This is, literally, my musical diary–notes fresh from my pen and recorded in a few hours. You can find my finished works elsewhere; here, it's all about capturing the moment!
There is a recurring refrain in the book of Revelation: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” As Fuller Avenue Church worked through the letters to the churches of Revelation this fall I kept thinking that someone should write a song based on that passage. It’s the perfect prayer of illumination.
Three months, two false starts, and one new computer later, I decided that I should be the person to write that song!
As you can hear from the above demo, the song can be sung simply–a cappella or with guitar or piano accompaniment. But it can also be sung in canon, with as many as five voices singing simultaneously. (A singable chorus in five-part canon that doesn’t sound stodgy is no small feat. I hope you appreciate what I’ve done for you!)
If you can’t believe your ears, I invite you to look at the PDF.
Thanks to the work of my new friend Christopher Mazen, my translation/arrangement of “Kwake Yesu Nasimama (Here on Jesus Christ I Will Stand)” made its way to the International Baptist Church of Singapore. It’s not only a beautiful rendition of the song but very encouraging to see such a rich cultural exchange, from Africa to America to Asia.
Update 10/11/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.
This year, Church of the Servant (my “alma mater” church) commissioned me to arrange a lovely “Magnificat” by Keur Moussa. I don’t know a lot about the Keur Moussa Abbey, but my impression is that they are something like the Taizé of Senegal. The Keur Moussa community has developed its own style of singing that combines the beautiful austerity of Catholic chant with the insistent rhythms of West Africa.
If you listen to the original recording you’ll hear a simple perfection that is irresistible, with the vocals and rhythms held in perfect balance. You’ll also hear what I found most difficult about writing this arrangement: the more “interesting” my arrangement was, the more it betrayed the original song. I must have reminded myself a hundred times while working on it: “Greg, don’t gild the lily!” But it was not easy to remain simple when writing for choir, string orchestra, guitars, and a smattering of percussion!
In the end, I felt that I struck a good balance. The arrangement is complex, but not flashy; exciting, but still mesmerizing. But I am hardly an impartial observer. You be the judge. The above recording is from the December 15, 2019 premiere at COS’s annual Lessons & Carols service.
This fall I visited Baylor University, giving the “Hearn Innovator” lecture, speaking in classes, and enjoying rich conversations with students and faculty. One of my favorite events was leading a chapel of Psalm singing. The band was tight and the students were (mostly) enthusiastic. My part begins at 11:47.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and in the case of this Sunday’s service, I needed an arrangement of “Lead On, O King Eternal” for worship band. Henry Smart’s tune is triumphant, bordering on a march. That doesn’t work well with pop music instruments. So I softened the march rhythm and gave it a bit of a groove with a jangly electric guitar line a la early Elvis Costello. It might be the perfect blend of old and new; it might be an awkward marriage of substance and style. I will report back on how it works.
On October 28, I was privileged to lead Calvin University’s chapel with the Campus Choir. We focused on Psalm 103–my favorite–singing four different versions of the Psalm as a way of “preaching with song.” We sang Taizé’s “Bless the Lord My Soul,” Matt Redman’s “Ten Thousand Reasons,” and the classic hymn “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.” We concluded with my anthem, “Bless the Lord, O My Soul!” which begins at 17:23. A good time was had by all. (As far as I could tell.)
Singing Scheer Psalms in Indonesia translation is certainly a niche interest. Nonetheless, I wanted to make this video available for all the people who might be interested. Both of you…
I’m making self-deprecating jokes, but this was a really wonderful evening. The GKY Manggabesar is a singing congregation. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my friend (and GKY pastor) Lucky Samuel had already taught many of these songs to his congregation. What a gift to hear them singing songs I had written half a world away in their own language!
I was commissioned by Calvin College to arrange Wendell Kimbrough’s fabulous song “Rejoice in All Your Works (Psalm 104)” for their 2018 graduation ceremony. The song is arranged for choir, wind ensemble, praise band, and 5,000 singers.
It was a lot of notes. (Which means a lot of work and a lot of time.) But it was worth it to hear the Van Noord arena reverberate with the sound of praise coming from joyful graduates and their grateful families.
An octavo of the choral anthem (with more modest instrumental forces) will be published by GIA in the coming year.
If you missed Western Seminary’s performance of my “Prayer of Jonah,” just click below. The song starts at 20:57, but the whole service is well worth watching.
Oh, if you happen to be looking for a scripture song accompanied by 5 electric basses (and really, who isn’t?) just contact me for the music.
The sermon at Fuller this week comes from the story of Moses’ birth and adoption by Pharoah’s daughter (Exodus 2:1-10), exploring Moses as a foreshadowing of Christ. As I looked for appropriate songs to sing, I came across a once-popular hymn by William Hammond called, “Awake and Sing the Song.” This hymnic rabbit trail led to the original 1745 publication of Hammond’s poem that featured no less than 14 verses! The rabbit trail continued to Revelation 15:2-4 in which the harp-wielding saints sing the “song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb.” Pure worship planning gold.
The Ghent Altarpiece: Adoration of the Lamb (1425-29)
Naturally, I felt the need to write a new tune for it–it’s who I am. I knew the text called for a tune as rough as a sea chanty, as epic as a murder ballad, and as joyously raucous as a shape-note hymn. What I came up with is a pentatonic melody that is equal parts “What Wondrous Love” and “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.” I’m quite pleased with it. (And that’s not always the case after singing a dozen takes of a new melody while recording a demo.) I was also pleased that I was able to work in my favorite phrase from the original hymn, “we, his miracles of grace.”
The one remaining question: does it need a chorus? Musically, it feels complete without it, but thematically we are being called to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, but we never do. The actual song appears in Rev 15:3-4:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
I have a chorus drafted. If enough people request it, I’ll add it.
