Category: Congregational Songs

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Live

2013 Calvin Worship Symposium Service: Not to Worry

I’m sure you’ve noticed that it’s been a few weeks since I last posted. (Please say you’ve noticed…) My excuse is that I was busy preparing for the 2013 Calvin Worship Symposium, which ended Saturday. Among other things, I led the music in a worship service with the Calvin Christian High School, under Erin De Young’s fine leadership.

You can check it out here: http://new.livestream.com/calvin-college/events/1738250.

It featured three of my arrangements of hymns/songs for orchestra. It was very satisfying to be sandwiched between a full string orchestra and a thousand some worshipers singing their hearts out. The whole service–which I helped Sue Rozeboom plan and in which Luke Powery preached–is worth watching. But if you’re just interested in hearing the music I wrote or arranged, fast forward to:

  • 13:00 The Lord Be with You (by Ron Rienstra)
  • 16:11 One Generation
  • 1:00:52 O Bless the Lord, My Soul
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Church Congregational Songs Contests Demos

We Are the Children of God

This summer I got an email from one of my blog readers alerting me to an upcoming song contest. (Thanks, Dean!) The contest is run by Grandfather Home for Children.  You really should check out their website, because they do wonderful work with abused and abandoned children.

As the deadline approached, I started looking through my songs to find some things that fit their three categories: traditional hymn, contemporary song, and children’s song. Sure, I found some songs that fit the bill, but I felt that I was taking the easy way out by submitting only old songs. (In Ninjago terms, I wasn’t unlocking my true potential.)

I started to think about the kind of song an abandoned or abused child would want to sing. I didn’t think an orphan would want to sing about being an orphan, even though there are lots of Bible passages about God being the father of the fatherless. Instead, I thought they’d want to sing about belonging and being part of a family. And of course, that’s what we all want.

Then like a bolt of lightening, it hit me: I need to write a simple children’s song about being a child of God. Not only is it cool that God adopts us as children, it’s even cooler that this makes us siblings–blood relations in Jesus. The great thing about this song is that it’s a song we can all sing–we’ve all been adopted into God’s family through Christ–but, of course, it has an even deeper meaning for the context of Grandfather Home for Children.

MP3, PDF

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Demos Global

All of My Heart (Adoração)

Update 1/15/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I’ve mentioned previously that I’ve taken it upon myself to introduce the Brazilian writing duo of Rubem Amorese and Toninho Zemuner. They write beautiful, singable, meaningful songs. In Portuguese. But with a resolute will and the help of Google translate, I forge on, transcribing and translating some of their songs.

The latest is a simple song called “Adoração.” Because the song is so simple, the translation was very difficult. Every word had to be just right. As a matter of fact, I’d like a little feedback. Here’s the first verse in Portuguese:

Te adorarei, te adorarei
Com todo o meu coração;
Com toda a sede do meu viver,
Com todo o meu ser.

Te adorarei, te adorarei
Com todo o meu coração;
Com toda a minha razão e amor,
Com todo o meu viver.

As you can see, the first two lines of each half verse are identical. Normally, the fourth line would rhyme with the second line, but in this song they’ve bound the two half verses by rhyming the last line in each half verse. This creates an unusually long wait for the rhyme completion for a simple song. I respected the integrity of the original and followed their pattern. At first it didn’t sound right to my ear, but after I spent some time recording it, it began to feel more natural. Yak, yak, yak. See for yourself.

Listen to their original: MP3

Look at the translation: PDF

Listen to my demo at the link above.

Look at the leadsheet at the link above.

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Arrangement Choir Church Congregational Songs Global Live

Good Christian Friends Rejoice, Christmas Eve 2012

Last week I posted a recording of my flute arrangement of “Good Christian Friends (Men), Rejoice.” Unfortunately, the flutist from that recording wasn’t available for the Christmas Eve service. But in a bad news/good news turn of events, recorder player par excellence, Cal Stapert, was willing to take over. Take a listen.

Added bonus: super sweet segue between the Good Christian prelude and the processional hymn “Once in Royal David’s City.”

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Congregational Songs Quirky

It Was Very Good! (live at the De Young dinner table)

When Faith Alive rejected my kids’ song, “It Was Very Good!“, they claimed that it was too difficult for the target age group. Oh yeah? Well take THIS, Faith Alive. Here’s a recording of John De Young singing the song with aplomb at the dinner table: John De Young, rocking it.

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs

Come, Holy Ghost/Be Not Afraid

My son, Theo, drew this during a worship service while “Be Not Afraid” was sung. He was 6 at the time. And yes, he is an exceptionally talented lad.

Even though I spend lots of energy trying to get my own music to discerning ears, I’m humble enough to know that I can’t write all the good songs. One great song that I didn’t write is Bruce Benedict and Ray Mill’s “Come, Holy Ghost/Be Not Afraid.” It has traveled pretty widely in some circles and will be included in the forthcoming Lift Up Your Hearts hymnal. Built on an 8th century Pentecost hymn, I fully expect that this new version will be around for many years to come. Below are all the different arrangements that I and others have written of the song. Feel free to link to other arrangements and recordings in the comment section.

Greg Scheer: SATB choir and piano – I wrote this for the Sunday on which I introduced the song at Church of the Servant. There are aspects of this arrangement that I really like, but it’s probably a bit too much for everyday use.

Greg Scheer: simple(r) piano – Given the fact that COS’s pianists had to patch together a part from the above arrangement, I decided to write a new one that was sturdier and simpler. This is the version that will be used in Lift Up Your Hearts.

Sarah Majorins: strings – Sarah has written a super-tasty string arrangement that I’m itching to try the next time I lead worship with strings. How about a recording, Sarah?

Naaman Wood: piano accompaniment with a strong 2 against 3 feel (and a hint of “Mad World”).

E minor leadsheet – It’s entirely singable in the higher key, and this version also notates the song in 6/8, which makes a lot of sense.

COS Guitarchestra: MP3 – Nothing definitive. I just thought you might want to hear the song.

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Live Retuned hymn

Peace, Perfect Peace

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

This is one of my favorite hymns. Ever. I found it in the old maroon Presbyterian Hymnbook in my first church position back in Pittsburgh, but have only had the opportunity to use it a few times over the last 20 years.

We sang it a few months ago at COS when Jack preached the “blessed are the peacemakers” part of the Sermon on the Mount, and it is sadly relevant again this weekend in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings.

Read more about the hymn at Hymnary or listen to the MP3: Peace, Perfect Peace

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Church Congregational Songs

The Body of Christ @ Cardiphonia

As promised, my song “The Body of Christ” was released today on the Cardiphonia compilation, Songs for Liturgy. Besides my song, there are 26 other songs that will rock your liturgical world. Really. Go download the whole album. You’ll be doing yourself a favor, treating your ears to all that sweet music. You’ll be doing your congregation a favor by finding fresh new songs for your church’s services. And you’ll be doing flood victims in NY/NJ a favor, as all proceeds go to them. What are you waiting for?

Once you’re done downloading the album, come on back and print the music.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos

Open Our Eyes to the Word of Life

Bruce Benedict and Cardiphonia crew are releasing another compilation. This time the theme is liturgical music. I’ll post a link to my song, “The Body of Christ” that will be included on the CD when it’s released in a few days. In the meantime, here is a brand new one that didn’t make the cut: Open Our Eyes to the Word of Life.

It’s a prayer for illumination to be sung before the reading or preaching of scripture. Even though it’s a compact little song, the lyrics include each person of the Trinity and conclude with the idea that we should not only be hearing the Word, we should be doing it, as well. Not bad for 18 measures. The first part of the song can be sung as a round, a cappella or using the chords in measures 21-24. But the likelihood of people singing a new song as a round is low, so I added a “Hallelujah” round after the main text. This can be sung directly following the first part of the song, as it is on the demo, or it can be separated and sung elsewhere in the service.

Give it a try: MP3, PDF

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Finale demo

O Bless the Lord, My Soul (ST THOMAS)

Update 12/11/21: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I don’t know how I forgot to post this earlier, but a few weeks ago I finished a string orchestra arrangement of the hymn tune ST THOMAS, using the text “O Bless the Lord, My Soul.” These hymn tune arrangements give me the opportunity to squeeze as much counterpoint and harmonic variation as I can from an 8 measure tune. It’s both challenging and satisfying, and I was quite happy with how this turned out.