Category: Commissions

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Choir Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017

Psalm 46: The Lord of All Is with Us

Update 10/1/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

In this, my third-to-last Adopt-a-Psalm song, knowing I was writing something to commemorate the Reformation—and especially because Luther himself set Psalm 46 to music—I knew this needed to be special. I’m a huge fan of the lively rhythmic tunes from the Reformation. They dance in a way that their later, isometric descendants don’t. I had great success with a 7/8 setting of Psalm 78 for a Calvin commemoration (I won a contest and a trip to Berlin), so I decided I’d build on that by writing this setting of Psalm 46 in 4+6/8.

The mixed meter makes this a little more difficult than the average hymn. It may be wise to sing it in unison to start with. (My understanding is that Calvin and Luther’s congregations would have sung in unison.) Once February is done and all my Adopt-a-Psalm songs are written, I’m going to return to this and write an accompaniment that will fill in some of the rests and support the congregation. If all else fails, the text can be sung to EIN FESTE BURG. (Another tip of the hat to Luther.)

Get some practice reading mixed meters (see link above), or simply listen to me attempting to sing all four parts.

The song text is in three verses, which correspond to the sections of Psalm 46. Each ends with, “The Lord of all is with us”–a boiled down version of “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” which ends each section of the Psalm. Whereas Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress” concentrated on the citadel aspect of the Psalm, I chose to focus on the theme of city. In fact, early drafts of the song used the phrase “city of refuge” and “sanctuary city.” What was fascinating to me as I studied the Psalm was how it resonated with the vision of the heavenly city in Revelation 21 and 22. Read them side by side; you’ll be amazed. In any case, I borrowed a good deal of language from Revelation and was even able to sneak in a reference to Emmanuel, “God with us.”

1. O, Lord of all, you are our home,
our strength, and our sure refuge;
our only hope in fiercest storm
to whom we run for rescue.

The ground beneath our feet
may slip into the sea,
but still we will not fear;
in you, we rest secure.
The Lord of all is with us.

2. A river flowing from God’s throne
brings life, and joy, and healing.
God’s splendor, shining like the sun,
gives light to all the people.

For though the nations roar,
soon comes a glorious morn.
Our God will come and dwell
as our Emmanuel:
The Lord of all is with us.

3. Come see the marvels God has done.
Behold with awe and wonder.
Hear how the battle’s deafening sound
falls silent at God’s thunder:

“I AM your God, be still.”
Let all the nations kneel.
Exalt the Lord of all,
your refuge, strength, and home.
The Lord of all is with us.

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Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017 Psalms

Psalm 33: A Symphony of Praise

Update 10/2/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

Psalm 33 was a refreshing change. I’ve been doing a lot of dark Psalms during my Adopt-a-Psalm month, so it was nice to have one that was joyful and musical. I use Psalm 33:3’s “new Psalm/skillfully” as the scripture for my songwriting workshop description, so I was eager to use it in a song.

I chose E, the most joyful of keys, as my starting point. As I doodled, I came up with the melodic motive for “you saints of the Lord,” which I really liked. It’s off the beaten path, but still singable. The first draft flowed freely from there. What I found, though, is that my first draft was “breathless.” Literally, there was no place to breathe. After another two or three drafts I was able to produce a song that was singable and joyful, but not predictable or (I hope) trite.

I should point out that the phrase “a symphony of praise” came late in the game. At first, I had, “to the music of your name,” but I realized that Marty Haugen had already used that line. So I kept brainstorming and finally came up with “a symphony of praise.” This final phrase felt like it was the missing piece. Indeed, it became the title of the song.

Take a minute to read through Psalm 33, then take a look at my rendition in notated (see link above) or recorded form.

Rejoice, you saints of the Lord!
Adorn yourself with God’s praise.
Lift up a joyful new song
and renew old melodies.
Let every lung, every pipe, every string
lift the lift up the song until all the world rings
with a symphony of praise.

1. God’s word crafted sea and earth,
the rivers, wind, and waves.
God breathed and the planets turned;
And still they spin in space.
But even surer than the coming dawn
Is God’s everlasting love. (Chorus)

2. All earth: love and fear the Lord.
All peoples: stand in awe.
All life’s cradled in his word;
our days God only knows.
One generation waxes another wanes,
but God’s wisdom still remains. (Chorus)

3. God watches from heav’n above
and sees our days and deeds.
God knows every human heart,
Our passions and beliefs.
Blessed indeed are those whose only trust
Is their God’s unending love. (Chorus)

4. Ruler’s trust in their own strength,
But strength is never enough
God saves those who call his name
and hope in his strong love.
Even in doubt, despair, and darkest night
God is leading us to life. (Chorus)

Our souls will wait for the Lord;
We give ourselves to God’s care.
Rejoice! Our hearts have a hope,
and our voices fill the air
with a symphony of praise.

Categories
Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2017

Psalm 16: The Refuge of My Soul

Update 10/6/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

Psalm 16 is the next in my Adopt-a-Psalm settings. I took a unique approach on this one. At first glance, it may seem like the song has little to do with the Psalm. It uses none of the “protect me, God” or “path of life” phrases that other settings of this Psalm use. Instead, it goes a layer deeper, into the Psalm’s structure.

Samuel Terrien proposes that Psalm 16 is made up of 6 strophes, with the first three mirroring the last three. In broad strokes, the Psalm begins its focus on things of earth and moves toward heaven. As I meditated on the Psalm it suddenly struck me that it closely follows the span of human life. It is very clear in the last two strophes, which focus on the grave and eternal life. Working your way backward you can see further life milestones: the growth of wisdom (strophe 4) and earthly blessings (strophe 3). The first two strophes are less clear, but with a bit of imagination, I recast the first strophe’s protection and refuge as the womb and the sacrifices to false gods in strophe two as the sins of youth. It’s easier to understand when you see the Psalm and my song side by side as in this PDF.

Once I decided the lyrics would be a life-spanning prayer, I knew I needed a folk melody that could hold all the different emotions. Something with a classic contour and perhaps a Celtic color. The melody came out quickly. I channeled my inner Irish balladeer and wrote a tune reminiscent of “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” John Bell’s “O Lord, Our Lord,” or “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.” In fact, it uses the same hexatonic scale as “Be Thou My Vision.”

Try it out for yourself or just take a listen: MP3 (see link above for sheet music)

In the waters of the womb;
In the first breath my lungs drew;
even there I knew
the refuge of my soul.

Please forgive the wasted years
I spent chasing empty dreams
That could never be
The refuge of my soul.

Still, you kept me in your care,
Granted blessings undeserved,
But I treasure most
The refuge of my soul.

As years passed and wisdom grew
My best thoughts were still of you
In the quiet of night
The refuge of my soul.

In the cool air of the tomb
Even there I rest in you.
Still my life, my all,
The refuge of my soul.

And as life begins once more
And I’m filled with joys unknown,
Through eternity
The refuge of my soul.

You will always be
the refuge of my soul.

Categories
Adopt-a-Psalm, 2017 Church Commissions Congregational Songs FAWM 2017

Psalm 4: I Rest in You

Update 10/6/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

Continuing on my Adopt-a-Psalm journey, we come to Psalm 4. At its core, Psalm 4 is the lament of someone whose honor has been impugned. You can hear the theme of shame and honor recurring throughout. Ultimately, though, the Psalmist chooses to rest in the Lord. It reminds me of what Richard Foster says in The Celebration of Discipline—I believe in the section on silence—about not speaking in defense of yourself, but simply allowing your reputation to stand on its own. This lack of control is frightening, especially when your name is at stake, but ultimately we can’t control what others think of us. 

My approach with some of these more difficult Psalms is to address the Psalm’s themes as fully as possible without necessarily adopting all the original text’s images. For example, Psalm 3’s “Break their teeth, O Lord” is a tough sell for a congregational song! I also use the music to soften the blow a bit. In this case, the lyrics and music turn the Psalm from an indignant defense into a quiet prayer in the night. The song’s chorus focuses on rest, as this is what binds Psalm 3 and 4, and I couldn’t resist tipping my hat to Philippians 4:7 on the chorus repeat.

The recording features everyone’s favorite boy band, The Scheers, with Simon on bass, Theo on cello, and me on guitar and vocals (and a light backing track of ukulele). Take a closer look (see link above) or listen (MP3).

1. God, you hear my prayer in the dark.
Only you can judge human hearts.
Lord, set me free from these chains;
Let me see just how gracious you are.

How long must I be bent in shame—
Shackled by dishonor’s dead weight?
Lord, when I call, you will hear,
For you know all I have is my faith.

When I lie down to sleep I shall rest in peace, For Lord, I rest in you.
I know the peace of God Which transcends this world, This peace will rest in me.

2. All the anxious thoughts of my mind;
All of my unrest and disquiet:
When I have nothing but trust,
Lord, I offer it up, sacrificed.

Even in the dark hours of night,
May your countenance once more shine.
Oh, let your joy ever be
This poor heart’s richest feast: bread and wine.

When I lie down to sleep I shall rest in peace, For Lord, I rest in you.
I know the peace of God Which transcends this world, This peace will rest in me.

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Arrangement Church Commissions Congregational Songs Production music

Brooks’ Sanctus

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.

 

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Arrangement Choir Church Commissions Congregational Songs Live

Pentecostal Splendor at Calvin College’s 2014 Lessons and Carols

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.

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Arrangement Art Music Choir Church Commissions Congregational Songs Live

What Adam’s Disobedience Cost

The second piece I was asked to arrange for Calvin College’s 2016 Lessons and Carols service was “What Adam’s Disobedience Cost.” This hymn text by Fred Pratt Green (V5 Carol Bechtel) is not all that well known, but it fills an important niche in the church year, matching the reading about the fall of humanity in Genesis 3.

It is also a wonderful tune, DETROIT, which I fist learned from the amazing early American hymnal The Southern Harmony, 1835. Part of the difficulty with arranging this tune is that I had already arranged it once before in a very different context. In the end, I was able to conjure up an entirely different approach which fit the choir, organ, and reverberant LaGrave sanctuary well.

You can see the whole program here or email me to see the score.

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Arrangement Choir Church Commissions Congregational Songs Live

Jacob’s Ladder Gloria

This Christmas I had the honor of contributing to Calvin College’s Lessons and Carols service. They commissioned two pieces. The first was a musical collage paired with the scripture about Jacob’s dream of a ladder to heaven. I was asked to set the Negro Spiritual “Jacob’s Ladder” with numerous Glorias: Taizé’s, “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and Pablo Sosa’s. For three choirs and organ. That was not enough of a challenge, so I threw in the verse about Jacob’s ladder from “Nearer My God to Thee.”

You can see the whole program here or email me to see the score.

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Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos

Ever-Tender Shepherd

Update 11/4/21: Sheet music for this song can now be downloaded at gregscheer.com.

A few months ago, I was asked to compose a theme song for the World Communion of Reformed Churches’ 2017 General Council meeting in Leipzig, Germany. After three tries I got it right. One of the out-takes from that process was a hymn tune in a distinctly Bach style. I was really pleased to hear from the event organizers that they not only liked the song I submitted, but they liked the Bach-style hymn, as well. They asked if I’d be willing to write a new text for that tune; a text focusing on the suffering of the world.

After a week of drafting, crumpling, re-drafting, and editing, I’m done. “Ever-Tender Shepherd” is a musical “collect prayer”–a prayer which petitions God based on God’s attributes. In this case, attributes of Jesus are connected to the needs of the world. We ask Christ, the Shepherd, to gather scattered refugees, for example. This seemed a good way to address the needs of the world without taking sides or naming issues so specifically that the song would be obsolete by the time it was used. I’m especially fond of the third verse. But who am I to play favorites?

1. Ever-tender Shepherd,
hear your people’s moans
as they sift through rubble
that was once their homes.

See your children scatter
as cities burn to ash.
Be for them a refuge;
Be for them a rest.

2. Ever-blessing Brother,
grant again your peace.
Breathe on us your Spirit,
that our wars may cease.

Stanch the endless bleeding
of self-inflicted wounds.
May your blood be healing
and your cross our truce.

3. Ever-wounded Healer,
feel your planet’s pain.
Fever wracks its body;
poison fills its veins.

Hear creation’s groaning,
its sighs too deep for words.
Be the re-creation
of all things on earth.

4. Ever-reigning Victor,
ever-loving Lord,
ever intercede for
us, your weak and poor.

May we ever follow
your perfect sacrifice,
offering lives of mercy,
ever-living Christ.

Categories
Church Commissions Congregational Songs Contests Demos Production music

WCRC Take 3: Renew Us, O God!

Update 10/28/21: Sheet music for this song can now be purchased at gregscheer.com.

In a Goldilocks’ moment, my third and final porridge…er, song…is just right. This time, my theme song for the World Communion of Reformed Churches 2017 General Council brings together the best of my earlier drafts.

My first attempt was too “slogan-y”. This version takes that slogan’s idea (“transformed and transforming; renewed and renewing”) and puts it in prayer form: “Renew us, O God.” This prayer serves as a refrain that can be sung joyfully, as on the recording, or introspectively, like a Taizé chorus.

My second attempt had a solid text, but stolid music. (Okay, “stolid” is probably too strong of a word–but it wasn’t festive enough for the occasion.) This third one recycles that same text, but matches it with more vibrant music. It is a lively 6/8 melody that could be accompanied in a variety of styles: hymn-like with organ accompaniment, in a liturgical folk style with piano, or with guitar and even full praise band.

I knew I was onto something when the song continued to come back to me throughout the week. It’s highly singable, but has enough Scheer™ twists and turns to keep it interesting. The first four chords, for example, are pretty far off the beaten track. The D (I) chord moves to an F#m (iii) chord, which should head to a Bm (vi), G (V), or even A (V). Instead, it goes to an Am (minor v), a surprising shift that doesn’t go off the rails because of the stable melody.

But enough harmonic geekery. Take a listen to the recording above.