Christ be beside me, as in the "middle verses" of St Patrick's Breastplate? I think I may have sung them to Bunessan, but what I'm remembering from my Church of Ireland days is something different, probably "Deirdre", which misses out the word "be", and is 4 4 4 4 D metre.
You mentioned how “Morning Has Broken” always seems a bit twee to you. I wonder how much of that is due to the meter—5.5.5.4.D. Those short lines can give a sense of sing-songiness.
Brits of a certain age may think of it primarily as a school assembly song. I certainly do (though as a six-year old I probably understood very little of it!)
I used to have the sheet music which included the beautiful Rick Wakeman piano part, but never played it in church!
Ahem - Cat Stevens
Yes, but it was Rick on the piano!
Indeed. He got everywhere. That’s also him on Life on Mars.
Christ be beside me, as in the "middle verses" of St Patrick's Breastplate? I think I may have sung them to Bunessan, but what I'm remembering from my Church of Ireland days is something different, probably "Deirdre", which misses out the word "be", and is 4 4 4 4 D metre.
I'm as musically incompetent and ignorant as they come, but I feel Bunessan would definitely give it a different flavour! One of my favourites.
You mentioned how “Morning Has Broken” always seems a bit twee to you. I wonder how much of that is due to the meter—5.5.5.4.D. Those short lines can give a sense of sing-songiness.
Brits of a certain age may think of it primarily as a school assembly song. I certainly do (though as a six-year old I probably understood very little of it!)
I used to have the sheet music which included the beautiful Rick Wakeman piano part, but never played it in church!
Ahem - Cat Stevens
Yes, but it was Rick on the piano!
Back in the 1970's when our local commercial radio station started, they used to have a God Slot on the breakfast show (rather like 'Thought for the Day' on BBC Radio 4 I suppose) (Apparently the regular DJ hated having to introduce it as he was an atheist) and this slot was called 'Morning has Broken' (my father was one of the pool of speakers, which is probably why I remember it so well). It had a theme tune of a rather lovely piece of piano music, but at the time I had no idea how it related to the 'Morning has Broken' name (I knew MHB was a hymn of course, as I'd learnt it in primary school assembly) ... it was only years later when I actually heard the Cat Stevens recording that I realised this piano theme used on the radio was actually the introduction to the song! (But never realised until now that it was played by Rick Wakemen - thanks Gill! )
Our choir was rather depleted by illness and didn’t sing any solos.
Hymns
You servants of God, / Laudate Dominum
Now to the King of heaven, / St John
Author of faith, eternal word, / Warrington
Rejoice in God’s saints, / Paderborn
Not quite what I sang, but I listened to an excellent recital by our city’s specialist Bach Choir in the local cathedral. There were special soloists for this occasion: a baroque flautist and baroque oboist, both with international reputations and wonderful.
The orchestra for these concerts always has period instruments: recorders, baroque brass, baroque bassoon and baroque flutes, as the score requires. They tune to the pitch of the baroque era, about a semitone lower than A440. I sang with them once some years ago and the slightly lower pitch makes the Bach tenor parts much more comfortable.
Cantatas:
Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75
Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39
Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 99
Comments
Yes, but not the C F Alexander version (I'd normally sing that to GARTON). The lyrics are here (though this link offers yet another tune):
https://zealmusicpublishing.com/christ-be-beside-me
Indeed. He got everywhere. That’s also him on Life on Mars.
I'm as musically incompetent and ignorant as they come, but I feel Bunessan would definitely give it a different flavour! One of my favourites.
Back in the 1970's when our local commercial radio station started, they used to have a God Slot on the breakfast show (rather like 'Thought for the Day' on BBC Radio 4 I suppose) (Apparently the regular DJ hated having to introduce it as he was an atheist) and this slot was called 'Morning has Broken' (my father was one of the pool of speakers, which is probably why I remember it so well). It had a theme tune of a rather lovely piece of piano music, but at the time I had no idea how it related to the 'Morning has Broken' name (I knew MHB was a hymn of course, as I'd learnt it in primary school assembly) ... it was only years later when I actually heard the Cat Stevens recording that I realised this piano theme used on the radio was actually the introduction to the song! (But never realised until now that it was played by Rick Wakemen - thanks Gill! )
Our choir was rather depleted by illness and didn’t sing any solos.
Hymns
You servants of God, / Laudate Dominum
Now to the King of heaven, / St John
Author of faith, eternal word, / Warrington
Rejoice in God’s saints, / Paderborn
Not quite what I sang, but I listened to an excellent recital by our city’s specialist Bach Choir in the local cathedral. There were special soloists for this occasion: a baroque flautist and baroque oboist, both with international reputations and wonderful.
The orchestra for these concerts always has period instruments: recorders, baroque brass, baroque bassoon and baroque flutes, as the score requires. They tune to the pitch of the baroque era, about a semitone lower than A440. I sang with them once some years ago and the slightly lower pitch makes the Bach tenor parts much more comfortable.
Cantatas:
Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75
Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39
Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 99