Church Music

I’m on a quixotic quest to look at all the Shirley Erena Murray texts in Alleluia Aotearoa. She writes texts that suit metrical tunes so often they can be set to old hymns in addition to their newer settings.

This is a hymn of praise suitable for gathering and communion. The text is at Hope Publications where it is set to STRENGTH AND STAY by John B. Dykes. To give myself a break from guessing chords I have decided to use the wonderful Small Church Music site for their public domain files. I got the BIAB file here and took his first verse and looped it and rearranged it for my backing:

In AA they set it to INFINITE by Douglas Mews. That one I had to figure out chords for a backing myself.

They also suggested the tune HIGHWOOD by R. R. Terry, which is at Small Church Music as well, so I rearranged his BIAB file as well.

Alleluia Aotearoa is a seemingly never ending source of fantastic Shirley Erena Murray texts. It is worth buying the collection for them alone. (I’m sure the other songs are great too.)

This song – perfect for All Saints coming up soon – would also work for funerals or in Lent.

The text is at Hope Publications.

AA uses a setting by Douglas C. Mews.

I struggled to come up with chords for this one – its a good thing a write in pencil – but I cobbled together a BIAB backing.

Everybody wants to use a Shirley Murray text so they find a favourite hymn to suit. At Hope you will find three more of these settings. The chords for my backings start as guesswork and when that fails I look at the music properly! I know they are probably for church organ but there is only so many times I can fire upon the wind up BIAB organ setting before I get restless.

Hal Hopson‘s tune, COMMUNION OF SAINTS:

Charles V. Stanford‘s ENGELBERG:

Ralph Vaughan William‘s SINE NOMINE:

But wait there’s more – William Walsham How‘s SARUM was also suggested:

Even with much fine traditional hymnody to set her, everyone wants to set Shirley Murray’s texts again. Here is another go on Youtube:

Wendell David Glick:

Here are performances of SINE NOMINE:

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

Gifts: Jesus, Remember Me (Berthier) AOV1/152.

Communion: Hymn to Christ the King (Hart et al)

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

Entrance: Gather Us In (Haugen) AOV 1/12

Gifts: Blessed Be Our God  (McKenna) AOV NG 13

Communion: Bread of Heaven  (Manibusan-Hart)

Recessional: Sing Out Earth and Skies (Haugen) AOV 2/32  

Entrance: Gather As One  (McKenna) AOV NG 48

Gifts: Shepherd Me O God (Haugen) AOV 1/33

Communion: In the Breaking of the Bread  (Hurd) AOV 1/58

Recessional: Glory in the Cross (Schutte)

Entrance: All Are Welcome (Haugen)

Gifts: I Have Loved You (Joncas) AOV 1/126

Communion: Blessed One (Thompson) VAO 2/215

NB now at GIA.

Recessional: Though the Mountains May Fall  (Schutte)  AOV 1/182

A difficult text for difficult situations from Shirley Murray from Alleluia Aotearoa.

The text and the sheet music for Jillian Bray‘s setting are available at Hope Publications.

My BIAB backing uses chords derived from the sheet music.

I can’t find a recording of that setting but there is this one by Larry E Johnson from the Community of Christ.

Goodness I thought I’d done this already:

Entrance: Hosea (Norbet) AOV 1/30

Gifts: The Cry of the Poor (Foley) AOV 1/83  

Communion: Holy Is Your Name (WILD MOUNTAIN THYME)

Recessional: Go Make a Difference  (Angrisano/Tomaszek) AOV NG 52

This is a great Pentecost text from Shirley Murray in Alleluia Aoteroa.

The text is at Hope Publications where it is set, as it is in AA, to SIGNUM by Colin Gibson. Just when you think you know where the tune is heading it darts off somewhere else – it also does go awfully high.

I made up some chords for the backing on the BIAB church organ.

For some reason I thought it needed a trip hop arrangement as well:

On real organ it sounds like this:

Of course because everyone wanted to cover her texts there are other settings, like this one from Michael Capon.

Even Tony Alonso has a lovely gentle setting with “come holy spirit, come” repeated before and after the verses. The sheet music is available at GIA, where you can hear his version.

Alleluia Aotearoa has an awful lot of Shirley Murray texts. This one is a hymn for Bible Sunday that skillfully enmeshes stores from one end of the Bible to the other.

The words and sheet music for Colin Gibson‘s setting are at Hope Publications.