Category: Congregational Songs

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2022 Psalm Collaborations Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2022 Psalms

Psalm 20: Blessing (with Kate Bluett)

Update: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Kate Bluett and I have already completed one Psalm collaboration, last year’s raucous “The Thunder’s Rage Is Roaring” (Psalm 57). This time around is a more placid song. Kate’s beautiful rendering of Psalm 20 is simply called “Blessing.”

She has recast the language of the Psalm in a way that speaks powerfully into our own context. For example, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses” becomes “Some trust in arms and some in power.” In my estimation, this is exactly the kind of “transplanting” that should take place in modern Psalm songs.

Musically, I kept things very simple. Much of the time the harmonies are rocking gently between a C and an F/C. This musical moderation means that even a shift to an A minor chord feels important. It also lets the melody and words speak with a candor and guilelessness that isn’t possible in more sophisticated music.

1. May God give answer when you call,
and may God’s name defend you
to shield you from what harms befall
and with great love befriend you,
then when at last the shadows fall,
with shepherd’s care yet tend you,
and may you see God’s hand in all,
wheree’er your road may send you.

2. May you take all you have and do
to be today your off’ring,
and give to God in love and truth,
in happiness and suff’ring.
May God send mercy filling you,
your heart’s desires uncov’ring,
with graces pouring into you,
and peace upon you hov’ring.

3. May God pay heed to all your prayers,
and may we know the answer,
rejoicing with you as you share
the goodness God shall grant you.
Some trust in arms and some in pow’r,
but we shall trust in heaven,
and trust still more in every hour
the vict’ry God has given.

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2022 Psalm Collaborations Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2022 Hymn tunes Psalms

Psalm 69: Have Pity, My God (with David J. Diephouse)

Update: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I’ve collaborated with David Diephouse before (80, 107, 148) and am glad to be co-writing a new Psalm setting with him. This one, Psalm 69, comes with an origin story of sorts. David writes:

I recall hearing my mother relate a family legend about her grandfather, who was a trawlerman on the Zuider Zee. One day, his boat got caught in a sudden squall that left it capsized. While waiting to be rescued the crew kept up their spirits by singing the opening lines of Psalm 69. The story may or may not be partly apocryphal, but I like it.

I love to hear stories about how people have used the Psalms in everyday life. It’s easy to see why a person adrift in the sea would recall the lines of Psalm 69, because they are the cry of a person drowning. In the Psalm, it is an emotional drowning, fighting a flood of sorrow, betrayal, and fatigue. I wanted music that could bear the weight of the emotional variety: desperation, vindication, and hope, ultimately gravitating toward a minor melody with a rugged rhythmic foundation. I would love to hear it sung by an early music consort. For now, enjoy a demo recorded by the Greg Consort.

1. Have pity, my God: I am drowning in sorrow.
I’ve cried out to you, can you hear my desperation?
The flood presses in and the waters keep rising;
I’m weary and see little hope of your salvation.

Out of the depths of my pain you will raise me,
God, you will answer when nothing can save me,
My gratefulness I’ll proclaim,
Singing praise to your name,
to your glorious name.

2. I feel so much hate, all my friends have betrayed me;
I hear how they scoff when they see that I am fasting.
You see my great need, all the pain that besets me.
Oh, show me your grace, for your love is everlasting. Refrain

3. May all who have wronged me know shame and contrition
And tremble and faint when they feel your indignation.
Demand from them all they have earned for their thieving;
Ignore their laments when they see my vindication. Refrain

All those who have known you find healing and wholeness,
Your deeds are resounding through all of your creation,
And heaven and earth, every mountain and ocean,
Will join your redeemed in a mighty celebration. Refrain

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2022 Psalm Collaborations Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2022 Hymn tunes Psalms

Psalm 8: How Often in the Deep of Night (with Linda Bonney Olin)

Update: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Like many Februarys, this month I will be taking part in FAWM: February Album Writing Month. This year I will be meeting the challenge of writing 14 songs in 28 days with the help of 14 lyricists who will contribute renderings of 14 Psalms, inching me ever closer to my goal of writing a song on each Psalm.

This first collaboration is with Linda Bonney Olin, who has contributed a beautiful setting of Psalm 8. One would think that the Psalm 8 well had long ago run dry, but Linda has written a text that is full of child-like wonder, bringing a new sense of awe to our hearing of the Psalm.

I have supported this ethereal text with music that floats, seemingly untethered from a tonal center. Though the song’s key is (more or less) D major, the very first downbeat is a G chord with an A in the melody. From there this nebulous shifting of harmonies continues into a (more or less) C region before a sudden change of course leads us back to D major. Interestingly, when the song lands back in D it sounds strangely unresolved.

1. How often in the deep of night
have I in silence gazed
at twinklings on the edge of sight
and stood, O Lord, amazed!
Beyond the slice of universe
that mortal eyes can see,
creation vast and so diverse
shines forth in majesty.

2. So high are you, O Lord, our God,
above all humankind!
Our finite minds are overawed
by marvels you designed.
Yet you have given humans charge
of what your hands have made.
To tend your creatures small and large,
this trust on us you laid.

3. You wield supreme authority,
yet you are kind and fair.
We too, Lord, in humility,
must act with gracious care.
We honor you when we respect
all beings’ sacred worth
and, as your stewards, we protect
the glories of your earth.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Jazz Psalms

Psalm 143: O Lord, Hear My Prayer

Update 2/4/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

The latest in my ongoing exploration of jazz Psalms is what is known as a responsorial Psalm. This is a form of chant in which the bulk of the Psalm text is chanted on a chant tone, a single note which continues until the phrase of text is finished and closes on a cadence. This allows for texts of varying lengths and a song that follows the Psalm very closely. The chanted verses are usually sung by a cantor (a fancy word for lead singer) and then the congregation sings a short refrain in response. (Hence, responsorial.)

This is way more complicated to explain than to sing.

This song uses the traditional Roman Catholic chanted text for Psalm 143, intended for use in funerals. The refrain is a singable melody over a ii-V-I jazz harmony. The verses work like a regular chant tone except that the musicians vamp under extended chant sections and add a quick turnaround between each phrase. Once again, I’ve made it more complicated than it sounds. Just take a listen.

O Lord, hear my prayer.

1. O Lord, hear my prayer; hearken to my pleading in your faithfulness;
in your justice answer me.
And enter not into judgment with your servant,
for before you no living man is just. [R]

2. I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all your doings; the works of your hands I ponder.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like parched land. [R]

3. Hasten to answer me, O Lord;
for my spirit fails me.
At dawn let me hear of your mercy,
for in you I trust. [R]

4. Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
May your good spirit guide me
on level ground. [R]

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Church Congregational Songs Contests Psalms

Psalm 2: The Restless Nations Rage

Update 1/21/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I’ve collaborated with Naaman Wood before and together we produced one of my favorite Psalm settings. So as I pushed ahead on my goal of setting the whole Psalter to music, I decided to get in touch with him to see if he’d be willing to write something new. After a bit of arm twisting, he produced a beautiful rendering of Psalm 2.

The great thing about Psalm 2 and Naaman’s version of it is that it untangles the claims of earthly and heavenly power. In a political climate where many believe God to be on their side–or that they’re fighting on behalf of God–this Psalm lets us know that our constant wrestling for power is all for naught. God, and only God, stands above us as the ultimate power. It is only in God that we can find true refuge.

1. The restless nations rage, and people plot in vain.
The earthly kingdoms fight against the Holy One.
You sit above us, Lord, and mock our foolish ways,
“A king I have enthroned upon my holy hill.”

2. You say unto the king, “Today you are my Son,
And I will give to you the nations of the earth.
Your iron rod will break the peoples of their rage,
And shatter all their plans like pots of earthenware.”

3. Be wise, be warned, you kings and powers of the earth.
Obey the Lord above and tremble at his word.

How blessed are all of us whose shelter is the Lord.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Jazz Psalms

Psalm 13: How Long?

Update 1/25/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I continue to experiment with the intersection of Jazz and Psalmody. Will my experiments prove fruitful? Who knows. But I’ve learned that experimentation–play–is an important part of music growth, so I’ll continue to follow this path to see where it leads.

In this case, it led to Psalm 13, the loneliest of Psalms. It begins with the famous words, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” Many people have set this Psalm to music, so it’s unlikely that anything I will say will be entirely original. In my setting, I cast the “enemy” named in the Psalm as depression. The clues are all there: endless sorrow, feeling forgotten, emotional turmoil–even the lethargy and over-sleep that often accompanies depression. The Psalmist poignantly prays to be seen: “Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.” Certainly, we’ve all felt some of this at some point.

Musically, I accompanied this sad Psalm with a descending chromatic melody, mirroring the emotional plunge that depression brings. The opening melody is also a large hemiola, with 3-note “how longs” against the 4/4 meter. It’s not the easiest song to sing; I’m not entirely sure how well a congregation would do with it.

As you listen to the recording, you may wonder “Who are those fine musicians accompanying Greg?” They are all virtual instrumentalists! This is my first foray into using Band-in-a-Box as part of my demo process. I would say it worked exceedingly well. (Now if we could just do something about that singer!)

How long? How long? How long, O Lord?

1. How long will you forget me?
Will you keep turning away from me?
How long to drown in sorrow?
Lord, will tomorrow bring no relief? (refrain)

2. How long until you see me,
until you save me from endless sleep?
How long until your light shines
and hope fills my eyes? Lord, rescue me! (refrain)

3. I trust in love unfailing;
of your salvation, my heart will sing.
How long to lift God’s praises?
I will proclaim: you’re so good to me! (refrain)

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Church Congregational Songs Jazz Live Psalms

Psalm 141: O Lord, I Call to You, Please Hear Me

Update 1/25/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Any regular follower of this blog knows that I am on a quest to set every Psalm to music. A quick perusal of recent blog posts reveals that I’ve also been writing a series of jazz tunes for my trio to play at our weekly gig. This week, I combined those two seemingly different compositional threads: Voila! A jazz Psalm!

To tell you the truth, I don’t know what inspired me to combine Psalmody and jazz. It’s not my original idea, to be sure. Frankly, jazz is a performance music–and a virtuosic one at that. In my estimation, it adapts poorly to the demands of congregational worship music, which focuses on group singing. Nonetheless, I thought I’d give it a try to see if I could bring these disparate contexts together.

The lyrics of my Psalm 141 setting are a straightforward metrical versification. To that, I’ve added an optional Intro/Outro/Chorus. If I were leading this in a congregation, I’d likely have them sing that simple eight-measure phrase only, leaving the (more complicated) verses to a soloist until it became familiar. Of course, I didn’t lead it in a congregation; I led it in a bar. And that’s just what this recording sounds like.

1. O Lord, I call to you, please hear me;
may my prayer like incense rise.
And may my lifted hands, imploring,
be to you a sacrifice.

Oh, sanctify my lips
to sing the praise you’re due.
Though evil offers fare so sweet,
my heart will feast on you.

2. I count it as abundant blessing
to receive a saint’s rebuke.
For if it keeps my feet from wandering,
I will gladly hear hard truth.

For evil will fall down,
its power overthrown,
and all its might will turn to dust
that’s plowed into the ground.

3. My eyes are fixed on you, my Savior.
My help comes from you alone.
In you alone I find my refuge;
guide me safely to my home.

For danger marks my way
and evil lies in wait.
I safely pass while they are snapped
within the traps they’ve made.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Retuned hymn

Come, Sinners, Come, to the Gospel Feast

Pastor Nate preached from Luke 14:15-24 last Sunday. The parable of the great banquet is compelling and comforting, but there aren’t a lot of songs based on this text. Charles Wesley to the rescue! In 1747, he wrote a beautiful hymn that turns this parable into a sung altar call. I found the text on hymnary.org and loved it immediately. The tune? Not so much.

In my opinion, my lively folk melody captures the urgency of the call to salvation in the text better than the staid hymn tunes traditionally used. I can imagine Charles and his brother John riding into a town on horseback, preaching a rousing sermon, then calling to the audience to come to Jesus. All while this song is sung by the town crier. (It’s my day dream; I’ll tell it any way I want!)

1. Come, sinners, come to the gospel feast,
let every soul be Jesus’ guest.
Let not even one be left behind,
for God has called all humankind.

2. Do not begin to make excuse;
do not his lavish grace refuse;
your worldly cares and pleasures leave,
and take what Jesus freely gives.

3. Oh, come and share the gospel feast,
be saved from sin, in Jesus rest;
O taste the goodness of our God,
and eat his flesh and drink his blood.

4. See Christ set forth before your eyes;
behold the bleeding sacrifice;
his offered love make haste to_em-brace,
and freely now be saved by grace.

5. All who believe his words are true
shall dine with him and he with you;
come to the feast, be saved from sin,
for Jesus waits to take you in.

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Demos Global

Anaweza, Bwana/You Are Able (Swahili)

I first heard this catchy little Swahili song in the video below, which was recorded at my previous church. I am ashamed to admit that I know little about it except that it is sung in Swahili, a language spoken throughout East Africa. However, I was able to get my hands on the Swahili lyrics and a literal translation; from that, I created the translation and harmonization above. The beauty of songs like this is their simplicity. The lyrics are not deep and the music is not sophisticated–but it is heartfelt. It also leaves lots of room for a good leader to create new verses that fit the moment. (“We are listening,” “We will follow,” etc)

Anaweza, Anaweza, Anaweza, Bwana.
Anaweza, Anaweza Bwana.

1. You are able, O Lord.
2. For you love, O Lord.
3. You have saved us, O Lord.
4. We will praise you, O Lord.
5. Hallelujah, O Lord.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos

O Risen Christ, Our Living Hope

Each week as I plan worship services, I study the scriptures the preacher has chosen in order to plan music that fits their theme. I spend lots of time at hymnary.org searching for songs and often find things that are just about perfect, but use archaic language, are slightly off topic, or have unwieldy melodies. In those cases, I might “re-tune” the hymn or simply use the text as a launching pad for an entirely new song.

That was the case this week when I ran across John Chandler’s hymn “O Christ, Our Hope, Our Heart’s Desire,” a translation of the Latin hymn, “Jesu, nostra redemption, amor et desiderium.” It’s a fine hymn that fit Rev. Dale Cooper’s message “Eastered Living: Faith on Tiptoe” well. But the tune was…uninspiring.

I began by writing a new tune. That was the easy part, taking only 10 minutes. But then I went through a half dozen drafts of the original tune until it felt just right. In time I decided to write a new text that stayed closer to the theme of dying and rising with Christ. After much scribbling, erasing, and rewriting, I arrived at “O Risen Christ, Our Living Hope.”

1. O risen Christ, our living hope,
our loving Savior whom we sing
a grateful song of endless love
a tune that flows from mercy’s stream:

Chorus
How vast the grace, how great the love–
as deep as any sea.
You died our death and rose to life
that we might live abundantly.

2. Long were we trapped in sin’s foul grasp–
a darkened dungeon of despair–
until you stormed the gates of death.
Life filled our lungs, hope filled the air. Chorus

3. And now we live in Jesus Christ,
those once discarded, now redeemed.
Christ bore our death, we share his life,
and all our days repeat the theme: Chorus

4. Were we to have a thousand lives
and endless breath to sing your praise,
no song could speak, no tongue express,
no mind could know, no heart convey: Chorus