Verse 1

From the deepest seas  (a voice is heard)

From the highest hills (a voice is heard)

From the rich, dark earth (a voice is heard)

All creation sings, God is heard.

Verse 2

Through the darkest night (a voice is heard)

Through the breaking dawn (a voice is heard)

Through the heart of life (a voice is heard)

All creation sings, God is heard.

© Monica O’Brien and Trisha Watts 1998.