Category: Live

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Live Psalms

Benedict: Up from My Youth

By now y’all are probably sick of hearing about the Psalms of Ascent series at Church of the Servant. Sorry…

A few weeks ago Psalm 129 came up. Now, if you search hymnary.org for, say, Psalm 8 or 40, you’ll get around 60 hits. And most of them will be viable options. But if you search for Psalm 129, you’ll get two hits. And one of them is “Those hating Zion have afflicted me.” That makes for some tough going if you’re a worship planner trying to plan a service around Psalm 129.

I looked in my bag of tricks (the “bag” in this case is my file folders and google doc of the 150 Psalms) and found a song Bruce Benedict had written using the words of Isaac Watts. The song really grew on me. Psalm 129 is not an easy sell, but this musical setting of it made it feel somehow like the timeless struggle of good versus evil. The Psalm is essentially saying “The MAN (and you know who you are) has pushed me down since the day I was born, but he’s gonna get his in the end, because God’s on my side.” That’s the kind of sentiment that we cheer in a film about a triumphant underdog, but it makes us uncomfortable when we read it in the Bible.

Bruce’s original version has an ethereal, lament vibe, whereas mine is more angry, fight the man take on the music. I don’t know if this is a reflection of the difference between Bruce’s and my character, but it just kind of came out that way. It also came out as a full-blown arrangement with string quartet, piano and guitar. Pretty epic stuff. I described it to my pastor like this: “Imagine a film directed by Clint Eastwood in which a man exacts vengeance on the murderers of his family. This is the music that plays as he walks slowly out of town, with his gun still smoking in its holster.”

Take a listen to the MP3 of COS singing it a few Sundays ago, or geek out with the PDF full score.

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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Live

How Can I Keep from Singing?

“How Can I Keep from Singing?” is an odd hymn. The title phrase gives the impression of a wide-eyed universalist anthem of feel-good hope. This is probably the reason it didn’t make it past the eagle eyes of the Psalter Hymnal’s editors and that it has been sung by New Age artists like Enya.

But a deeper look shows a hymn that recognizes both the struggles of life and the hope of faith in Christ. It’s really a lovely text.

The music is a different story. It’s awfully sprightly, which is probably why my wife hates it. I don’t mind the tune’s happy energy, as long as it’s sung with some muscle and not too fast. But I’ve also been playing with a new arrangement of the song that brings out the lament of the verses with a minor harmonization, switching to a major key when the refrain proclaims confidently, “No storm can shake my inmost calm.”

I wouldn’t propose my version as definitive, but a fresh new reading of a classic is never a bad thing, right? PDF, MP3.

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Church Congregational Songs Live Psalms

Psalm 134: Come, You People of the Lord

When Church of the Servant began its series on the Psalms of Ascents, I did some investigating to see which of these Psalms (120-134) could be used in a Psalm-based liturgy. It appeared to me that Psalm 134, with its calling and blessing sections, were a natural fit for the liturgy. Indeed, we ended up using this Psalm as offertory and benediction throughout the series, in a metrical version by Arlo Duba, with the OLD HUNDRETH tune arranged by Eelco Vos. But I had originally planned to switch halfway to a setting of the Psalm I first wrote during the summer.

The problem was that my setting was half-baked. It had some good ideas, but just wasn’t clicking. In fact, when I was at The Singing Church planning meeting in September we read through the song. The reception was tepid, whereas the group seemed to really like my Psalm 103 setting, “From the Dust.” (That, by the way, is why I try out not-quite-ready-for-primetime songs on occasions like this: it’s bad for my reputation, but gives me just the kind of feedback I need.)

Finally, it was do or die time. Jack was preaching on Psalm 134 on Thanksgiving morning, and I needed to decide whether to get my draft into fighting form or just give up on it entirely. (The Psalm is not in the lectionary, so this was likely to be my only chance to use it.)

I got to work: I cut a whole bridge-like section that provided a ramp up into the chorus but which also proved tacky and tedious; the double chorus became a single chorus with a tagged phrase; I trimmed the interlude back into a more manageable turn-around. The parts I cut were all good ideas, but they were getting in the way of the song. By the time I was done, I had edited it from three pages down to two, and it was now a reasonably good, get-to-the-point-but-don’t-wear-out-your-welcome song.

The key to great art, I always like to say, is what you leave out. I wouldn’t claim that this new song is great art, but it certainly took a step in a good direction when I gave it a rigorous editorial pruning.

Take a look (PDF). Take a listen (MP3, from the COS Thanksgiving Day service)

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Arrangement Choir Church Live

Heinz Chapel Choir sings “Lo, How a Rose”

Back when I was doing my masters at the University of Pittsburgh I studied conducting with John Goldsmith, the director of the Heinz Chapel Choir. Besides being a great singer, scholar and teacher, he was kind enough to try out my arrangement of “Lo, How a Rose.” He must have liked it, because 20 years later he included it on the Heinz Chapel Choir’s new CD, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”

Nothing John does is half-baked. This recording is no exception: MP3.

If you like what you hear, why don’t you head on over to www.gregscheer.com where you’ll find the full arrangement. It can be sung a cappella, with piano, or even with string orchestra. And for $15 for your whole choir, you can’t go wrong.

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Art Music Live

Tavala

Just in time for Halloween, here’s some scary monster music. Even scarier than the music itself is the story behind the music:

When I arrived at the University of Pittsburgh, I had already spent four years experimenting with a variety of compositional techniques–12 tone, aleatoric, set theory–and I thought I was ready to “find my voice.” My comp teacher felt the same way. But when I brought some drafts to my first lesson he played through them and told me, “these could be really great as, like, comic relief to something more substantial.” Little did he know, these were my actual ideas.

In any case, I knew it was going to be a long semester, grad program, and possibly life. I realized that nothing but the most off-the-wall musical offerings would satisfy this particular prof, so I invented a non-repeating scale and wrote a page or two of uninspired, non-committal, but forward-thinking music each week before my lesson.

He loved it.

However, the ensemble that was contracted to perform the piece at the end of the semester was not as convinced. The percussion player said “I don’t want to embarrass myself,” and the flutist, who was Amy Phillips-soon-to-be-Scheer’s teacher said, “Greg needs to learn to write for the flute.”

However, the following year an ensemble, led by Rachel Rudich, read the piece beautifully. The result is Tavala, MP3.

By the way, “Tavala” is a word that came to me while I was sleeping. Little did I know it was a Polynesian island.

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Art Music Live

Inventions for Orchestra, movt 3

The third movement of Inventions for Orchestra is less subtle than the first two. It’s an all out assault in 10/8 time. While I like the visceral excitement of this final movement and the way it churns through various harmonic regions, it bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the Hawaii Five-O theme. There I’ve said it.

Sadly, that momentary similarity may doom the entire composition for ever. But I’ll let you decide: Inv for Orch, movt 3, MP3.

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Art Music Live

Inventions for Orchestra, movt 2

Inventions for Orchestra, movement 2, began its life as a song called “Raining in Pittsburgh.” One day I’ll record that wistful take off on Bruce Cockburn’s “Thoughts on a Rainy Afternoon.” But in this case, its ever ascending chord sequence became the basis for an orchestral passacaglia: Inv for Orch, movt 2, MP3.

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Art Music Live

Inventions for Orchestra, movt 1

I’m slowly trying to digitize my collection of cassette recordings. Here is the first fruit:

For a long time I’ve been obsessed with M.C. Escher. My question has always been, “what would Escher have created were he a musician?” Well, he would have been J.S. Bach, of course. But what would Escher/Bach have created today, specifically if they were me?

I set about answering that question with a year of counterpoint lessons in 1993 and lots of piano sketches. Three of those sketches became Inventions for Orchestra. Movement #1 begins with the marking “Haydnesque,” but it soon morphs into something entirely different. And that’s the point. It continues to morph–like a fugue, but a fugue adrift at sea.

Special thanks to Roger Zahab for having the vision and fortitude (and lack of discretion?) to program music by unknown composers before it has even been composed.

Inventions for Orchestra, movt 1 (MP3)

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Art Music Demos Live

Budapest

Having just returned from two weeks in Ukraine, with flight arrival and departure from Budapest, Hungary, I thought it would be appropriate to post a recording of a composition inspired by my last visit to Budapest.

This is a demo of the University of Pittsburgh Jazz Band playing “Budapest.” The song comes from a set of songs called the European Suite, which I wrote after returning from a year in Salzburg and vicinity in 1989. The following year I scored the movement “Budapest” for a jazz arranging class.

I would be entirely willing to score the entire set of songs for jazz band. (Yes, jazz band directors, that’s a hint.) Until that time, you’ll need to satisfy your European cravings with this aural bon bon: Budapest MP3.

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Arrangement Art Music Live

A Christian’s Farewell, pro recording

A few weeks ago, I posted the video of “A Christian’s Farewell.” I just got the professional recording of the performance at Baylor, and it sounds great. Listen to the MP3 on headphones and you’ll hear the piano, solo, children’s choir, fiddle, string quartet and barbershop quartet in all their stereophonic glory. Better yet, program the piece the next time you host a concert featuring piano, solo, children’s choir, fiddle, string quartet and barbershop quartet so that you can hear it in all its live acoustical glory!