I’ve been working on the Hymnary.org for a few years now, and I decided it was about time that it had some theme music. Since it’s a database of all kinds of congregational songs, I thought it would be appropriate to compose a brisk and whimsical romp through hymnological history. Take a listen to the Church of the Servant choir and me singing The Hymnary Theme Music.
Back when I lived in Pittsburgh, I played out quite a bit with a trio consisting of Elizabeth Way on violin, Eric Emmons on acoustic guitar and me on vocals and string bass. One summer I recorded an album of these songs called from the hand of on a four track cassette. (On this particular recording I replaced Eric on guitar for logistical reasons–if Eric had played on the recording it would have sounded a lot better!) One of the hits from that recording–if a cassette that sold 200 copies can have a hit–is “The Deeper You Get.”
Colin Gordon-Farleigh has been working with a new singer, Lisa Winwood, who needs a new batch of songs that will fit her soulful voice. Here’s the first. I took a little different approach this time. Instead of writing a piano score and having Finale play it back, I wrote a lead sheet and recorded a rough demo of the song.
Yesterday was Easter, and we had a blow out celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Church of the Servant. The service included my new setting of Psalm 118, the day’s lectionary Psalm. Okay, I went a little overboard with this one. It’s more than 7 minutes, includes parts for soprano solo, strings, brass and timpani, and the full score is 40 pages long. And it’s hard. But it was Easter, so a little extravagance seemed entirely appropriate. Listen to the COS choir and strings performing it with Melissa Simon on soprano and Brandan Grinwis on timpani: MP3.
Just cant get enough? Check out the “bouncing ball” version of the score:
An Easter meditation
Words by Amy Scheer
Soundscape by Greg Scheer
In memory of Kenneth J. Phillips (1919-1998)
And with thanks to I Corinthians 15 (THE MESSAGE)
To read “Real Good,” click here.
To listen to it, click here.