Secular music is strictly verboten at RC services and so is recorded music. However there are strong pastoral reasons for allowing it (and strictly speaking the Eucharist ends at the dismissal so recessionals don't count) so I will be doing a Stevie Wonder at the organ.
A Solemn Requiem in our very proper parish ended with "The Party's Over," at the deceased's request. The coffin and sacred ministers had left before this song was sung. It was congregational, but few felt comfy singing it...mainly those who knew the deceased well and his theatrical/musical preferences.
June 18th, Pentecost 3
This was a combined service (family and traditional)
Prelude: Langsamer Satz, by Anton Webern, played by our string quartet
Hymns
In the presence of your people, / Celebration Song
Come all you people, / Alexander Gondo, Iona
Jesus Christ is waiting, / Noël nouvelet, Bell
Aaronic blessing, / Aaronic blessing, Britton
Mayenziwe ‘ntando yakho, / trad South African
Guide me O thou great Jehovah, / Cwm Rhondda
No Choir solos today.
Postlude: Finale from Organ Symphony No. 1, Op. 14, by Louis Vierne
Sorry for my absence for the last two weeks, my wife and I were isolating with Ye Plague. We have now recovered thanks to being up-to-date with vaccinations and getting onto the anti-virals quickly.
My choir is having a mid-winter recess for the next 3 weeks.
*Father's Day* at Our Place, FatherInCharge being a great devotee of Feasts of St Hallmark. The following hymns were on the menu:
We have a gospel to proclaim (Fulda) James and Andrew, Peter and John (Scarborough Fair) Let all mortal flesh keep silence (Picardy) Onward, Christian families (St Gertrude - same as Onward, Christian soldiers)
The following prayer was included on the weekly pew-sheet (FInC's capitals):
Holy Father God, today we give THANKS for GOOD FATHERS, Grandfathers & Godfathers. Be with them in all they do – to strengthen, guard and guide them at this time of Father’s Day celebrations. Amen.
No mention of bad fathers, indifferent fathers, or those who would like to have been fathers...all surely worthy of prayer, too.
I'd prefer to be a Lutheran - at least Our Place has some proper hymns, most weeks...
In the defence of the last one, its a hoot to play on the piano and folks raise the roof with it.
Proper hymns are a rarity in our place where the music for the family Mass (which I play at) is geetar -led.
*Father's Day* at Our Place, FatherInCharge being a great devotee of Feasts of St Hallmark.
What about St Clinton?
No mention of bad fathers, indifferent fathers, or those who would like to have been fathers...all surely worthy of prayer, too.
They were certainly mentioned at Our Place, both in intercessions and The Sermon.
“Great is thy faithfulness”.
“Father God, I give all thanks and praise to thee”.
“Father God, I wonder”.
“My God, how wonderful thou art” (Westminster).
“How deep the Father’s love for us”.
“Praise, my soul, the King of heaven” - annoyingly the recorded version we used swapped the harmonies for verses 3 and 4, thus destroying its musical near-symettry.
Our offerings at St Pete's this morning - not the most inspiring selection IMHO:
King of glory, king of peace - Gwalchmai Just as I am, without one flea plea - Saffron Walden Go forth and tell! O Church of God awake! - Ellers* Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine - Blessed Assurance One more step along the world I go - Southcote**
* why on earth we had that old wailer when we could have had Woodlands is anyone's guess ...
** At least the organist (we got The One Who Knows What He's Doing today) made the best of a bad job, putting in the little twiddly bits between the verses.
All in all rather unsatisfactory - I could easily live without all of those except the first one.
We had a venerable former interim moderator and long-term friend of the church leading this morning. We had:
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness (RHUDDLAN)
You, Lord, are both lamb and shepherd (REGENT SQUARE)
The church is wherever (BARD OF ARMAGH)
Now thank we all our God (NUN DANKET)
El amanecer (“The Hope of Dawn”)*
“How Firm a Foundation”/FOUNDATION
“Come by Here, My Lord” (sung a cappella)
“God of Great and God of Small”/GOD OF GREAT AND SMALL
We also sang the short song, “God Has Made Laughter.”
Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim (Paderborn)
O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling (Tidings)
Rock of ages, cleft for me (Toplady)
Love divine, all loves excelling (Blaenwern)
Choral:
Mendelssohn: Jauchzet dem Herrn
Byrd: Venite comedite
We had a venerable former interim moderator and long-term friend of the church leading this morning. We had:
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness (RHUDDLAN)
You, Lord, are both lamb and shepherd (REGENT SQUARE)
The church is wherever (BARD OF ARMAGH)
Now thank we all our God (NUN DANKET)
Yesterday 9.15am Parish Communion
All my hope on God is founded MICHAEL
Love divine LOVE DIVINE
O thou who camest from above HEREFORD
All people that on earth do dwell OLD HUNDREDTH
Mass of St thomas
During communion
Draw nigh and take the body of our Lord. SONG 46
Evensong
City of God how broad and far RICHMOND
Happy are they, they that love God BINCHESTER
My God how wonderful you are WESTMINSTER
Abide with me EVENTIDE
Motet : O breath of life
Anthem:
Hail glorious Spirit ( Christopher Tye )
We had a venerable former interim moderator and long-term friend of the church leading this morning. We had:
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness (RHUDDLAN)
You, Lord, are both lamb and shepherd (REGENT SQUARE)
The church is wherever (BARD OF ARMAGH)
Now thank we all our God (NUN DANKET)
We had a venerable former interim moderator and long-term friend of the church leading this morning. We had:
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness (RHUDDLAN)
You, Lord, are both lamb and shepherd (REGENT SQUARE)
The church is wherever (BARD OF ARMAGH)
Now thank we all our God (NUN DANKET)
I thought we were the only place that sings Love Divine all loves excelling to the dreadful "Love Divine."
Hard luck.
The DoM was in a grumpy mood at choir practice when he chose the tune. Announced his intended resignation for the third time this year. He was all smiles by the end of the practice though; only four of us present, all ladies, and he was impressed with what he heard.
I thought we were the only place that sings Love Divine all loves excelling to the dreadful "Love Divine."
Hard luck.
The DoM was in a grumpy mood at choir practice when he chose the tune. Announced his intended resignation for the third time this year.
That's dangerous territory that is especially if he's not set a date. It can be a little manipulative and I wonder what would happen if your Vicar (or whatever) were to say "I understand you are intending to step down: when will that be?"
It doesn't make it any easier for any potential successor, if there is one.
Our Place's former organist not only set a date for her retirement, but kept to it. She was only 48, but at the beginning of the illness which caused her death a couple of years later - I think she knew even then that she was on borrowed time.
We were sorry to lose her, but we were able to rip CDs of everything in our default hymnbook onto Windows Media Player, using an old laptop of mine, and therefore had back-up if no organist/pianist was available - which, for a time, was most Sundays!
The reason behind the current grumpiness of the DoM is the installation of screens in church, which he sees as a precursor to more modern hymns, worship songs or whatever. He is convinced that our priest wants to get rid of choir and organ. One service a month is intentionally without choir, and singing is accompanied by piano and sometimes one guitar. Nobody else has come forward to play or sing at that service.
It is strange that the DoM has chosen to take next Sunday off as the services will be traditional, it being the Patronal Festival. Of course he is entitled to his annual leave, but he is not going away, so is not bound by dates. He does not know who is going to play in his absence. He is the type who grumbles when our priest takes annual leave or is away on retreat. Or maybe he is grumpy because he is in constant pain, in fact.
He may or may not write his letter of resignation this coming weekend. The irony is that his retirement is the most likely factor in bringing about the demise of traditional church music with choir and organ sooner rather than later.
Pursuing this tangent, there are (as enny fule kno) other languages which sometimes have three vowels in a row...but I like the idea of the Germans making three consonants as well as vowels legal.
Maybe we should have a thread in the Circus, suggesting which English words could be so treated?
TBH I would, in speaking if not in writing, place a tiny pause between the two pairs of consonants (which are not, in any case, phonetically the same).
I think we're going to have to send J, the voluntary organist (and choirmistress) who chooses the hymns, on a retraining course ...
Light of the minds that know him - Ellacombe (which imho didn't fit particularly well - some of the emphases felt as though they were on the wrong syllable) Teach me, my God and King - Sandys - that one's fine Let us break bread together on our knees* - Breaking Bread Let there be love - Let there be Love - never heard of it, and the organist, bless her, wasn't much help. Will you come and follow me? - Kelvingrove - OK, I suppose, but not one I'd ever choose.
* which always made David giggle - it made him think of someone with a very long, crusty French loaf snapping it against their knee ...
Todays readings are about not being afraid when being sent out on mission.
Do not be afraid.
Song of the young prophet
Angels Wings
Be not afraid.
These are well loved hymns, so I hope the roof will be raised.
The roof was raised. Despite having reduced numbers. The clergy have recently introduced incense to out 11.00 family mass, along with servers raising candles at the consecration. Numbers have fallen since. We have never gone in for that sort of stuff and there have been mutterings.
Sad to hear. Wandered out to St-Pat’s-in-the-West for Mass today for Palestrina’s Missa dum completerentur and the motet Exaudi Domine of Palestrina. Beautifully sung and greatly appreciated by the CALD ( culturally and linguistically diverse) congo & this blow-in from the eastern suburbs; well worth the 25 km schlep
All Age Communion with baptism of two little girls, sisters. Their families formed 70% of the congregation so everything was geared to them, hence
Come, now is the time to worship
One more step along the world I go
Be thou my vision ( Slane)
And an unsingable song, complete with actions, about shining like a candle.
Having said that, it all seemed very acceptable to the families who joined in everything with gusto.
To the Name of our salvation (Oriel)
O praise ye the Lord! Praise him in the height (Laudate Dominum)
O Jesus, I have promised (Bradwith Chapel)
Take up your cross, the Savior said (Bourbon)
Choral:
Palestrina: Perfice gressus meus
Handel: From Messiah
Aria: O death, where is thy sting?
Chorus: But thanks be to God
"Praise to the living God" / LEONI
"Spread, O spread, thou mighty word" / GOTT SEI DANK
"Take up your cross, the Savior said" / BOURBON
"Christ for the world we sing!" / MOSCOW
Patronal Festival( St Peter) with parade and remembrance of the fallen, plus a celebration of 50 years of being a Lay Reader. LR gave a talk as if he were St Peter, complete with fishing net, which the uniformed groups listened to with interest.
O praise ye the Lord- Laudate Dominum
There is a redeemer
Will your anchor hold?
To God be the glory
National Anthem
At the church where we are frequent visitors we sang The Canticle of The Turning this morning. A lovely song that anyone can sing - currently one of my all time favourites.
I must have a look for that. Do you have a link, please?
You can find a video here. It’s an adaptation of the Magnificat set to “Star of the County Down,” and can be found in many hymnals, at least on this side of The Pond.
A month on from my green burial thread, today we held a Service of Thanksgiving for my late husband. We sang
Lord of the years
Your hand O God has guided- Thornbury
Lord of creation- Slane
Ye servants of God- Laudate Dominum
I must have a look for that. Do you have a link, please?
A month on from my green burial thread, today we held a Service of Thanksgiving for my late husband. We sang
Lord of the years
Your hand O God has guided- Thornbury
Lord of creation- Slane
Ye servants of God- Laudate Dominum
Some with descants on solo trumpet.
There are many good versions of the Canticle of The Turning, but this is probably my favourite, also in a folk music style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9vp6qBw8F4 (The view from the studio window will be familiar to certain of our shipmates).
Tomorrow we celebrate our PPs silver jubilee of his ordination.
Be still for the presence of the Lord.
All are (most aren't) welcome.
Lord, how can I repay. John Glynn
O Lord you are the centre of my life. Inwood. A fine piece.
Take Lord, receive (Foley.) Sung by his very musical sisters as they did at his ordination.
Cwm Rhondda.
Plus all the usual Mass bits.
The considerable fly in the ointment is that the bishop will be celebrating. Firstly he always preaches the same thing - we come to Mass to look at Jesus in the tabernacle (which will be news to all RC liturgical theologians, and to the bishops at Vatican 2.) Secondly he always jumps in before the final chord of anything the people are singing is finished (presumably his "Let us pray" is far more important than anything the lowly people could be doing.)
The actual anniversary is on Tuesday when we do the whole thing again, but without the Bishop and with much more joy and pizazz.
Beginning of NAIDOC week (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recognition). We sang hymns that were not of any particular theme, but which seemed appropriate.
O God our help in ages past (St Anne)
O Son of God, eternal love. (Warrington)
Lord of all hopefulness (Slane)
Take my life and let it be (Savannah)
It was our Patronal Festival today, and our offerings were:
For all the saints* - Sine Nomine Ye holy angels bright - Darwall's 148th Firmly I believe and truly - Marching When we walk with the Lord - Trust and Obey You shall go out with joy - The Trees of the Field**
* but not all the verses - it didn't even take four verses, let alone eight, to get the crucifer and vicar down one aisle and up the other!
** chosen by a member of the youth group, who as far as I could see, wasn't actually there ... It involved clapping, in which I did not join.
Yes, Our Place celebrated SS Peter & Paul, too, with the following:
Captains of the saintly band (not sure which tune)
Something from the sheet In the cross of Christ I glory (either Wychbold or St Oswald) For all the saints vv1, 2, 7 and 8 (Sine nomine)
I rather like You shall go out with joy, and our organist has been known to play it (on the grand piano) as a postlude, after the Angelus has been said, and the priest and server are on their way to the sacristy...
Comments
A Solemn Requiem in our very proper parish ended with "The Party's Over," at the deceased's request. The coffin and sacred ministers had left before this song was sung. It was congregational, but few felt comfy singing it...mainly those who knew the deceased well and his theatrical/musical preferences.
This was a combined service (family and traditional)
Prelude: Langsamer Satz, by Anton Webern, played by our string quartet
Hymns
In the presence of your people, / Celebration Song
Come all you people, / Alexander Gondo, Iona
Jesus Christ is waiting, / Noël nouvelet, Bell
Aaronic blessing, / Aaronic blessing, Britton
Mayenziwe ‘ntando yakho, / trad South African
Guide me O thou great Jehovah, / Cwm Rhondda
No Choir solos today.
Postlude: Finale from Organ Symphony No. 1, Op. 14, by Louis Vierne
Sorry for my absence for the last two weeks, my wife and I were isolating with Ye Plague. We have now recovered thanks to being up-to-date with vaccinations and getting onto the anti-virals quickly.
My choir is having a mid-winter recess for the next 3 weeks.
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind (REST)
Amazing Grace (NEW BRITAIN)
To God Be the Glory (TO GOD BE THE GLORY)
We have a gospel to proclaim (Fulda)
James and Andrew, Peter and John (Scarborough Fair)
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (Picardy)
Onward, Christian families (St Gertrude - same as Onward, Christian soldiers)
The following prayer was included on the weekly pew-sheet (FInC's capitals):
Holy Father God, today we give THANKS for GOOD FATHERS, Grandfathers & Godfathers. Be with them in all they do – to strengthen, guard and guide them at this time of Father’s Day celebrations. Amen.
No mention of bad fathers, indifferent fathers, or those who would like to have been fathers...all surely worthy of prayer, too.
Take our bread
Bread of life (Nice and prayerful song.) For some reason they start here with a verse rather than the chorus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfRKnlRRrDA
Sing it in the valleys. (Just awful.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8nv6kNl93E
O dear.
I'd prefer to be a Lutheran - at least Our Place has some proper hymns, most weeks...
Early Service - communion so time for only three hymns (and then we overan by 10 minutes)
Come Our Almighty King (Italian Hymn)
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go (St. Margaret)
Angel Voices Ever Singing (Angel Voices)
In the defence of the last one, its a hoot to play on the piano and folks raise the roof with it.
Proper hymns are a rarity in our place where the music for the family Mass (which I play at) is geetar -led.
They were certainly mentioned at Our Place, both in intercessions and The Sermon.
“Great is thy faithfulness”.
“Father God, I give all thanks and praise to thee”.
“Father God, I wonder”.
“My God, how wonderful thou art” (Westminster).
“How deep the Father’s love for us”.
“Praise, my soul, the King of heaven” - annoyingly the recorded version we used swapped the harmonies for verses 3 and 4, thus destroying its musical near-symettry.
Glad to hear Your Place remembered non-fathers, though...
King of glory, king of peace - Gwalchmai
Just as I am, without one flea plea - Saffron Walden
Go forth and tell! O Church of God awake! - Ellers*
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine - Blessed Assurance
One more step along the world I go - Southcote**
* why on earth we had that old wailer when we could have had Woodlands is anyone's guess ...
** At least the organist (we got The One Who Knows What He's Doing today) made the best of a bad job, putting in the little twiddly bits between the verses.
All in all rather unsatisfactory - I could easily live without all of those except the first one.
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness (RHUDDLAN)
You, Lord, are both lamb and shepherd (REGENT SQUARE)
The church is wherever (BARD OF ARMAGH)
Now thank we all our God (NUN DANKET)
El amanecer (“The Hope of Dawn”)*
“How Firm a Foundation”/FOUNDATION
“Come by Here, My Lord” (sung a cappella)
“God of Great and God of Small”/GOD OF GREAT AND SMALL
We also sang the short song, “God Has Made Laughter.”
* If the tune has a name, I’m not aware of it.
Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim (Paderborn)
O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling (Tidings)
Rock of ages, cleft for me (Toplady)
Love divine, all loves excelling (Blaenwern)
Choral:
Mendelssohn: Jauchzet dem Herrn
Byrd: Venite comedite
United Reformed Church?
All my hope on God is founded MICHAEL
Love divine LOVE DIVINE
O thou who camest from above HEREFORD
All people that on earth do dwell OLD HUNDREDTH
Mass of St thomas
During communion
Draw nigh and take the body of our Lord. SONG 46
Evensong
City of God how broad and far RICHMOND
Happy are they, they that love God BINCHESTER
My God how wonderful you are WESTMINSTER
Abide with me EVENTIDE
Motet : O breath of life
Anthem:
Hail glorious Spirit ( Christopher Tye )
No, the Kirk as usual.
Hard luck.
Ah ...
Our Place's former organist not only set a date for her retirement, but kept to it. She was only 48, but at the beginning of the illness which caused her death a couple of years later - I think she knew even then that she was on borrowed time.
We were sorry to lose her, but we were able to rip CDs of everything in our default hymnbook onto Windows Media Player, using an old laptop of mine, and therefore had back-up if no organist/pianist was available - which, for a time, was most Sundays!
It is strange that the DoM has chosen to take next Sunday off as the services will be traditional, it being the Patronal Festival. Of course he is entitled to his annual leave, but he is not going away, so is not bound by dates. He does not know who is going to play in his absence. He is the type who grumbles when our priest takes annual leave or is away on retreat. Or maybe he is grumpy because he is in constant pain, in fact.
He may or may not write his letter of resignation this coming weekend. The irony is that his retirement is the most likely factor in bringing about the demise of traditional church music with choir and organ sooner rather than later.
Invernessshire.
To be said very quietly...
Great! I just read a new (to me) German one:
Eisschnellläufer = speed skater (male). Add -in for female speed skater. 3 Ls in both cases.
Do not be afraid.
Song of the young prophet
Angels Wings
Be not afraid.
These are well loved hymns, so I hope the roof will be raised.
Light of the minds that know him - Ellacombe (which imho didn't fit particularly well - some of the emphases felt as though they were on the wrong syllable)
Teach me, my God and King - Sandys - that one's fine
Let us break bread together on our knees* - Breaking Bread
Let there be love - Let there be Love - never heard of it, and the organist, bless her, wasn't much help.
Will you come and follow me? - Kelvingrove - OK, I suppose, but not one I'd ever choose.
* which always made David giggle - it made him think of someone with a very long, crusty French loaf snapping it against their knee ...
The roof was raised. Despite having reduced numbers. The clergy have recently introduced incense to out 11.00 family mass, along with servers raising candles at the consecration. Numbers have fallen since. We have never gone in for that sort of stuff and there have been mutterings.
“All creatures of our God and King” - Lasst Uns Erfreuen.
“Down by the Jordan” - Lobe Den Herrn.
“In water we grow” - Paderborn.
“Will you come and follow me?” - Kelvingrove.
“O Jesus, I have promised” - Wolvercote.
Come, now is the time to worship
One more step along the world I go
Be thou my vision ( Slane)
And an unsingable song, complete with actions, about shining like a candle.
Having said that, it all seemed very acceptable to the families who joined in everything with gusto.
Take up thy cross (Breslau)
Sing my tongue the glorious battle (Pange Lingua)
O for a heart to praise (Abridge)
The congregation and choir attendance were better than expected considering we have had masses of rain and freezing temperatures.
To the Name of our salvation (Oriel)
O praise ye the Lord! Praise him in the height (Laudate Dominum)
O Jesus, I have promised (Bradwith Chapel)
Take up your cross, the Savior said (Bourbon)
Choral:
Palestrina: Perfice gressus meus
Handel: From Messiah
Aria: O death, where is thy sting?
Chorus: But thanks be to God
"Praise to the living God" / LEONI
"Spread, O spread, thou mighty word" / GOTT SEI DANK
"Take up your cross, the Savior said" / BOURBON
"Christ for the world we sing!" / MOSCOW
O praise ye the Lord- Laudate Dominum
There is a redeemer
Will your anchor hold?
To God be the glory
National Anthem
A month on from my green burial thread, today we held a Service of Thanksgiving for my late husband. We sang
Lord of the years
Your hand O God has guided- Thornbury
Lord of creation- Slane
Ye servants of God- Laudate Dominum
Some with descants on solo trumpet.
Sounds lovely!
There are many good versions of the Canticle of The Turning, but this is probably my favourite, also in a folk music style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9vp6qBw8F4 (The view from the studio window will be familiar to certain of our shipmates).
Be still for the presence of the Lord.
All are (most aren't) welcome.
Lord, how can I repay. John Glynn
O Lord you are the centre of my life. Inwood. A fine piece.
Take Lord, receive (Foley.) Sung by his very musical sisters as they did at his ordination.
Cwm Rhondda.
Plus all the usual Mass bits.
The considerable fly in the ointment is that the bishop will be celebrating. Firstly he always preaches the same thing - we come to Mass to look at Jesus in the tabernacle (which will be news to all RC liturgical theologians, and to the bishops at Vatican 2.) Secondly he always jumps in before the final chord of anything the people are singing is finished (presumably his "Let us pray" is far more important than anything the lowly people could be doing.)
The actual anniversary is on Tuesday when we do the whole thing again, but without the Bishop and with much more joy and pizazz.
O God our help in ages past (St Anne)
O Son of God, eternal love. (Warrington)
Lord of all hopefulness (Slane)
Take my life and let it be (Savannah)
For all the saints* - Sine Nomine
Ye holy angels bright - Darwall's 148th
Firmly I believe and truly - Marching
When we walk with the Lord - Trust and Obey
You shall go out with joy - The Trees of the Field**
* but not all the verses - it didn't even take four verses, let alone eight, to get the crucifer and vicar down one aisle and up the other!
** chosen by a member of the youth group, who as far as I could see, wasn't actually there ...
Captains of the saintly band (not sure which tune)
Something from the sheet
In the cross of Christ I glory (either Wychbold or St Oswald)
For all the saints vv1, 2, 7 and 8 (Sine nomine)
I rather like You shall go out with joy, and our organist has been known to play it (on the grand piano) as a postlude, after the Angelus has been said, and the priest and server are on their way to the sacristy...