John Ahern writes,
(Emphasis on the not.)
There are a lot of common avenues of arguing about Church music that I think are seriously flawed and particularly destructive because they may be arguing for the right music for the wrong reasons. Here I’m simply outlining the ways I think are particularly unwise—perhaps in another place I can begin to outline the ways I think one ought to do it. (The bold affirms what I do not.)
A friend has often remarked that he is grateful for not having an mp3 player. He explains that this forces him to remember and create more music on his own, rather than depending on a piece of electronic equipment.
Being between mp3 players myself, I can see what he means. It’s nice to turn off the radio, and sing a hymn, or try to remember the new piano piece I’m learning. But I’m still saving for a new ‘magic music box’. View Full Post
John Ahern writes,
This may be somewhat confusing, since I’ve posted on here before about Classical music being dead and Classical music really being an output of Classical Greece. Using two different definitions of the word Classical about the same issue is hard enough—here, I’m going to add a third. When I say “classical education”, I mean the liberal arts and sciences. Think Dorothy Sayers. Classical and Christian schools. That classical. This is about applying the concept of paideia to music.
Evgeny Kissin, 38-year-old concert pianist, debuted with the Ulyanovsk Symphony Orchestra at the age of 10. At 13, he gained international recognition for playing and recording both Chopin’s piano concertos with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. He was, reputedly, able to hum a Bach tune along with his sister, who was then playing it on the piano, at the age of 11 months. So much for Wikipedia.
On YouTube, you can look up an interview with Kissin, who relates the instance of receiving a good review from a critic when he was 17, but with this barb at the end of the article – “In general, one gets an impression that, up till now, everything has been easy for Kissin in piano playing – sometimes even too easy. Both plusses and minuses of his art come from that fact. Now we only hear in his playing what comes from his great natural gift. This is, of course, wonderful, but in future, something definitely has to change. What? When? In which way? Everything will depend on that.”
A friend was bemoaning the lack of hymns about the promised resurrection of the body. So, I sat down tonight and wrote one. It probably needs a little tweaking, particularly in the second verse, but I needed to get a post up today– so, perhaps you shall see a better version in the future.
The meter is CMD (common meter doubled) and for now, it can be sung to the tune Ellacombe.
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Drum muß uns sein verdienstlich Leiden recht bitter und doch süße sein.
So his meritorious Passion must for us be truly bitter and yet sweet.
Where I live, the weather almost always gets drizzly around Good Friday. But the clouds aren’t darkening like they are in winter. Usually, Daylight savings has already hit and the sun’s angle makes the overcast seem brighter than usual. I can’t help but thinking that’s appropriate. Rainy weather is sad, but at the beginning of spring, it’s bright.
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[Sound file added. The performer apologizes to E. M. Hansen and the readers for his tardiness in getting it up. And the mistaken rhythm in measure 26.]
When I first discovered the hymn ‘The Royal Banners Forward Go,’ it was mainly of interest because its first line is quoted in Inferno, but preferring music to Dante, I liked the hymn in itself from the first time that I played it. The arrangement in the hymnal, though, did not capture the passion that I saw in it, and hence I decided to arrange it myself.
Making a statement like that involves defining two things - “Classical” and “Dead”.
Had Brahms premiered a sonata that sounded like it belonged with powdered wigs, he would have come off stage with bits of rotten tomato stuck to his face. Mozart could write like Mozart, and Brahms could write like Brahms, and it’s possible Mozart could have even written like Brahms, but Brahms could never write like Mozart. Nobody would listen.
Hannah Roorda writes:
This blog hasn’t seen a new post in quite some time. I keep forgetting to post; I seem to spend most of my Tuesdays recovering from Monday-Amnesia/Cotard Syndrome (“Who am I? Where am I? What week is this? Am I still in school? Am I still alive?”) and I spent all of last week recovering from training (hahah!) for the Iowa Jazz Championships which happened the Tuesday of the week before. (If you were wondering, our jazz band came out state runner-up. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.)
I don’t have anything profound or amazing to bring you today, but I do have a completed project some of you may find useful:
At our evening church services, occasionally a friend brings a guitar. No, we don’t start rocking the praise choruses (good story, ask me some time) but we do throw a few guitar chords in with the hymns. The problem is that while the Trinity Hymnal has a lot of hymns with chords written in, there’s no index of them. So we flip back and forth and spend a lot of time saying “I hope this one has chords– oh, it doesn’t”. And that is a lot of time we would rather be singing!
So here you go. A complete list of hymns in the Trinity Hymnal with guitar chords; alphabetically by title, with the tunes listed:
254 – Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed – Martyrdom
605 – All the Way My Savior Leads Me – All the Way
562 – All to Jesus I Surrender – Surrender
9- All You That Fear Jehovah’s Name – Park Street
460 – Amazing Grace! – Amazing Grace
427 – Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands – Hamburg
455 – And Can It Be That I Should Gain – Sagina
662 – As the Hart Long for Flowing Streams – As the Hart Longs
205 – Away in a Manger – Cradle Song
204 – Away in a Manger – Mueller
175 – A Wonderful Savior Is Jesus My Lord – Kirkpatrick
65 – Before Jehovah’s Awesome Throne – Park Street
693 – Blessed Assurance – Assurance
564 – Blessed Is the Man – Blessed Is the Man
359 – Blest Be the Tie That Binds – Dennis
146 – Break Thou the Bread of Life – Bread of Life
131 – Children of the Heavenly Father – Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara
518 – Christ, of All My Hopes the Ground – Hendon
439 – Christ Shall Have Dominion – St. Gertrude
16 – Come, Let Us Sing unto the Lord – Duke Street
101 – Come, Thou Almighty King – Trinity
457 – Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing – Nettleton
266 – Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain – St. Kevin
680 – Consider the Lilies – Consider the Lilies
579 – Dare to Be a Daniel! – Daniel
408 – Day Is Dying in the West – Evening Praise
731 – Doxology – Old Hundredth
732 – Doxology – Tallis’ Canon
42 – El-Shaddai – El-Shaddai
170 – Fairest Lord Jesus – Crusader’s Hymn
106 – Father, Father of All Things – Father of All Things
59 – Forever Settled in the Heavens – Duke Street
494 – Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive – Dove of Peace
339 – For Your Gift of God the Spirit – Blaenwern
386 – God Be with You Till We Meet Again – God Be with You
382 – God Himself Is with Us – Wunderbarer König
40 – God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength – Bethlehem (Fink)
23 – God of Gods, We Sound His Praises – God of Gods
64 – God, the Lord, a King Remaineth – Regent Square
134 – God Will Take Care of You – God Cares
224 – Go, Tell It on the Mountain – Go Tell It
32 – Great Is They Faithfulness – Faithfulness
346 – Hail to the Brightness of Zion’s Glad Morning! – Wesley
57 – Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul – Ripley
179 – Hallelujah! Thine the Glory – Thine The Glory
688 – Have Thing Own Way, Lord! – Holy Desire
600 – He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought! – He Leadeth Me
378 – Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face – Morecambe
315 – He Walks among the Golden Lamps – Revelation
137 – Holy Bible, Book Divine – Aletta
103 – Holy God, We Praise Your Name – Grosser Gott, Wir Loben Dich
100 – Holy, Holy, Holy – Nicea
94 – How Firm a Foundation – Foundation
681 – How Gentle God’s Commands – Dennis
44 – How Great Thou Art – O Store Gud
148 – How Shall the Young Direct Their Way? – Duane Street
459 – I Am Not Skilled to Understand – Greenwell
191 – I Am So Glad That Our Father in Heaven – Gladness
129 – I Belong to Jesus – Dedication
281 – I Know That My Redeemer Lives– Glory, Hallelujah – Shout On
705 – I Know Whom I Have Believed – El Nathan
674 – I Need Thee Every Hour – Need
682 – In Thee, O Lord, I Put My Trust – In Thee, O Lord
190 – I Think When I Read That Sweet Story of Old – Sweet Story
611 – I Want Jesus to Walk with Me – Walk with Me
650 – I Will Sing of My Redeemer – My Redeemer
180 – I Will Sing the Wondrous Story – Wondrous Story
592 – Jesus Bids Us Shine – Jesus Bids Us Shine
591 – Jesus Calls Us – Galilee
288 – Jesus Christ Has Triumphed Now – Resurrection (Wilson)
653 – Jesus Is All the World to Me – Elizabeth
264 – Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross – Near the Cross
508 – Jesus, Lover of My Soul – Aberystwyth
509 – Jesus, Lover of My Soul – Martyn
189 – Jesus Loves Me, This I Know – Jesus Loves Me
308 – Jesus Paid It All – All to Christ
441 – Jesus Shall Reign – Duke Street
646 – Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts – Quebec
195 – Joy to the World! The Lord is Come – Antioch
616 – Leaning on the Everlasting Arms – Showalter
125 – Let All Things Now Living – Ash Grove
659 – Let Us Praise God Together – Let Us Break Bread
560 – Lord, Speak to Me That I May Speak – Fort Lauderdale
80 – Lord, with Glowing Heart I’d Praise Thee – Ripley
538 – More About Jesus Would I Know – Sweney
287 – Morning Sun – Music Anno Domini
153 – Most Perfect Is the Law of God – Kinsman
468 – My Faith Has Found a Resting Place – Landas
79 – My God, My God, O Why Have You Forsaken Me? – Kingsfold
521 – My Hope is Built on Nothing Less – Solid Rock
648 – My Jesus, I Love Thee – Caritas
328 – My Lord, What a Mourning – Mourning
126 – My Soul Bless the Lord – Houghton
640 – My Tribute – My Tribute
307 – Nothing but the Blood – Plainfield
11 – Now Blessed Be the Lord Our God – McKee
45 – Now unto Jehovah, Ye Sons of the Mighty – Willow Grove
177 – O Could I Speak the Matchless Worth – Ariel
164 – O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing – Azmon
712 – O God of Love, O King of Peace – Quebec
30 – O God, Our Help in Ages Past – St. Anne
51 – O Jehovah, Hear My Words – Aberystwyth
25 – O Light That Knew No Dawn – Waverton
612 – O Lord, Be Gracious to Me – O Lord, Be Gracious
48 – O Lord Most High, with All My Heart – Rockingham Old
81 – O Love of God, How Strong and True – Jerusalem (Parry)
327 – One Day He’s Coming – Chapman
675 – Only Trust Him – Minerva
132 – O Rejoice in the Lord – Wilmington
485 – O Thou That Hear’st When Sinners Cry – Hamburg
444 – O Zion, Haste, Your Mission High Fulfilling – Tidings
173 – Praise Him! Praise Him! – Joyful Song
77 – Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven – Andrews
124 – Praise the Lord Our God – Kum Ba Ya
17 – Praise the Lord: Ye Heavens Adore Him – Faben
677 – Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him! – Acclaim
107 – Praise Ye the Father! – Flemming
701 – Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It! – Ada
499 – Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me – Toplady
388 – Savior, Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise – Ellers
599 – Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us – Shepherd
369 – Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns – Truro
130 – Showers of Blessing – Showers of Blessing
210 – Silent Night! Holy Night! – Stille Nacht
62 – Sing to the Lord, Sing His Praise – Wesley
479 – Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling – Thompson
450 – So Send I You – So Send I You
338 – Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart – Morecambe
71 – Stand Up, O God, Be Present
Now – Stand Up
404 – Sun of My Soul, Thou Savior Dear – Hursley
585 – Take My Life, and Let it Be – Hendon
537 – Take Time to Be Holy – Holiness
610 – “Take Up Your Cross,” the Savior Said – Quebec
149 – Teach Me, O Lord, Your Way of Truth – Bishop
234 – Tell Me the Story of Jesus – Story of Jesus
741 – The Apostles’ Creed – Credo (Miladin)
527 – The Beatitudes – Quebec
368 – The Ends of All the Earth Shall Hear – Vision
19 – Thee We Adore, Eternal Lord! – Park Street
113 – The Heavens Declare Thy Glory – Faithful
240 – The King of Glory Comes – Promised One
152 – The Law of the Lord is Perfect – The Law of the Lord
476 – The Light of the World Is Jesus – Light of the World
87 – The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want – Crimond
86 – The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want – Brother James
85 – The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want – Evan
253 – There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood – Fountain
178 – There Is No Name So Sweet on Earth – The Sweetest Name
145 – The Spirit Breathes Upon the Word – Ortonville
187 – There Were Ninety and Nine – The Ninety and Nine
154 – Thou Art the Way – Arlington
597 – Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire – Gift of Love
95 – Though Troubles Assail Us – Joanna (or St. Denio)
607 – Thy Loving-kindness, Lord, Is Good and Free – Ellers
136 – Thy Word Have I Hid in My Heart – Thy Word
679 – ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus – Trust in Jesus
55 – To God Be the Glory – To God Be the Glory
672 – Trust and Obey – Trust and Obey
481 – Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus – Lemmel
84 – Under the Care of My God, the Almighty – Under His Wings
276 – Up from the Grave He Arose – Christ Arose
363 – We Gather Together – Kremser
448 – We Have Heard the Joyful Sound – Jesus Saves
97 – We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator – Kremser
629 – What a Friend We Have in Jesus – What a Friend
563 – What Kind of Man Can Live in the World – What Kind of Man
261 – What Wondrous Love Is This – Wondrous Love
56 – When All Your Mercies, O My God – Manoah
325 – When He Cometh, When He Cometh – Jewels
252 – When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – Hamburg
541 – When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder – Roll Call
88 – With Grateful Heart My Thanks I Bring – St. Petersburg
697 – Wonderful Words of Life – Words of Life
166 – Wondrous King, All-Glorious – Wunderbarer König
286 – Worship Christ, the Risen King! – Regent Square
582 – Yield Not to Temptation – Yield Not
350 – Zion Stands by Hills Surrounded – Zion
John R. Ahern writes,
I’m having trouble with words that start with B. Help wanted. In the meanwhile….
If you haven’t noticed something about me, I’m one of those nuts who considers the whole year (Church or otherwise) as a preparation for Christmas, and starts planning next year’s Christmas Eve service after we’ve opened presents. Despite all the theological reasons to view Easter as higher and more heraldic (which I’m sure it is), I still love Christmas far more.
One of the things about Christmas I love so much is the music. 24/7/31/12, if you will, I’m finding new carols, new anthems, new motets, new organ pieces, etc. that are quite obscure, forgotten, esoteric, and all that. Just the type of stuff I love.
And, occasionally, I like to try my hand at writing one myself. Here I’m being a lot less original, as I’ve decided to take Greensleeves (I know, the height of clichéd Christmas caroling), and take a shot at some original harmonization for it.
This is copyrighted © 2008. All rights reserved. Please do not distribute this in any way, including the sound file.
I’ve chosen the words for it I found in the Oxford Book of Carols that Martin Shaw and Percy Dearmer must have collaborated on. They’re apparently from 1642, and it would make this a New Years’ Carol rather than strictly a Christmas one.
As for my harmonizations, they’re largely inspired by four of the greatest hymnodists, carol experts, orchestrators, or English polyphonists that have ever lived – Ralph Vaughn Williams, Martin Shaw, Gustav Holst, and William Walton. Herbert Howells flew in there too. All from the 20th century, you’ll notice, so these aren’t going to be your Vanilla Ice-Cream carols, and I’d like to think that my Greensleeves harmonies aren’t either. Though inspired by them, I fall short of their glory. I have parallel fifths here and there I could sort out, but I like them better the way they are.
My brother pointed out that my harmonies seem rather strange around measure 18. It’s actually a chord I found in Bach’s St. Anne’s Prelude for Organ, first played as an F9 chord in that inversion. I simply transposed it, found a place for it harmonically speaking (it’s vaguely connected as a resolution to the C7 before it), and slipped it in. I’m not sure it makes sense, but it was worth a try.
