This Sunday the choir sang “Feed Us, Lord” (see Feb 2 post) at Church of the Servant. Here’s a recording, complete with babies crying.
Author: Greg Scheer
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When I’m with You
The songwriting collaboration between Colin and me continues to go well. A while back he sent me his first non-worship lyric–a love song. I thought it would be appropriate to compose music for it on Valentine’s Day. Take a look: When I’m with You, pdf or a listen: When I’m with You, mp3
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Feed Us, Lord
Brand-spanking new (as of 2 mintues ago), here’s a communion anthem for SATB choir and piano. As usual, I have virtually guaranteed that it won’t be published by composing a simple anthem with an unusually difficult piano part.
There’s a story about Beethoven in which he turns to a violinist who is complaining about some fingerings and he says, “Do you think I worry about fingering when the muse strikes me?” I wouldn’t go that far, but I think there’s certainly some room to challenge the church pianist a bit. Let me know if I’m being unreasonably cruel to the pianist in this piece. Come to think of it, we’re doing this song at COS on February 11, so I’ll let you know if I have a pianist mutiny.
Feed Us, Lord (pdf)
Feed Us, Lord (mp3)
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Bells Are Ringing!
Easter isn’t all that far off. Here’s a new (as of 5 minutes ago) song co-written by Colin Gordon-Farleigh:
Bells Are Ringing! (pdf)
Richard Janzen (www.musicshare.sk.ca) just sent me recordings from his Christmas concert, which included two of my choral pieces. Richard directs the Rosthern Junior College choirs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. RJC is an independent Mennonite church high school (grades 10-12). His 35 voice choral sang Lo, How A Rose, and the 100 voice concert choir (which he lovingly refers to as his “mob” choir) sang We Three Kings. Listen to the recordings, then head on over and download the pieces from www.gregscheer.com so you, too, can pay a mere $30 for 135 octavos.
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Three Rivers Overture
In 1996 I was asked by Roger Zahab–new music’s greatest friend–to compose a piece for the University of Pittsburgh Orchestra. The result was The Three Rivers Overture. After its spring premiere, Roger decided it would make a good piece for Pitt’s graduation. In fact, he used it for a number of years after that–maybe even still uses it.
Here’s a funny anecdote about money and music. At my graduation from Pitt, I got paid to play my bass in the orchestra, got paid to hire other musicians to fill out some sections, and got royalties on The Three Rivers Overture. The latter was the greatest source of revenue, because BMI calculates royalties based on number of instruments (full orch), length of piece (over 6 minutes) and number of people in audience (about 20,000). I was very pleased when I opened up my BMI check that year. The sad thing is that BMI changed their rules, so they no longer pay royalties on events–only concerts. So my source of easy money dried up…
The good news is that a new piece was born, even though it’s no longer a money maker.
The Three Rivers Overture, mp3 (performed by the Pitt orchestra)
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Let’s Stand Together
In October I got an email from out of the blue from a minister in the UK who was interested in having me set some of his hymns to music. Colin Gordon-Farleigh and I have been collaborating ever since. Today I finished our 10th song. It’s called “Let’s Stand Together.” Colin has given me permission to post our songs here at my music blog, so I thought I’d go ahead and start with the newest one. As usual, you have your choice: listen to the mp3 of the cheesy Finale playback, or print it out and play it yourself.
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Grace Through Every Generation
I’ve mentioned elsewhere about the CRC sesquicentennial (that’s 150, for those of you who are counting) hymn contest I entered a while back. I submitted three songs–one for each of the sesquicentennial theme scriptures–and got runner up for one of them. The winning hymn text was written by my CICW colleague Bert Polman. The text will be introduced to the denomination using the tune NETTLETON (“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”). That’s a good tune choice in that it’s familiar (and a great tune), but I felt like it needed something special, so I wrote one:
Grace Through Every Generation (mp3)
Grace Through Every Generation (printed music)
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True Confessions
The new year is a good time to reflect on one’s life. A few years ago some of my reflections turned into a song named “True Confessions.” This recording is from a chapel at Northwestern College. I’m on vocals and guitar, Cory Grimm is on the other guitar, Adam Grimm is on bass and Joseph Barker is on drums.
True Confessions by Greg Scheer, October, 2003
The second hand keeps on ticking, the hours fly, but I
find the days grow short as the years go by.
Half my life may be goneeven though Ive tried and tried
Im still not half the man that I thought I would be.
But Im older and wiser, and happy and tired, and richer and wider,
and just now getting comfortable living inside this skin.
Even though half the things that I thought were me recede
just get forgottenlost in the living.
My true confessions,
my best intentions,
I guess in the end that
is all I can give.
My true confessions,
my best intentions,
I guess in the end that
is all I can give.
Dive below the surface and youll find things in me
that even I dont know or choose not to believe.
But Im open to your reviving streams. You see,
I want to be a tree whose roots grow deep.
CHORUS
What on earth is the problem with humanity?
Why do we run to wrong? How can we be so mean?
But if I had been Adam and you were Eve, I think
Id bite any apple that you offered me.
The serpent is speaking
so convincing and sweetly.
The spirit is willing
but the flesh is weak.
Since the garden of Eden,
with our sweat weve been reaping
the price of our pride
and our disobedience.
CHORUS
Im in trouble sometimes, but I still believe Ill see
the goodness of my God while Im still living.
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Deeper than the Sea
I wrote this setting of Psalm 36:5-9 for the CRC sesquicentennial hymn contest. I lost. But then the Psalm came up in the lectionary, so I decided to create an arrangement for choir, piano and congregation that we’ll use January 14 at Church of the Servant. Chords are included so it can be accompanied by guitar and bass to get that “folk choir” kind of sound.
Here is the score: (I had to remove it–it’s now published by GIA)
Don’t have a choir? Don’t despair! Here’s the leadsheet for praise band: (pdf-praise)
And a rough demo in a somewhat Chris Tomlin style: (mp3-praise)