Category: Contests

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Choir Church Congregational Songs Contests Demos

The Nicene Creed

The World Council of Churches recently put out a call for musical settings of The Nicene Creed for their 2025 conference which will commemorate the 1700 years since the gathering at Nicea that produced this creed.

How could I say no?

I composed a setting of the Apostle’s Creed years ago but have never tackled the much longer Nicene Creed. Writing a song based on a text like this is daunting: there are no metrical patterns or rhymes to guide the music–just words.

I started by composing a very simple refrain of “We believe” to be sung before and after each section of the creed. This gives a congregation an easy way to engage the song right away. Each section–God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit–uses the verbatim text of the creed.

To shape this prose text into something singable I utilized lots of melodic sequences that are easy to follow even upon first hearing–this is no time for clever melodies with wide intervals! Music coherence is achieved by chains of harmonic progressions that give the music forward motion and repeated harmonies that give the ear some structure. Even though the setting is based on repetition and simplicity, I was able to throw in some interesting twists and turns that keep things fresh.

Who knows? Maybe this will be my big hit. I’m sure no one expected Malotte’s “Lord’s Prayer” would be so successful!

We believe in one God,
the Father, the almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

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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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Choir Church Congregational Songs Contests Pilgrim Psalms Psalms

Psalm 122: Let Us Go (Church of the Servant)

How cool is this? My friends at Church of the Servant made a music video of my song “Let Us Go” for the COS Psalm Contest premiere Sunday. It was great to see old friends from the COS Choir, Guitarchestra, and Joyful Noise Orchestra, as well as contributions from friends in Jakarta, New York City, and LA (via Pakistan). Thank you!

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Church Congregational Songs Contests Finale demo Hymn tunes

CHARMING FOURTH

Update 12/14/21: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I don’t enter hymn contests as obsessively as I used to, but when I do, I usually lose. My entry into the Eastman School of Music’s hymn tune contest battled with 131 other contestants and fell to fellow Grand Rapids composer, Larry Visser.

My tune is called CHARMING FOURTH, because I wrote and rejected three other tunes; they say the third time’s the charm, but I was hoping for an exception to that rule. The tune went with a text called “Out of Silence, Music Rises” by Carl Daw. It’s really lovely and I hope he reads this blog post, falls in love with my tune, and declares me the unofficial winner. I’d like that.

If you’d like to play through the tune at the keyboard, you can get it at the link above.

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Church Congregational Songs Contests Demos

Jesus Lives, and So Shall I: The Winner!

The people have spoken, and the people have decided that “True Tenor” is the most worthy tune to be paired with the lyrics “Jesus Lives, and So Shall I.” For those of you who like statistics, the voting results are below. For those of you who like music, you can print this PDF leadsheet and sing the song in your congregation on Sunday!

The people said:
#1 has a melody that I could sing comfortably right away. // #1 just sounded a little dated to me. // One thing that turned me away from the More Cowbell version was the way the rhythm makes me hear “so shall I” –> as “social eye.” Once I get something like that in my head, it’s hard to let it go. 🙂 // It sounds a little like Eagle Eye Cherry’s “Save Tonight.”
The people said:
A bluegrass house banger // I like the country/folk feel of #2. // You had me at Wang Chung
The people said:
#3 has a reverence that I am drawn in by. // I can imagine #3 in a church setting more than the others because it is more similar to other songs // #3 is more reverent // I like the energy of the first two, but the third is the one that connected with me the best. Its the one I that made me think about the words, and the one that hit my “worship time” nerve.

Here are some of my favorite general comments:

  • The good news is that I can totally see each of the arrangements being used at different churches. The bad news is that you sound nothing like Chris Tomlin.
  • You need to use another cover pic. This one is nice but perpetuates the White Jesus myth. [Interestingly, this comment came in while I was at a cultural bias workshop where we spent time discussing this very issue.]
  • Nope. I hated them all and wish I could take back the time I spent listening to them to take the nap I was going to take.
  • Joanna says “I think one of them should be disco inferno.” So there is some solid feedback from a four-year-old. [My business manager’s daughter has sophisticated taste in pop music!]
1. Jesus lives, and so shall I.
The sting of death is gone forever.
Jesus lives— the One who died 
the bands of death to sever.
God has raised me from the dust:
Jesus is my hope and trust.


2. Jesus lives! My soul revived
when Jesus called. I was awakened
from my sleep to glorious light;
the shroud of death He's shaken.
From the grave God raised me up:
Jesus is my hope and trust.


3. Jesus lives! New life begins
within this heart so long in slavery.
From the crushing weight of sin,
God’s arm reached down and saved me.
Each new day brings grace enough:
Jesus is my hope and trust.


4. Jesus lives, and nothing now
can separate me from my Savior.
Earthly pain nor Satan’s power
could cause his love to waver.
Those he’s found are never lost:
Jesus is my hope and trust.


Awake, my soul.
Awake, my soul.
Your Savior calls—
calls you to rise with him this dawn,
calls you to life within God’s love:
Categories
Church Congregational Songs Contests

Jesus Lives, and So Shall I: The Vote!

As promised, I am going to let your discerning ears choose the best rendition of “Jesus Lives.”

The link below will take you to a google form where you can hear all three songs, rate them 1-5, and leave comments.

The winner will be unveiled this Eastertide and will forever be the official “Jesus Lives.” Choose wisely.

https://forms.gle/yciv5TATZN5yAo448

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Choir Church Congregational Songs Contests Live Psalms

Psalm 40: Patiently (revised, Psalm contest winner)

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

Let me tell you the history of Psalm 40. Well, not the complete history; that stretches back a few millennia. But I can tell you the history of my musical rendition of Psalm 40; that only goes back two decades. I wrote the song in 1998 and made a demo of it around that time. In 2012, while working with the Choral Scholars on Cry Out to God!, we recorded the song using a new SATB and piano arrangement. In 2017, I entered the song in the Church of the Servant New Psalm Contest; lo and behold, it won! For the premiere, I wrote an arrangement for SATB Choir, Congregation, Piano, Flute, Violin, Accordion, and Flugelbone. (Yes, flugelbone. It’s like a flugelhorn, but in trombone range.) Here’s what I wrote about it for the January 28, 2018 premiere:

You may think that U2 has the corner on the Psalm 40 song market, but I would humbly suggest that there’s room for one more.

I wrote “Patiently” while I was working at a church in Tallahassee. Frankly, it was something of a desert experience for me. Psalm 40 expressed well both my complaints and hope. I love how the Psalm ties together proclamations of God’s good deeds, prayers for salvation, confession of sin, and even a prayer that God would shame the Psalmist’s enemies.

Bible study usually leads to music for me, so I began working on an idea for a song based on the Psalm. It was the first time I had tried to set a whole Psalm to music. At the time I didn’t know much about metrical and responsorial psalmody, I just knew that I liked how the music fit each verse and that it sounded good when the chorus kept coming back. Even though this song is not likely to make its way to the top of the CCLI charts, I was pleased that the contest judges felt it was a faithful and helpful musical rendering of the scripture.

I have a fond memory of a difficult afternoon on which I took a long walk through the hot Florida woods with this song keeping me company. I hope you find it returning to your mind, as well.

You can listen above to the MP3 of the Church of the Servant musicians leading “Patiently.” Check out the revised leadsheet, the congregational piano part, or the full choral arrangement at the link above. If you want the congregational piano part or the full choral arrangement, just email me. There’s got to be some church out there with a flugelbone! (Okay, it can also be played by trombone.)

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Church Congregational Songs Contests Demos Live Psalms

Oh, That I Had Wings (Psalm 55)

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

You may have heard that I won the 2017 Church of the Servant New Psalm Contest with my Psalm 40 song, “Patiently.” What you may not have heard is that I lost the contest with my Psalm 55 song, “Oh, That I Had Wings.”

It’s understandable that my setting of Psalm 55 didn’t win. It is not the most endearing Psalm in the Psalter. It’s the plea of someone who has been betrayed and attacked by a former friend. Understandably, the Psalmist wants to beat a hasty retreat: “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” These are emotions that most of us have faced, but perhaps few of us are interested in singing about them.

Given the urgency of the Psalm, I wrote a tune that comes in short, breathless bursts. The tight meter could have become trite, but there are lots of harmonic twists and turns to avoid that. The string arrangement on the recording (played by the St. Sinner Orchestra in one take into my laptop) creates a conversation with the melody that pushes the song forward. You can find the string arrangement as well as the piano version at the link above.

1. Listen to my prayer, O God, please hear:
troubled thoughts rise from a heart of fear;
Fear of those who would undo my days—
the whispers, stares, contempt, the lies and rage.

Oh, that I had wings,
Oh, that I had wings to fly,
Oh, that I had wings to fly away.

2. Malice seeks its prey, it roams the streets.
Night and day, it prowls— there is no peace.
God, please let the innocent escape,
while schemers writhe within the traps they’ve laid. (refrain)

3. Bracing for the sword of foe’s attack,
feel the steel of dagger in my back.
Why have you betrayed me, oh my friend?
The one with whom I’ve shared the wine and bread? (refrain)

4. Night and day, I pray, O God, please hear:
troubled thoughts rise from a heart of fear.
Every care that weighs upon my soul
is safe with you, please keep me safe, O Lord. (refrain)

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Contests Demos Quirky

Run with the Pack!

While I have vowed to enter no more contests, I still have a Google alert set for “song contest.” A few days ago, it alerted me about a new high school in Utah that was in need of a school song. How could I say No to one, teensy-weensy song for a school in need?

The announcement read:

Green Canyon High School, opening in North Logan next year, is excited to announce a community contest to write a school song that will capture the spirit of the students and community that we will serve. We are looking for a song that is catchy, warm-hearted, dignified, timeless, and appealing to a wide audience. The text should convey the values of our school and community, including the idea of a wolf pack–we are stronger together, and the values of knowledge, friendship, and service. The song should consist of one verse and one chorus and be written for voices and piano. 4 part hymn style is also appropriate.

Here is what I hope will be Green Canyon High School’s new school anthem: PDF

 

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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.