To the Table We are Called

In another 2024 song from Willow, we have another Eucharistic hymn with music by Michael Harvey, this time with lyrics by Monica O’Brien. That’s two new songs for communion for us to consider to make our liturgies renewed and more Australian based.

The sheet music is at Willow.

I am enjoying putting Michael Harvey’s music into BIAB, which I think means it is distinctive and memorable.

As I can’t find any YouTube clips yet, you can sing along with my backing to learn it before you buy it. I even bothered to put the “poco rall” in at the end for a change.

Refrain (Rpt 1st time)

To the table we are called, to the banquet of the Lord.

We are gathered for the feast where we will see the face of God and live!

By your grace we are gather here in faith.

In this meal we are made whole.

1 In the body that is gathered, by hope that calls us here.

In our longings and our struggles, we place our trust in you.

Refrain

2 Bread and wine become your body by the faith that draws us near.

In this sacred meal of promise, we know your saving grace.

Refrain

3 In this mystery now before us we pray for unity,

For healing of our broken world, for peace be restored.

Refrain

In this meal we are made whole.

© 2024 Michael Harvey and Monica O’Brien

* After reading Chris’s comment, I thought I’d see what entering just the piano notes into BIAB would do. It usually just sounds mechanical, but until we get proper recordings it might give you an idea of the actual written music rather than a backing that I have based on the chords and melody alone.

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3 Responses to To the Table We are Called

  1. A two part question: why do we need Australian based songs in liturgy, and what makes this particular song Australian (apart from the nationality of the writers). Without the context of the article, I believe that anyone listening to the Band in the Box recording would think of it as the karaoke for a US pop song in the style associated with Bette Midler (“From a Distance” came to my mind) rather than anything Australian! Maybe it’s just me …

    I agree that the song has a very attractive melody, but to my ears it is so syncopated (perhaps because of the drums) as to be distracting for communion.

    I don’t want to sound negative about Australian material, so I’ll do a little promo here for something that probably won’t work well in Band in the Box. We’ve started introducing Australian Marist Brother Michael Herry’s new Gregorian style “Mass of Saint Ambrose”, not because it’s Australian, but because it fits our style of Mass, and it’s very good: pleasant to the ear, no vocal extremes, and easy to learn once one acclamation is bedded in due to clever reuse of melodies as building blocks in other acclamations. The Gloria is different, based on a Pentecost hymn tune, and we’ll add that in later. We’ve found it works fine on piano even though the style is more associated with organ or a cappella. The accompaniment is available from Willow while a free melody-line edition with an audio tutorial is to be found on his website.

    • maddg says:

      Great questions, Chris.

      I think we need Australian composed music because it is far more likely that music coming out of the musicians participating in the Australian church will be meaningful for Australian assemblies. The Irish church sings Irish songs and the American their own songs because they come out of their culture. Australian culture is distinct from American culture, thank God, and there is a value to having our own music. I’d have Paul Kelly writing for liturgy but I fear he is lapsed!

      As an occasional songwriter, it would be nice to think that local composers would get some support. It’s not like anyone is going to make any real money out of it, other than those working the schools maybe, so let’s encourage them. I’d also suggest that the viable youth ministries in Australia encourage participation by getting the young people writing their own music.

      We are swamped by American music from the OCP/GIA axis and I think the key to the curation of the original AOV collections was that they took the best of the US material and added Irish, English and Australian songs. Outstanding music should be used no matter where it comes from, but there is a lot of mediocre music from the US that can be put to one side and replaced with Australian compositions. When I do the updates from OCP every year I am rarely blown away. I will look at this year’s OCP material later in the year and I hope to be pleasantly surprised, but doubt I will.

      I haven’t heard a lot of Michael Harvey, but to my ear he doesn’t have the OCP house style that is prevalent in US Catholic music. Looking at the sheet music this one isn’t syncopated really, he just uses a lot of dotted notes that give a conversational rhythm to some of the lines. I must admit BIAB strips out the subtlety of his piano arrangement, but I have found entering all the piano notes without the human element isn’t satisfactory either- hopefully there will be something from him on Youtube soon, or a sample track at Willow.

      I like Herry’s work and I’ll have a look at the mass. If your assembly is still inculturated to Gregorian then you should be using it. Much as we may wish it otherwise, that ship sailed years ago in most parishes. I’m still to be convinced that our archdiocese believes in music at all, let alone chant.

      I hope to see you next Saturday at the workshop, to be convinced otherwise.

      cheers

      Geoff

  2. Chris Wroblewski says:

    There was a conversation on this blog including Ryan a few months ago noting that little of the newer material from OCP is sticking, which suggests they have lost their way. With their supposedly youth-oriented material being produced by people in their fifties and sixties, this may be part of the problem. I take an interest in their Heritage Missal (for traditional parishes), which comes out every two years and am pleased that it has stopped just being a subset of their main Breaking Bread missal (where every hymn could also be found in BB), so maybe they’re changing their ways.

    In the eighties, I feel that Australia did have quite a unique liturgical music style, different from the US, with people like Frank Andersen, Paul Gurr, Brian Boniwell, Kevin Bates, Trisha Watts, Monica O’Brien, Monica Brown and others leading the way. Whatever the good and bad, most of it felt at home in a liturgical setting without feeling like pop songs (yes, “A New Heart for a New World” extracts music from a pop song!), but I’m not sure that is the case today.

    Although we use traditional style hymns (at the Saturday evening Mass), our congregation is not inculturated to Gregorian: the only chant they regularly hear is from the psalm and gospel acclamation verses.. When I started the music at this congregation nearly ten years ago, it was colloquially known as the “Old Age Pensioners Mass”, and I think most of them really wanted a quiet Mass rather than the “Gather Australia” style we used at the time. But now we have a more even spread of ages (but few children), more attendance (thank goodness) and less complaints, though I do wish there was more congregational singing as I’m quite sure that my croacky voice is not an enticement!

    The Sunday Evening Mass was formerly known as the youth Mass with AOV style music, but now it is the most traditional of all with organ, two hymns and chanted propers, and, I’m told, doing very well numbers wise: it is led by a talented young man.

    I know I’m at a cathedral, which inherently is going to attract the more traditional folk, but I don’t think it’s a stretch for suburban parish congregations to accept basic chant at their Masses, and one doesn’t need to be an expert specialist to lead it!

    I am looking forward to Saturday’s workshop and catching up with you.

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