Playing at a Requiem today. I point blank refused to play something called "dancing in the moonlight" as the coffin leaves the church. Two reasons - firstly its against the "rules" to have secular songs during the liturgy, and secondly they sound rubbish when played by a lone pianist/organist.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
Playing at a Requiem today. I point blank refused to play something called "dancing in the moonlight" as the coffin leaves the church. Two reasons - firstly its against the "rules" to have secular songs during the liturgy, and secondly they sound rubbish when played by a lone pianist/organist.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
Maybe, but not necessarily. There can be enough of the chords, rhythm and melody to let the brain fill in the rest.
Playing at a Requiem today. I point blank refused to play something called "dancing in the moonlight" as the coffin leaves the church. Two reasons - firstly its against the "rules" to have secular songs during the liturgy, and secondly they sound rubbish when played by a lone pianist/organist.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
Playing at a Requiem today. I point blank refused to play something called "dancing in the moonlight" as the coffin leaves the church. Two reasons - firstly its against the "rules" to have secular songs during the liturgy, and secondly they sound rubbish when played by a lone pianist/organist.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
Maybe, but not necessarily. There can be enough of the chords, rhythm and melody to let the brain fill in the rest.
Agreed, but so many are musically thin and rely on the voice and shed loads of post-production.
Playing at a Requiem today. I point blank refused to play something called "dancing in the moonlight" as the coffin leaves the church. Two reasons - firstly its against the "rules" to have secular songs during the liturgy, and secondly they sound rubbish when played by a lone pianist/organist.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
Maybe, but not necessarily. There can be enough of the chords, rhythm and melody to let the brain fill in the rest.
Agreed, but so many are musically thin and rely on the voice and shed loads of post-production.
True. And true of some "sacred" music, alas. One or two times I've downloaded an accompaniment to a song that has been listed for a service and not been able to find the tune in it with both hands and an atlas.
Playing at a Requiem today. I point blank refused to play something called "dancing in the moonlight" as the coffin leaves the church. Two reasons - firstly its against the "rules" to have secular songs during the liturgy, and secondly they sound rubbish when played by a lone pianist/organist.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
Maybe, but not necessarily. There can be enough of the chords, rhythm and melody to let the brain fill in the rest.
Agreed, but so many are musically thin and rely on the voice and shed loads of post-production.
True. And true of some "sacred" music, alas. One or two times I've downloaded an accompaniment to a song that has been listed for a service and not been able to find the tune in it with both hands and an atlas.
True. And true of some "sacred" music, alas. One or two times I've downloaded an accompaniment to a song that has been listed for a service and not been able to find the tune in it with both hands and an atlas.
Play the first bar or so and then branch off into something decent.
True. And true of some "sacred" music, alas. One or two times I've downloaded an accompaniment to a song that has been listed for a service and not been able to find the tune in it with both hands and an atlas.
Play the first bar or so and then branch off into something decent.
I'm the singer in these instances and we've no organist at present so I'm reliant on musescore to turn the dots into sound. Fortunately "modern" for our church is usually older than me or, if the officiant is particularly daring, dates from when I was at university almost two decades ago, so I'm rarely faced with something unfamiliar in this vein. My issue comes when I come up against a hymn in 11 10 11 10 and realised I don't know any tunes that will fit the words. If the hymn had an even number of verses I'd just sing it to Londonderry Air and have done with it, but it's got 5.
Londonderry Air has some impossibly high notes in it (impossible for me that means). Try Be thou my vision, although "thou" might draw a few blank looks.
Londonderry Air has some impossibly high notes in it (impossible for me that means). Try Be thou my vision, although "thou" might draw a few blank looks.
The advantage of Musescore is that I can transpose pretty much on a whim.
Anyway, on further examination there is one possible tune that I know and just about fits - Lord of the years. Phew! [for anyone curious this is for Great God of every shining constellation which has the given tune HIGHWOOD]
Although I like and use Highwood, I've only ever sung Lord of the Years to its own tune.
Same here (BTW, are we talking about Lord, for the years? AIUI, the words are by Timothy Dudley-Smith, but the tune is called Lord of the years, and is by Michael Baughen.
Either way, a hymn which has been somewhat over-exposed, IMHO, though reasonably singable. Highwood is a lovely tune, though.
As regards Londonderry Air, you could (if you so wished) simply use the first four lines of the tune as the music for a four-line hymn. I've heard it so used in a Dutch setting, but they sang the last four lines of the tune (the bit with the high notes!) for the final verse.
Londonderry Air has some impossibly high notes in it (impossible for me that means). Try Be thou my vision, although "thou" might draw a few blank looks.
Depends on the key. They usually put it in something like Ab which makes bits of it rather low for me. Problem is it has a wide range, as does We Plough the Fields so you're inevitably going to take some of the untrained voices (typically a range of about a 10th, as opposed to the two octaves+ someone who's done some formal singing will tend to have) of the congregation either too high or too low.
Painful as it is for me as a tenor to admit, you're better heading low. People don't mind fading out on low notes half as much as they do cracking high ones.
Our first time at the fully restored church service, now evening instead of morning as we are experimenting will some different shorter services without a band in the morning and afternoon. We went in early as our son was doing the sound checks, the band was: lead singer with acoustic guitar, bass acoustic guitar, keyboard and violin (no drums this week).
We had 6 songs, which is more than usual:
Praise is rising - Baloche
O praise the name (I cast my mind to Calvary) - Hillsong
Amazing Grace (my chains are gone) - Newton, Tomlin, Giglio
Be lifted up - Oakley
Lion and the lamb - Bethel music
Beautiful saviour (All my days) - Townend
We also had 2 adult baptisms so quite a full service.
Service this morning, with a baptism:
How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord/Repton
Ho, All Who Thirst (Come Now to the Water) Jacob’s Well
Come! Live in the Light!/We Are Called
Funeral this afternoon:
Morning Has Broken/Bunessan
Be Thou My Vidion/ Slane
God Be with You Till We Meet Again/Randolph
Londonderry Air has some impossibly high notes in it (impossible for me that means). Try Be thou my vision, although "thou" might draw a few blank looks.
Depends on the key. They usually put it in something like Ab which makes bits of it rather low for me. Problem is it has a wide range, as does We Plough the Fields so you're inevitably going to take some of the untrained voices (typically a range of about a 10th, as opposed to the two octaves+ someone who's done some formal singing will tend to have) of the congregation either too high or too low.
I agree that the problem is the range for most in the congregation. No matter which key it's set in, there's going to be problems for the congregation one way or the other. A choir can manage things pretty well, but not those in the pews. Whoever sets the hymns should bear congregational abilities in mind.
Our first Sunday since lockdown restrictions relaxed fractionally and diocesan reopening processes were complete. I attended the litttle off-beam church that is technically my place of worship, though I only get there about three times a year. At the best of times its music is pre-recorded, and to my annoyance the liturgies are normally scratched together in a more or less eucharistic form but from multiple internet sources - I don't think I've ever heard one of the conciliar creeds said there, and rarely a New Zealand Prayer Book prayer. But I go, because: God (teaching me to stop being a pretentious git) and people (mainly* people from the edge of ecclesia and society). Because local. Because as a diocesan-wide worker I don't want to be identified with one of the big self-important places in town - regardless of theology or churchmanship.
So no singing permitted yet (the Government regulations are based on a concept of church as 1000 tightly packed people singing "Really Just Jesus Lord Lord" or in glossolating harmonically with a warble-band gasping at the front), communion in one kind delivered to 2 metre radius bubbles, masks ... most of you are far more used to variations on this theme that we are ...
So music to listen to? The organizing Rev'd Canon Priest is a wonderful, strong social worker priest deeply influenced by the Cursillo movement (here they pronounce it the Spanish way, as against the anglicised was used in OZ), preferring music of the "10,000 Reasons" variety ... hence its use at the online service I "attended" for the two weeks previous ... but ...
1. Processional-ish (after the "Prayer of Approach" and "Call to Worship"): Make Me a Channel ... sung by Sinéad O'Connor. (I have this on CD and love it, though some would find O'Connor's gaia-ology a little, er, unorthodox; it doen't affect her rendition of this song)
2. Gradual-ish ("Normal" liturgical spot): The Lord is My Light ...sung by Adeaze (who?)
3. Post reflection (we don't do sermons when the Rev'd Canon Priest is on deck): The Lord is my Light ... Hillsong (*shudder* ... but properity gospel not apparent in this song)
4. Offertory: "Give Thanks" ... Maranatha Music
5 Recessional-ish ... You Raise Me Up" ... sung by Selah (wwo?)
And as a pompous git who likes lusty congregational singing of Together in Song meet Priase Be style only I should have hated it.
This week, what with it being Harvest Festival, we had
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
We Plough the Fields
and a couple of others which escape me now but were all very much straight out of the Ancient & Modern harvest playbook. Usual presentation of offerings etc, and being hyper rural, much actually produced by farmers and villagers - our contribution was about a hundredweight of surplus apples...
Our first Sunday since lockdown restrictions relaxed fractionally and diocesan reopening processes were complete. I attended the litttle off-beam church that is technically my place of worship, though I only get there about three times a year. At the best of times its music is pre-recorded, and to my annoyance the liturgies are normally scratched together in a more or less eucharistic form but from multiple internet sources - I don't think I've ever heard one of the conciliar creeds said there, and rarely a New Zealand Prayer Book prayer. But I go, because: God (teaching me to stop being a pretentious git) and people (mainly* people from the edge of ecclesia and society). Because local. Because as a diocesan-wide worker I don't want to be identified with one of the big self-important places in town - regardless of theology or churchmanship.
So no singing permitted yet (the Government regulations are based on a concept of church as 1000 tightly packed people singing "Really Just Jesus Lord Lord" or in glossolating harmonically with a warble-band gasping at the front), communion in one kind delivered to 2 metre radius bubbles, masks ... most of you are far more used to variations on this theme that we are ...
So music to listen to? The organizing Rev'd Canon Priest is a wonderful, strong social worker priest deeply influenced by the Cursillo movement (here they pronounce it the Spanish way, as against the anglicised was used in OZ), preferring music of the "10,000 Reasons" variety ... hence its use at the online service I "attended" for the two weeks previous ... but ...
1. Processional-ish (after the "Prayer of Approach" and "Call to Worship"): Make Me a Channel ... sung by Sinéad O'Connor. (I have this on CD and love it, though some would find O'Connor's gaia-ology a little, er, unorthodox; it doen't affect her rendition of this song)
2. Gradual-ish ("Normal" liturgical spot): The Lord is My Light ...sung by Adeaze (who?)
3. Post reflection (we don't do sermons when the Rev'd Canon Priest is on deck): The Lord is my Light ... Hillsong (*shudder* ... but properity gospel not apparent in this song)
4. Offertory: "Give Thanks" ... Maranatha Music
5 Recessional-ish ... You Raise Me Up" ... sung by Selah (wwo?)
And as a pompous git who likes lusty congregational singing of Together in Song meet Priase Be style only I should have hated it.
But you know? There was a lot of God there.
*If about a dozen can have a "mainly."
@Zappa I've heard Adeaze before, Aotearoa brothers Nainz and Viiz Tupai playing Samoan-inflected rhythm-and-bluesy soul. Have been playing The Lord is my Light (new to me) since reading this.
11:00am Holy Communion
Holy, holy, holy (Nicea)
Lord of all hopefulness (Slane)
O worship the Lord, all glorious above (Hanover)
Evening Prayer
O Trinity of blessed light (Bromley)
Rejoice, O land in God thy might (Wareham)
O God of earth and altar (King's Lynn)
God the omnipotent (Russia)
Everything seemed to hang together quite well this Sunday, which was nice.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
It depends what you're doing. If you're trying to do a straight reproduction of the song, then it doesn't work at all. But just like there's a beauty to cut-down acoustic versions of some songs, a pianist or organist playing variations on a theme from S Club 7 can work quite well.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
It depends what you're doing. If you're trying to do a straight reproduction of the song, then it doesn't work at all. But just like there's a beauty to cut-down acoustic versions of some songs, a pianist or organist playing variations on a theme from S Club 7 can work quite well.
I agree, but when a bride asks to walk out to a current chart "banger" discrete variations might not cut the mustard.
The only song I have been happy playing was "Isn't she lovely" which has some excellent chord progressions and a decent tune and is fun to play.
“Let us gladly with one mind” (Monkland).
“Who put the colours in the rainbow?”
“Our God makes the harvest grow" (Old MacDonald).
“Think of a world”.
“Beauty for brokenness”.
“Great is your faithfulness”.
Not sure what the first hymn was, but the Offertory was *God is love; His the care*, sung rather too slowly IMHO (I watched parts of the service on the FB livestream, but there were technical hitches).
The final hymn was *We plough the fields*, to the usual tune.
(Tangentially, there seemed to be some conflict between the hymns/prayers, and the state of the actual world around us. A glance at the fresh produce shelves in Tesco shows that all is not safely gathered in, and prayers for those who fish our local waters are redundant, as there is now no commercial fishing - all because Brexit...).
We had:
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness (RHUDDLAN)
Lord bring the day to pass (LOVE UNKNOWN)
Christ's is the world in which we move (DREAM ANGUS)
Holy Spirit hear us (GLENFINLAS)
Great is thy faithfulness (FAITHFULNESS)
I was at Mass in Croatia in an unaltered 6th century cathedral at Porec. It was spine tingling. They sang hymns at the usual places as well as the actual Mass parts. A choir of a dozen or so led the singing. All unaccompanied and in simple harmonies. Lots of men so even the spoken responses boomed out. Very intense and fervent atmosphere.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
I thought of this discussion while watching the latest episode of Ted Lasso last night, which featured a sort of impromptu Rickroll at a funeral. The organist joined in toward the end.
Today we had:
When in Our Music God Is Glorified/Engelberg
Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness/Spirit
Every Time I Feel the Spirit
11:00am Morning Prayer & Litany
"When morning guilds the sky" (Laudes Domini)
"In Christ there is no East or West" (McKee)
"A Mighty Fortress" (Ein Feste Burg)
Venite (Goodson), Benedictus es (Turton), and Benedictus (Turle)
5:00pm Sung Communion
"Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness" (Schmuecke Dich)
"Most high, omnipotent, good Lord" (Assisi)
"Christian dost thou see them" (St Andrew of Crete)
Merbeck/Old Scottish Gloria because this is Vuh-gin-ya
This evening was my son’s first time doing the sound desk alone at church, with full worship band.
We sang:
When I survey the wondrous cross - Watts
Our father everlasting (The creed) - Hillsong
It all revolves (Glory and praise) - Elevation worship
By the grace of God - Bethel Music (I didn’t know this one but the tune made me want to sing Amazing Grace)
Our God he reigns - Brading
Thank you Jesus - Huntley/Kingsway
We had:
O Lord, our Lord [Psalm 8] (TRAMPS AND HAWKERS which was really weird as it's almost but not quite the same as the "Scottish traditional melody" used for How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me but is also known as "The homes of Donegal" so who knows the real origin)
Take my life Lord let it be (I don't like the "modernised" version of this in CH4, the rhymes seem forced and the poetry poor)
Judge eternal (RHUDDLAN)
And can it be (SAGINA)
All my hope on God is founded (GROESWEN)
That's a fascinating list which contains two tunes I'd never heard of! I don't know what tune I'd sing to Psalm 8, but to me How lovely is thy dwelling place must go to Harington (also known as Retirement). And I have always sung All my hope to Michael, not that I like it very much!
That's a fascinating list which contains two tunes I'd never heard of! I don't know what tune I'd sing to Psalm 8, but to me How lovely is thy dwelling place must go to Harington (also known as Retirement). And I have always sung All my hope to Michael, not that I like it very much!
Different How lovely, confusingly. You have to get to the third line "my soul is longing and fainting / the courts of the Lord to see" as opposed to "the tabernacles of thy grace / how pleasant Lord they be", the latter of which I do indeed know to HARINGTON (RETIREMENT). I grew up with MICHAEL for All my hope but have learned the other in deference to this congregation's familiarity.
Edit: if anyone would like to hear me stagger/blast my way through these hymns PM me and I'll send you the link.
We also had a metrical version of Psalm 8. Today we had:
Come and Let Us Worship God (Wild Goose Resources) O God of Every Nation/LLANGLOFFAN Jesus, Lover of My Soul/ABERYSTWYTH Lord, Our Lord, Thy Glorious Name (Psalm 8)/GOTT SEI DANK DURCH ALLE WELT In the Singing/BREAD OF PEACE This Is My Song/FINLANDIA
Yesterday we sang
At the name of Jesus ( Evelyns)
Crown him with many crowns( Diademata)
Christ triumphant ( Guiting Power)
Anthem was Vaughan Williams’
O taste and see. Only four of us, but, though I say it myself, it was beautiful.
Funny ... if I think of "How Lovely on the Mountains" I think of the Scripture in Song version which Hymnary tells me was "versified" by Leonard Smith. I understood it was written by David & Dale Garratt and have always thought it was launched at a TSCF conference I was at in Hamilton, NZ, soon after I came to faith in '79. Oh well.
11am Baptism and Sung Communion
Come down, O Love Divine (Down Ampney)
Come risen Lord, and deign to be our guest (Edsall)
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! (Hyfrydol)
5pm Evensong
Now it is evening; time to rest from labour (Diva Servatrix)
Holy Father, sheer our way (Capetown)
O for a closer walk with God (Beatitudo)
Lord dismiss us with thy blessing (Sicilian Mariners)
I'd list our wonderful Michaelmas music (solemnity transferred to Sunday), but Facebook is verkakt, and all I remember is Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels; Harris, Bring us, O Lord God; and Stanford Evening Service in C. I have yet to watch all of both videos (High Mass and E&B).
Funny ... if I think of "How Lovely on the Mountains" I think of the Scripture in Song version which Hymnary tells me was "versified" by Leonard Smith. I understood it was written by David & Dale Garratt and have always thought it was launched at a TSCF conference I was at in Hamilton, NZ, soon after I came to faith in '79. Oh well.
That's based on Isaiah, of course, rather than Psalm 8. I know it from Mission Praise, which intriguingly records two versions of the words.
That show had and continues to have a major impact on me and on my faith.
Yes. Likewise.
Me too. I love that version of 'We plough...' although it does get really high in the chorus! And I've sung 'Turn Back O Man' at a concert, complete with Mae West impressions.
'On The Willows' always makes me cry, much more than the rather clunky lyrics that accompany the crucifixion scene.
Gather us in - Haugen. (Good strong hymn)
Take this moment - Bell. (Drippy.)
This is my body - Owens. (Dripper.)
Christ be our light - Farrell. (A banger of a hymn!)
Before the plague our lot would raise the roof. Now not so much with masks, even though numbers are back to 130+ for the 11.00.
At Tuesday's morning service in Iona Abbey we had Iona Community (of course!) songs with tunes not known to me.
Slithers of Gold
Psalm 65 said not sung
O God you search me and you know me (based on Psalm 139)
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Now we are with the Methodists there are some small thing to notice, like that initial O which you wouldn’t find in CH4)
Make me a channel of your peace.
Something I had never sung before, but liked, by Fred Pratt Green, but I don’t remember the first line.
To God be the glory
Our new Methodist friends can’t get over the wonder of having Mr Cats play their organ for them, which is nice. He likes it too, having a real pipe organ to play on/with.
Comments
Yes. Likewise.
When people ask for pop songs to be played by the organist/pianist it must always be disappointing when what they hear is a pale shadow of the record they know.
Maybe, but not necessarily. There can be enough of the chords, rhythm and melody to let the brain fill in the rest.
Improvisation on a theme can work wonders😂
Agreed, but so many are musically thin and rely on the voice and shed loads of post-production.
True. And true of some "sacred" music, alas. One or two times I've downloaded an accompaniment to a song that has been listed for a service and not been able to find the tune in it with both hands and an atlas.
Oh yes!
Play the first bar or so and then branch off into something decent.
I'm the singer in these instances and we've no organist at present so I'm reliant on musescore to turn the dots into sound. Fortunately "modern" for our church is usually older than me or, if the officiant is particularly daring, dates from when I was at university almost two decades ago, so I'm rarely faced with something unfamiliar in this vein. My issue comes when I come up against a hymn in 11 10 11 10 and realised I don't know any tunes that will fit the words. If the hymn had an even number of verses I'd just sing it to Londonderry Air and have done with it, but it's got 5.
@Arethosemyfeet, would it work textually to repeat the first verse as a “last” verse?
The advantage of Musescore is that I can transpose pretty much on a whim.
Anyway, on further examination there is one possible tune that I know and just about fits - Lord of the years. Phew! [for anyone curious this is for Great God of every shining constellation which has the given tune HIGHWOOD]
Same here (BTW, are we talking about Lord, for the years? AIUI, the words are by Timothy Dudley-Smith, but the tune is called Lord of the years, and is by Michael Baughen.
Either way, a hymn which has been somewhat over-exposed, IMHO, though reasonably singable. Highwood is a lovely tune, though.
As regards Londonderry Air, you could (if you so wished) simply use the first four lines of the tune as the music for a four-line hymn. I've heard it so used in a Dutch setting, but they sang the last four lines of the tune (the bit with the high notes!) for the final verse.
Depends on the key. They usually put it in something like Ab which makes bits of it rather low for me. Problem is it has a wide range, as does We Plough the Fields so you're inevitably going to take some of the untrained voices (typically a range of about a 10th, as opposed to the two octaves+ someone who's done some formal singing will tend to have) of the congregation either too high or too low.
Painful as it is for me as a tenor to admit, you're better heading low. People don't mind fading out on low notes half as much as they do cracking high ones.
/tangent
Oh, i can work on that ...
mate ur my vista
Jesus my Jesus
You saved my kid sista
Saved us yeah saved us
Howm' i doin? Relevant? Yeah. Un-old. Yeah. Now I just (really just) need some wobbles and a few "mmm yessses"
We had 6 songs, which is more than usual:
Praise is rising - Baloche
O praise the name (I cast my mind to Calvary) - Hillsong
Amazing Grace (my chains are gone) - Newton, Tomlin, Giglio
Be lifted up - Oakley
Lion and the lamb - Bethel music
Beautiful saviour (All my days) - Townend
We also had 2 adult baptisms so quite a full service.
Service this morning, with a baptism:
How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord/Repton
Ho, All Who Thirst (Come Now to the Water) Jacob’s Well
Come! Live in the Light!/We Are Called
Funeral this afternoon:
Morning Has Broken/Bunessan
Be Thou My Vidion/ Slane
God Be with You Till We Meet Again/Randolph
I agree that the problem is the range for most in the congregation. No matter which key it's set in, there's going to be problems for the congregation one way or the other. A choir can manage things pretty well, but not those in the pews. Whoever sets the hymns should bear congregational abilities in mind.
Sorry, I was meaning as an alternative hymn, not using the music of one with the text of the other.
So no singing permitted yet (the Government regulations are based on a concept of church as 1000 tightly packed people singing "Really Just Jesus Lord Lord" or in glossolating harmonically with a warble-band gasping at the front), communion in one kind delivered to 2 metre radius bubbles, masks ... most of you are far more used to variations on this theme that we are ...
So music to listen to? The organizing Rev'd Canon Priest is a wonderful, strong social worker priest deeply influenced by the Cursillo movement (here they pronounce it the Spanish way, as against the anglicised was used in OZ), preferring music of the "10,000 Reasons" variety ... hence its use at the online service I "attended" for the two weeks previous ... but ...
1. Processional-ish (after the "Prayer of Approach" and "Call to Worship"):
Make Me a Channel ... sung by Sinéad O'Connor. (I have this on CD and love it, though some would find O'Connor's gaia-ology a little, er, unorthodox; it doen't affect her rendition of this song)
2. Gradual-ish ("Normal" liturgical spot):
The Lord is My Light ...sung by Adeaze (who?)
3. Post reflection (we don't do sermons when the Rev'd Canon Priest is on deck):
The Lord is my Light ... Hillsong (*shudder* ... but properity gospel not apparent in this song)
4. Offertory: "Give Thanks" ... Maranatha Music
5 Recessional-ish ... You Raise Me Up" ... sung by Selah (wwo?)
And as a pompous git who likes lusty congregational singing of Together in Song meet Priase Be style only I should have hated it.
But you know? There was a lot of God there.
*If about a dozen can have a "mainly."
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
We Plough the Fields
and a couple of others which escape me now but were all very much straight out of the Ancient & Modern harvest playbook. Usual presentation of offerings etc, and being hyper rural, much actually produced by farmers and villagers - our contribution was about a hundredweight of surplus apples...
@Zappa I've heard Adeaze before, Aotearoa brothers Nainz and Viiz Tupai playing Samoan-inflected rhythm-and-bluesy soul. Have been playing The Lord is my Light (new to me) since reading this.
11:00am Holy Communion
Holy, holy, holy (Nicea)
Lord of all hopefulness (Slane)
O worship the Lord, all glorious above (Hanover)
Evening Prayer
O Trinity of blessed light (Bromley)
Rejoice, O land in God thy might (Wareham)
O God of earth and altar (King's Lynn)
God the omnipotent (Russia)
Everything seemed to hang together quite well this Sunday, which was nice.
It depends what you're doing. If you're trying to do a straight reproduction of the song, then it doesn't work at all. But just like there's a beauty to cut-down acoustic versions of some songs, a pianist or organist playing variations on a theme from S Club 7 can work quite well.
I agree, but when a bride asks to walk out to a current chart "banger" discrete variations might not cut the mustard.
The only song I have been happy playing was "Isn't she lovely" which has some excellent chord progressions and a decent tune and is fun to play.
O day of peace that dimly shines
Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult
O worship the King, all glorious above!
“Let us gladly with one mind” (Monkland).
“Who put the colours in the rainbow?”
“Our God makes the harvest grow" (Old MacDonald).
“Think of a world”.
“Beauty for brokenness”.
“Great is your faithfulness”.
Not sure what the first hymn was, but the Offertory was *God is love; His the care*, sung rather too slowly IMHO (I watched parts of the service on the FB livestream, but there were technical hitches).
The final hymn was *We plough the fields*, to the usual tune.
(Tangentially, there seemed to be some conflict between the hymns/prayers, and the state of the actual world around us. A glance at the fresh produce shelves in Tesco shows that all is not safely gathered in, and prayers for those who fish our local waters are redundant, as there is now no commercial fishing - all because Brexit...).
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness (RHUDDLAN)
Lord bring the day to pass (LOVE UNKNOWN)
Christ's is the world in which we move (DREAM ANGUS)
Holy Spirit hear us (GLENFINLAS)
Great is thy faithfulness (FAITHFULNESS)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrasian_Basilica
Stunning...
Today we had:
When in Our Music God Is Glorified/Engelberg
Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness/Spirit
Every Time I Feel the Spirit
Yes. My eyes prickled.
"When morning guilds the sky" (Laudes Domini)
"In Christ there is no East or West" (McKee)
"A Mighty Fortress" (Ein Feste Burg)
Venite (Goodson), Benedictus es (Turton), and Benedictus (Turle)
5:00pm Sung Communion
"Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness" (Schmuecke Dich)
"Most high, omnipotent, good Lord" (Assisi)
"Christian dost thou see them" (St Andrew of Crete)
Merbeck/Old Scottish Gloria because this is Vuh-gin-ya
We sang:
When I survey the wondrous cross - Watts
Our father everlasting (The creed) - Hillsong
It all revolves (Glory and praise) - Elevation worship
By the grace of God - Bethel Music (I didn’t know this one but the tune made me want to sing Amazing Grace)
Our God he reigns - Brading
Thank you Jesus - Huntley/Kingsway
O Lord, our Lord [Psalm 8] (TRAMPS AND HAWKERS which was really weird as it's almost but not quite the same as the "Scottish traditional melody" used for How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me but is also known as "The homes of Donegal" so who knows the real origin)
Take my life Lord let it be (I don't like the "modernised" version of this in CH4, the rhymes seem forced and the poetry poor)
Judge eternal (RHUDDLAN)
And can it be (SAGINA)
All my hope on God is founded (GROESWEN)
Different How lovely, confusingly. You have to get to the third line "my soul is longing and fainting / the courts of the Lord to see" as opposed to "the tabernacles of thy grace / how pleasant Lord they be", the latter of which I do indeed know to HARINGTON (RETIREMENT). I grew up with MICHAEL for All my hope but have learned the other in deference to this congregation's familiarity.
Edit: if anyone would like to hear me stagger/blast my way through these hymns PM me and I'll send you the link.
Come and Let Us Worship God (Wild Goose Resources)
O God of Every Nation/LLANGLOFFAN
Jesus, Lover of My Soul/ABERYSTWYTH
Lord, Our Lord, Thy Glorious Name (Psalm 8)/GOTT SEI DANK DURCH ALLE WELT
In the Singing/BREAD OF PEACE
This Is My Song/FINLANDIA
At the name of Jesus ( Evelyns)
Crown him with many crowns( Diademata)
Christ triumphant ( Guiting Power)
Anthem was Vaughan Williams’
O taste and see. Only four of us, but, though I say it myself, it was beautiful.
Come down, O Love Divine (Down Ampney)
Come risen Lord, and deign to be our guest (Edsall)
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! (Hyfrydol)
5pm Evensong
Now it is evening; time to rest from labour (Diva Servatrix)
Holy Father, sheer our way (Capetown)
O for a closer walk with God (Beatitudo)
Lord dismiss us with thy blessing (Sicilian Mariners)
Nothing unusual to report on the service must.
That's based on Isaiah, of course, rather than Psalm 8. I know it from Mission Praise, which intriguingly records two versions of the words.
Me too. I love that version of 'We plough...' although it does get really high in the chorus! And I've sung 'Turn Back O Man' at a concert, complete with Mae West impressions.
'On The Willows' always makes me cry, much more than the rather clunky lyrics that accompany the crucifixion scene.
Take this moment - Bell. (Drippy.)
This is my body - Owens. (Dripper.)
Christ be our light - Farrell. (A banger of a hymn!)
Before the plague our lot would raise the roof. Now not so much with masks, even though numbers are back to 130+ for the 11.00.
Slithers of Gold
Psalm 65 said not sung
O God you search me and you know me (based on Psalm 139)
Make me a channel of your peace.
Something I had never sung before, but liked, by Fred Pratt Green, but I don’t remember the first line.
To God be the glory
Our new Methodist friends can’t get over the wonder of having Mr Cats play their organ for them, which is nice. He likes it too, having a real pipe organ to play on/with.