Author Archives: maddg

Number 25 in Alleluia Aotearoa is “Come to a Wedding”, a Shirley Murray text, but that turned up in Gather Australia so I’ve already blogged it here. “Come to Our Land” has lines specific to New Zealand, and Holy Spirit … Continue reading →

One thing you could count on with Shirley Murray was texts for a liturgical purpose. Here is a wedding song from Alleluia Aotearoa filled with hope, joy and realism. It is set to Ralph Vaughn William‘s tune DOWN AMPNEY, the … Continue reading →

I’m having fun blogging Shirley Erina Murray’s texts from Alleluia Aotearoa. This one is for Advent. The text is at Hope Publications, where they have the setting by Douglas Mews. He has a separate tune for verses 2 and 4. … Continue reading →

I am working through the Shirley Erena Murray texts in Alleluia Aotearoa. This is a song for Palm Sunday. I have never found a Palm Sunday song that I like and is fairly singable. The setting here sounds like a … Continue reading →

This is another fiery text from Shirley Erena Murray from Alleluia Aotearoa. If you can cope with, “old gear, old concepts have no place,” it would serve for gathering or dismissing the assembly. Read the full text at Hope Publishing. … Continue reading →

This is a song for Eucharist by Shirley Murray from Alleluia Aotearoa. This one is set by a frequent collaborator Colin Gibson (WROSLYN ROAD). The text and sheet music are at Hope Publishing, where, unlike AA, they provide the chords. … Continue reading →

My latest antipodean project is the songs of Shirley Erina Murray in Alleluia Aotearoa. You can buy the collection here as a downloadable pdf or in what may be one of the last 50 physical copies. Because everyone wanted to … Continue reading →

Shirley Murray’s text takes us to Easter and the joy of the resurrection. I love lines like, “You are the pulse of the new creation’s energy”. Both Hope and Alleluia Aotearoa set this to Jillian Bray‘s emphatic tune. Hope Publishing … Continue reading →

This is a Christmas song with a text by Shirley Murray that she called the “Hunger Carol”. This is a a great lyric but is, let us say, astringent. For example: cold and raw, you know our hunger, weep out … Continue reading →

Shirley Murray wrote quite a few Christmas songs, “Star Child” being the most famous, but here is another. Being Shirley Murray though, even this sweet text has some burrs in it to tweak our conscience. She called it the “Small … Continue reading →