Category: Live

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Church Congregational Songs Live

Make Us One within Your Spirit

Update 10/1/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

I’ve introduced “Make Us One within Your Spirit” elsewhere (here for the story of how it lost a contest and here for music and the exciting story of the second draft), but thought I’d post a recording from yesterday’s service. I don’t know that it’s destined to be a big hit, but I’m quite proud of the lyrics. Maybe someday someone will commission me to turn this into a regal choral anthem with brass and timpani. Until then, enjoy the modest yet beautiful sound of Church of the Servant’s musicians leading the congregation in the song.

1. Living God, in the beginning, when you formed humanity–
Man and woman, child and parent, in community complete.
One with you, one with each other, let us live as your redeemed.
Make us one within your Spirit;
Join us in your bond of peace.

2. Jesus Christ, you are our lifeblood and the Church’s living Head.
You have cleansed us with one water. You have fed us with one bread.
And as grapes are brought together before wine can be released;
Make us one within your Spirit;
Join us in your bond of peace.

3. Holy Spirit you revive us, breathing life into dry bones.
Let the winds of new creation, animate our dusty souls.
Fill our lungs with inspiration. Fill our hearts; let love increase.
Make us one within your Spirit;
Join us in your bond of peace.

4. Blessed Trinity, you show us how to live as family.
Only tethered to each other will each one, and all, be free.
Each a gift and each a giver, offered in humility.
Make us one within your Spirit;
Join us in your bond of peace.

Added bonus for those of you who read the lyrics to the end: enjoy a beautiful song called “Una Espiga/Sheaves of Wheat,” also from yesterday’s service.

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Global Live

O Come, Holy Spirit (Sarwar)

harmoniumOne of the great things about my church is that we have a constant stream of interesting people joining us from all around the world. One of them is Eric Sarwar, a musician from Pakistan. Eric and I have collaborated before. This time we worked on a song of invocation, “O Come, Holy Spirit.”

As with many of Eric’s songs, they look simple on the page, but take on a life of their own in worship. We began our service today with a quiet tanpura drone and improvisation on the song’s raga (mode). Once the tone was set, the whole Guitarchestra came in and the congregation joined us: PDF, MP3

Later in the service the communion music began with another Sarwar/Scheer collaboration, “O Lord, May Your Kingdom Come.” That led into a set of songs that flowed so well that I include it here in its entirety. Be forewarned: the MP3 is 22 minutes long (31MB). If you have the time, though, it gives you an idea of how the communion section of a Church of the Servant service runs: COS communion 6/21/15.

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Art Music Demos Live Rock and/or Roll

All Hallow’s Eve, Sine Nomine Quartet

Last year I wrote a song cycle called One Long Year. This year, I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m going to do with it, if anything. This month, I’m recording my setting of Psalm 149 for a new Cardiphonia compilation. Today I had a string quartet scheduled to add some tracks to that project.

But you know me: if I have a string quartet showing up to record, how can I resist writing something new and non-obligatory for the occasion? So instead of the many things I should have been doing today, I felt compelled to write a string quartet arrangement of “All Hallow’s Eve” from One Long Year . This recording is the second take and third time they’d ever played the piece. Pretty good, I say.

By the way, the quartet has never really settled on a name for themselves. I hereby dub them the Sine Nomine Quartet–the No Name Four.

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Arrangement Choir Church Congregational Songs Live Psalms

Kimbrough’s Psalm 104

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

I’ve featured the music of Wendell Kimbrough before, and today he makes a return appearance. An honor to be sure…

Earlier this year his setting of Psalm 104, “Oh, Rejoice in All Your Works,” won the COS New Psalm Contest. It had its church premiere in January and we’ve sung it a few times since then. This Sunday, Pentecost, the lectionary called for Psalm 104. As fate* would have it, the choir, piano, and a brass quintet were scheduled to lead that morning, so I arranged the song for those instruments.

I was really pleased with how it sounded. Sometimes the transition from guitar-driven folk song to piano-led congregational hymn can be awkward, but in this case, it brought out a whole new majestic side to the song. I hear a best-selling choral anthem in this, don’t you?

*or providence, depending on how you roll theologically.

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Arrangement Choir Church Congregational Songs Live

Pentecostal Splendor at COS

This Fall I arranged Pentecostal Splendor for Calvin College’s Lessons & Carols service. It was premiered beautifully, though I wasn’t able to track down a recording for my blog.

Naturally, when Pentecost arrived at my own church, I thought of using this new piece in my own context. Brass? Check. 60 voice choir? 1/3 check. Organ? Not so much…

I retooled the organ part for piano and called in favors with every singer I knew. The result can be heard here: MP3

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Live Psalms

Psalm 133: Behold the Goodness

james_guitarchestraIn Psalms for All Seasons is a setting of Psalm 133 (Behold the Goodness of Our Lord, PfAS 133A) that seemed just right for the Guitarchestra this past Sunday. The melody, DETROIT, comes from the Kentucky Harmony hymnal. Like a lot of early American hymn tunes, it has a rugged beauty that just won’t let you go. These tunes often benefit from a more rustic arrangement, rather than the smooth voice leading you find in hymnals, so I provided one.

Here you can see me rehearsing the song this past Sunday, shadowed by the youngest member of the Guitarchestra, James.

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Arrangement Choir Church Congregational Songs Live

Kimbrough: In You, Lord, I Refuge Take

Wendell Kimbrough has appeared in this blog before. Indeed, this song has appeared previously. But for this Palm Sunday I wrote a choral part for his setting of Psalm 31 that I thought deserved a new entry. As you’ll hear on the recording the flute introduces the melody and plays a tag after each verse. Then on verse 3, the flute plays a descant on top of the singing. In verse 4, everyone cuts out but the congregational melody and an a cappella choir accompaniment. It’s really a nice effect, if I don’t say so myself.

The thing I like about arrangements like this is that they’re pretty simple, with just two pages of music, but they have a lot of impact on how you hear the song.

Extra bonus recording: Me singing Sydney “Lord of the Dance” Carter’s song “Bitter Was the Night.”

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Live Retuned hymn

Kimbrough: Mighty God

I don’t usually post other people’s music, but I’ll make an exception here. Actually, I had a small hand in this, as it’s a collaboration of Wendell Kimbrough (http://wendellk.com/), Ludwig van Beethoven (no website), and me (www.gregscheer.com).

Wendell used the “Ode to Joy” melody from the 9th symphony and wrote words based on the post-communion prayer in the Book of Common Prayer. Then he added an “Amen” that is simple, but just right. My only role was to provide the verse chords from a previous “Ode to Joy” arrangement. Role up all the ingredients into one, and you have a tasty musical burrito served fresh by the Guitarchestra: Mighty God, We Thank and Praise You, MP3.

Categories
Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Live

Brightest and Best

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

One of my favorite Epiphany hymns is “Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning.” Written by Reginald “Holy, Holy, Holy” Heber in 1811, it wonderfully ties together the visit of the Magi with our own offerings to Christ. Most hymnals combine it with the dime-a-dozen tune MORNING STAR, but the 1982 Episcopal hymnal makes a far better choice, pairing it with the outstanding tune from Southern Harmony, STAR IN THE EAST. (Music matters, friends!)

In 2013 the entire song was part of Church of the Servant’s Lessons & Carols service, and since that time we have sung verses 3 and 4 as our offertory hymn during Epiphany. The Southern Harmony harmonization is raw and we needed something that would work for pianists as well as guitar-based ensembles, so I wrote a new arrangement. I must humbly say that it is the best thing since sliced communion bread.

3. Shall we then yield him, in costly devotion
odors of Edom, and offerings divine,
gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean,
myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?

4. Vainly we offer each ample oblation,
vainly with gifts would his favor secure;
richer by far is the heart’s adoration,
dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Live Psalms

People of the Lord in Madison, IN

One of the fun things about having a few songs in hymnals is that I’m introduced to new people via my music. I recently got an email from Jonathan, a music director in Madison, Indiana, asking for permission to introduce “People of the Lord” to his congregation. “Sure,” I said, “as long as I can add the newsletter article and recording to my blog.”

It’s fun to see churches using my music, but what I was most impressed by is that this music director is committed to teaching his congregation new music, introducing a new hymn from Glory to God each month! You can read his monthly updates here: http://www.madisonpresbyterianchurch.org/page/music_ministry.

Click on October for mine, or read below:

As I continue to sing through our new hymnal, Glory to God, this month another Psalm paraphrase struck me as being particularly well constructed.  “People of the Lord,” #632, is a setting of selected verses from Psalm 78.  I think my favorite aspect of this setting is the asymmetric meter.  This is just a music-speak way to say that the beats are not all of the same duration.  The time signature for this piece is 7/8 (cleverly apropos to a setting of Psalm 78) and is broken down 2+2+3 or short-short-long.  The use of asymmetric meter in a Psalm paraphrase hearkens back to the Genevan Psalter.  Another wonderful aspect of this Psalm setting is that the verses work in canon.  The verses are written from the Psalmist’s perspective and sung in unison (or canon).  Unison singing indicates the singular perspective of the Psalmist.  The refrain is sung from the perspective of the people of God and is sung in parts.  The part singing, then, indicates the plurality of the people of God.  Here is a link to a youtube video of the Psalm.