Church Music

Entrance: Prepare the Way of the Lord (Boniwell) CWB II 250

Gifts: Mercy from the Heart of God (O’Brien/Ogilive) AOVD

Communion: Here I Am Lord (Schutte) AOV 1/90

Recessional: Send Down the Fire (Haugen) AOV 2/164

PS

18/1/2023

I was actually away in Melbourne for the weekend and so didn’t play locally. We went to St Francis’s church in Lonsdale St. The church was full for the 9.30am mass. There was a cantor and organist. From up the back it didn’t appear that there was any participation in the music by the assembly, but I suppose a lot of people there weren’t locals, so it is hard to see how that could be achieved. They do try I think, as the tunes for the hymns used are well know in one sense – eg HYFRYDOL and PICARDY, but perhaps they were new to the younger audience.

They used Philip Carmody’s MISSA SIMPLEX. They also use “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again”, which is somewhat rebellious. The prayers were very social justice orientated and Cardinal Pell was prayed for the Sunday after he died, but no other mention was made of him. So I guess this is a “liberal”, for Melbourne, inner city parish with traditional hymnody. If so, I wonder how that works only a few tram stops from the Archbishop at St Patrick’s.

Entrance: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Gifts: Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation

Communion: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Recessional: Organ music

Entrance: We Three Kings

Gifts: Star Child (Shirley Erina Murray – Carlton R. Young) AOV 2/43  

Communion: The First Noel – verses 3-5

City of God (Schutte) AOV 1/57

Having Christmas on Sunday really plays up with the usual liturgies – Holy Family and Baptism of the Lord get bumped to weekday masses and we get Mary, Epiphany and then into Ordinary Time. I think I used to understand this when I studied it at ACU. Out of an abundance of caution I won’t be playing this week as I am still symptomatic from Covid and I want to be sure of things before I am out and about too much.

I wanted to start using “Mercy from the Heart” of God by Monica O’Brien and Gina Ogilvie, whenever mercy comes up in the readings, but I will get around to it. It can be purchased at Willow Digital Publishing.

We have been playing one of my old backing tracks for the start of communion so the musicians can have Eucharist then get ready to start playing a hymn after everyone else has received. This works when numbers are low because if you go first then play you have hardly started and communion is over, but if you play a communion song immediately you leave the priest standing for a couple of verses. This suits the liturgical flow better and even now with numbers coming up a bit with warmer weather I will leave things as they are. What I am getting around to saying is that my choices for communion look odd because I am using an instrumental for actual communion then a hymn follows.

What I was going to play was:

Entrance:  Christ be Our Light  (Farrell) AOV 2/3

Gifts: Mercy from the Heart of God (O’Brien/Ogilive) AOVD

Communion: Blessed One  (Thompson) VAO 2/215

Recessional: Joy to the World.

After checking out the future of OCP’s Breaking Bread, I will return to the Shirley Erena Murray texts on Alleluia Aotearoa. Buy the pdf of AA for $NZ30, which is almost nothing, here.

This is an ecumenical hymn and a stirring call for unity.

The text is at Hope Publishing, where they set it to Song 13 by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625).

I also found this setting for sale with music by Ron Klusmeier called PICTON. Here the second half of each stanza is repeated. My backing is more approximate than usual even for me.

Alleluia Aotearoa sets it to SHIRLEY by Jillian Bray.

Everyone wants to set Murray’s texts.

We were due to play for the Vigil here in Tasmania this Saturday night, but I caught Covid didn’t I, so I’m very prepared for next year, and others will kindly take over. My sister suggested I celebrate Orthodox Christmas when I recover.

We were going to use carols before mass and during mass around our usual mass setting (Taylor’s St Francis) so nothing special, except I love singing the Christmas Psalm and it would have been nice to introduce Farrell’s joyous song down here.

If any correspondents wish to add their selections please do, remembering that it is a good resource for our future selves.

Merry Christmas all.

This is the last of the new additions to OCP’s Breaking Bread for 2023. They have added some Gospel, some Spanish and some Filipino music. Outside that, the OCP house style is getting less up tempo and more country ballad. That may mean more singable but less of a template for the rest of the English speaking world. I will get back to the Southern hemisphere’s music I think.

This is a Michael Joncas text that is designed for the Baptism of the Lord, which is just around the corner. It has been set the Tallis’s THE THIRD TUNE and KINGSFOLD, but this is a charming new setting by Casey McKinley. It is another singable, country influenced tune.

The sheet music can be purchased at OCP, where the text is in their preview.

The late Albert A. Goodson wrote this gospel classic in the 60s and it has turned up for Breaking Bread in 2023.

It’s lovely coming across songs from genres that are foreign to me, but I don’t think many Australian parishes are really up to singing Gospel.

The text is here. OCP sell the sheet music here. Then again Hope Publishing also sell an arrangement that looks more interesting and put in the 12/8 that it really is.

My backing uses a Gospel style in BIAB and the OCP arrangement.

There are a few entries left in OCP’s new additions for Breaking Bread in 2023.

This is a recent Tom Kendzia hymn taking on Ecclesiastes (and Pete Seeger). There is a bridge that doesn’t show up until after 3 verses and four choruses, which has a key change from C to Eb then back for the last chorus.

The sheet music can be purchased at OCP, where the text is in their preview.

This is so lovely from Chris Brunelle:

Wow, a midi powered version:

Here is another Christmas song I was given, this time by local Tasmanian songwriter, Frank Vincent. It is a most singable prayer for this time of year.

He sent the text and chords:

I tried to make a fake sheet and backing, which are somewhat approximate:

This is Frank singing the song:

I have been lucky enough to receive two Christmas songs from Australian songwriters.

Greg Schiemer’s “Carol of the Magi” is what you need if you are looking for something out of the ordinary. It has a longing feeling in the 12/8 rhythm. The verses need a cantor but the refrain is for everyone and goes of into inventive harmonies for the choir when the text is repeated. Greg has sent in his songs before – “Poorman’s Heart and “Hymn for Mary MacKillop”, which you can search for on this site.

He sent this message about the song:

Here’s a carol you might like to share at Christmas. Anyone can use it absolutely free of charge. Carol of the Magi was written in 1985 and owes much to the refugees who became neighbours during the previous decade and eventually close friends. The three voices in the repeated refrain can be sung by any available male or female voice in a suitable register. The melody of the refrain seemed unstoppable hence the fade out as Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar continue on their journey. Wishing every Christmas blessing to friend and outsider alike.

Y0u will get the idea from the sheet music that Greg has provided.

He also sent an MP3 backing:

I made one with a different (wrong!) feel: