The Musical Diary of Greg Scheer
Here is the recording of “Savior of the Nations, Come” performed at Baylor University’s 2017 Lessons and Carols service. I wish I could have been there in person. It sounds beautiful.
You can read about how the piece came to be written here: https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/2017/11/22/savior-of-the-nations-come-string-orchestra/. Of course, I’m happy to receive emails from anyone who would like to use it at their Lessons and Carols service. All the cool kids are doing it!
World Library Press now publishes “Clap Your Hands,” a Yoruba folk song I arranged for SATB Choir, Cantor, Flute/Piccolo and Percussion. Even better, they recorded a beautiful rendition of the arrangement that shows they really get the piece.
This is a great choice if you’re new to singing global music with your choir or if you want to highlight a flute player or percussionist. Added bonus: It’s based on Psalm 47, the Psalm for Ascension Day. Order it now so your copies will arrive in plenty of time to prepare for May 10!
Update 12/11/21: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.
For the fourth year in a row, I’ve been commissioned to write a piece for Calvin College’s Lessons and Carols service. Not only is it an honor, but it’s always a treat because I know the performances will be top-notch. This year was no exception. Calvin’s musicians did a wonderful job with my choral fantasy on the hymns “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” “Ah, Holy Jesus,” and “All My Heart Again Rejoices.”
It seems that each year the commissions become more difficult. Last year I was asked to weave “Jacob’s Ladder” with a variety of “Gloria” songs; difficult, but at least the songs were similar in nature. This year, I almost thought John Witvliet was jerking my chain when he asked me to put “Lo, How a Rose” and “Ah, Holy Jesus” together in one anthem. You couldn’t find two more different songs!
On the other hand, they fit the theme, “Born to Die, Born to Rise” beautifully. Christmas can become saccharine when it’s populated only with sweet baby Jesuses, choruses of angels, and mild Marys. Just as the Magis’ myrrh foreshadowed Jesus’ burial, “Ah, Holy Jesus” reminds us of the full meaning of the incarnation. As I began to work on the piece, I found that I could weave “Lo, How a Rose” and “Ah, Holy Jesus” together in musical counterpoint that thickened both their differences and underlying unity. After focusing on these two sides of Christ, our only response can be praise; the piece ends with a rousing rendition of “All My Heart Again Rejoices.”
The recording is above. Follow the link above if you’d like to see the score.
Update 10/28/21: Sheet music for this piece can now be purchased at gregscheer.com.
My friend Carlos Colón directs worship at Baylor University. He recently asked if I had anything for string quintet that might work as an interlude for an upcoming Advent service. And he needed it quickly. I sent him a few ideas, including this fugal intro to the Advent hymn, “Savior of the Nations, Come.” I thought I was going to be able to simply adapt what I had written before, but once I got started it was clear that I needed to rewrite it from the ground up. Two days from inquiry to completed score. That’s how I roll.
Lately, a large part of my work for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has been translating and arranging Hispanic worship songs for the forthcoming bilingual (Spanish/English) hymnal. These songs have included everything from the smooth pop praise of Marcos Witt to the joyous coritos that travel from church to church in Latin America and the USA, often changing as they go. I’ve completed almost 50 songs and have at least another 25 to go before my work is done.
To give you a taste of the project, my boys and I recorded “Oh, Jerusalén, que bonita eres / Oh, Jerusalem, How You Shine with Beauty.” The MP3 is above. You’ll just have to wait until the hymnal is published to see the music!
One of the most satisfying things about writing music for the church is to see how different songs migrate. “Abana/The Arabic Lord’s Prayer” is quickly becoming one of the most popular global songs I’ve translated and arranged. It was already a beloved song among Arabic-speaking Christians, and it strikes a deep chord with Western churches that are trying to embrace the communion of saints in an age of division.
My friend Denise Makinson at Southwood Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE recently sent me this fine recording of her choir and instrumentalists introducing “Abana” to their congregation. Wonderful!
“Tu Has Venido a la Orilla” is a beautiful song by Cesareo Gabarain (1976 © admin. OCP Publications). It is a simple text about hearing Christ’s call, set to an almost perfect melody. I’ve long wanted to arrange the song. In fact, for a decade I’ve carried around a half completed arrangement for women’s choir and flute. This Fall I finally found the time to complete it.
When I contacted a few people who had requested it over the years, Connecticut conductor Sue Riley told me she no longer had a women’s choir but would love to sing it with her mixed church choir. So I got back to work and produced an arrangement for SATB choir, piano, and flute.
While I was at it, I created a new translation. The existing translations (Suppe: Lord, you have come to the lakeshore, Jabusch: Lord, when you came to the seashore, Marshall: You have come down to the lakeshore) all have awkward phrases and misplaced emphases that the draw attention away from the simple beauty of the song. I wanted a translation that was smooth as butter:
1. Lord, you have come to the harbor
Seeking neither the wise nor the wealthy,
But only asking that I would follow.
O Lord, you have smiled upon me.
You have sought me, and called me by name.
Now my boat lies on the shoreline behind me,
For with you I will seek other seas.
2. You know I’ve nothing to offer:
I’ve no treasure, just nets for fishing,
And two strong hands you made for working. Refrain
3. Lord, I will give you my labors,
Share my strength with those that are weary,
And share your love, your love unending. Refrain
4. You call me on to new waters
To seek those who are waiting and thirsting.
O my dear Jesus, I gladly follow. Refrain
Señor, me has mirado a los ojos,
sonriendo has dicho mi nombre,
en la arena he dejado mi barca,
junto a ti buscaré otro mar.
Lord, with you I will seek other seas.
I recently completed a full choral arrangement of Wendell Kimbrough’s “Rejoice in All Your Works.” (Which reminds me that I’ve forgotten to post it here on my blog.) Paul Ryan led it at Sunday’s LOFT service at Calvin College with a full band and the Campus Choir. Pretty cool. It starts at 13:28 minutes into the video below.
I’m just coming down from the mountaintop known as the annual Calvin Worship Symposium. Beyond the 4 sessions and 2 services I helped lead, I contributed an arrangement to the service led by Bruce Benedict and the Hope College worship team. At 18:15 in the video below you’ll hear my string arrangement of Bethany Brooks‘ “Sanctus.” Bethany wrote a fine song–simple and stately–and I knew the best thing I could do is simply stay out of they way.
While tracking down recordings of my arrangements from this year’s Calvin College Lessons and Carols service, I was also able to locate a recording of “Pentecostal Splendor” from the service in 2014. The vivid imagery of the text by John E. Speares and the rugged melody by Dale Wood gave me plenty of material to work with. It sounded splendid with a huge choir, pipe organ*, and brass quintet. You can email me for a score or read the full program here: http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/a-pentecostal-christmas
*I should mention that the organ sounds splendid in part because of how well Norma Malefyt played it, but also because she spent a good deal of time with me working on how to write well for the instrument.