Category: Demos

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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.

Categories
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]

Categories
Demos Jazz Quirky

Stupid Things

Boomer and Joe, the original stupid things

Sometimes people ask me how I come up with ideas for songs. It can happen in a variety of ways: sometimes I’m working with a text that suggests a particular melody; other times a particular series of chords proves fertile for development; I’ve even been known to write songs based on wrong notes I played trying to learn another song!

But in the case of “Stupid Things,” my dogs were my musical inspiration. They must have been doing one of their trademark stupid moves like wanting to go on a walk so badly that they can’t stop jumping long enough or me to put their leash on. I exclaimed, “You are stupid things!” and a song was born.

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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)

Categories
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.

Categories
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

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Church Congregational Songs Demos

Abide with Us (Emmaus Road)

My blog has been quieter than usual because my time has been devoted to a super-secret, epically large composition. But I still try to find time for a little musical bonbon here and there. In this case, the musical bonbon is a short chorus written and rewritten in fits and starts throughout the day and recorded in the hour remaining before I had to leave for the day.

The idea started as I was contemplating an upcoming sermon on the road to Emmaus. It’s a great story: Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection, cleverly disguised as a fellow traveler. He blows their minds by explaining how all the prophets point to the Messiah’s death and resurrection. They invite him to stay with them, and at the evening meal, their eyes are opened as he breaks bread with them.

This 12 measure Gospel chorus attempts to distill some key elements of that story. “Abide with us.” Something about the stranger makes them want to spend more time with him. This is true for us, as well. Something about Jesus compels us to know him more–to abide, to dwell, to stay by his side. “Our eyes are opened.” The Spirit opens our eyes to Jesus, the Word of God. “Our hearts awoken.” The disciples, recalling their conversation with Jesus say, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us?” Indeed, Christ wakes something in our hearts that creates a desire for more.

Abide with us.
Abide with us.
Our eyes are opened,
our hearts awoken,
abide with us.