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Arrangement Art Music Choir Church Commissions Congregational Songs Live

Born to Die, Born to Rise

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

For the fourth year in a row, I’ve been commissioned to write a piece for Calvin College’s Lessons and Carols service. Not only is it an honor, but it’s always a treat because I know the performances will be top-notch. This year was no exception. Calvin’s musicians did a wonderful job with my choral fantasy on the hymns “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” “Ah, Holy Jesus,” and “All My Heart Again Rejoices.”

Calvin College 2017 Lessons and Carols: Born to Die, Born to Rise

It seems that each year the commissions become more difficult. Last year I was asked to weave “Jacob’s Ladder” with a variety of “Gloria” songs; difficult, but at least the songs were similar in nature. This year, I almost thought John Witvliet was jerking my chain when he asked me to put “Lo, How a Rose” and “Ah, Holy Jesus” together in one anthem. You couldn’t find two more different songs!

On the other hand, they fit the theme, “Born to Die, Born to Rise” beautifully. Christmas can become saccharine when it’s populated only with sweet baby Jesuses, choruses of angels, and mild Marys. Just as the Magis’ myrrh foreshadowed Jesus’ burial, “Ah, Holy Jesus” reminds us of the full meaning of the incarnation. As I began to work on the piece, I found that I could weave “Lo, How a Rose” and “Ah, Holy Jesus” together in musical counterpoint that thickened both their differences and underlying unity. After focusing on these two sides of Christ, our only response can be praise; the piece ends with a rousing rendition of “All My Heart Again Rejoices.”

The recording is above. Follow the link above if you’d like to see the score.

Categories
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)

Categories
Arrangement Art Music Church Commissions Finale demo Production music

Savior of the Nations, Come (String Orchestra)

Carlos and I being served drinks by a statue in Indianapolis.

Update 10/28/21: Sheet music for this piece can now be purchased at gregscheer.com.

My friend Carlos Colón directs worship at Baylor University. He recently asked if I had anything for string quintet that might work as an interlude for an upcoming Advent service. And he needed it quickly. I sent him a few ideas, including this fugal intro to the Advent hymn, “Savior of the Nations, Come.” I thought I was going to be able to simply adapt what I had written before, but once I got started it was clear that I needed to rewrite it from the ground up. Two days from inquiry to completed score. That’s how I roll.

Categories
Art Music Demos Quirky

The Parade of Food

How many school orchestra concerts have I attended since my children began playing bass and cello? Many. And while it is mostly inspiring to hear children create music together, there are certainly times when I hear one of their pieces and I think, “I could have written something better than that.”

So now I’m putting my money where my mouth is, with my very first educational orchestra composition. My kids always complain about alliterating titles on pirate themes (“Swashbuckler Serenade,” “Pirate Prelude”), so I decided to take a completely different tack: The Parade of Food. With the approval of my children, I began writing. It started as a short piece with a simple melody that was given to each section. But then I decided to write another movement consisting entirely of funny or rhythmic food names. (Thank you, Facebook friends, for your help!) And if there are Hors d’Oeuvres and a Second Course, there needs to be Dessert, right? I ended with a bon bon of a third movement that brought back the original melody.

The MP3 is above. The full score can be gotten by emailing and asking nicely. If you know anyone who directs or plays in a school orchestra, let me know. This thing is going to be a hit!

Turkey, and stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
Snickerdoodle, jam, pumpernickel, ham.
Guacamole, quesadilla.
Pork tacos, beef tacos, chicken tacos, fish tacos.
Bruschetta, pancetta, linguini, panini.
Tater tots and chocolate milk, breaded chicken fingers, breaded fish sticks.
Peanut butter and jelly, mozzarella sticks, corn dogs.
Baba ganoush, strawberry, raspberry,
liverwurst, wienerwurst, rutabaga, mashed potata,
korma, shwarma, roti prata, kimchi, kiwi, schnitzel,
chicken tikka masala, samosa, spaghetti, falafel and waffle soufflé.
I say “sweet potato”; you say “yam.” Let’s call the whole thing succotash.

The parade of food. Oh, it all looks good.
I’m afraid I’ll eat more than I should.
The parade of food. I’ll tell you the truth:
if I had two mouths to give, I probably would.
if I had two mouths to give, I would.
Glorious Parade of food!

Categories
Demos Rock and/or Roll

We’re Holding On for Dear Life

In 2014, I wrote a song cycle called, “One Long Year,” a set of songs chronicling the unraveling of the narrator’s life over the course of a year. It has only seen the light of day in demo form. I hope to change that sometime next year with a performance by the St. Sinner Orchestra. In the meantime, I’ve never been quite satisfied with the opening song, so this morning I gave it another try. This new one is more poetic and ethereal–which is where the song cycle ends. It feels like it might be able to introduce and frame the song cycle well. Feel free to compare it to the previous opening song, listen to it in context of the larger song cycle, and offer feedback.

 Raindrops explode and combine;
they stream down windowpanes in the night.
Cars pass in brief bursts of headlights;
shine like stars falling from night skies.
   We’re holding on for dear life.

Warm breath, exhaled, intertwined;
this breath is it yours? Is it mine?
Can two hearts resonate, synchronize?
As the universe keeps time
   we’re holding on for dear life.

This night will never end.

Categories
Live Rock and/or Roll

St. Sinner Orchestra, live at Schmohz

Here are a video and a few pictures from last week’s premiere performance by the St. Sinner Orchestra:

Categories
Jazz Live Quirky

Very Happy Birthday to You

At some point, I may become known as “the guy who writes birthday odes in which death is a dominant theme.” So be it. The sooner you grapple with your mortality, the sooner you can get out there and truly live!

This latest birthday ditty was written for my friend Ron Rienstra, who throws great birthday parties featuring free form jam sessions and ping pong tournaments. How could I resist throwing a lounge lizard birthday ballad into the mix?

You can hear it in the video below or read through it for yourself: PDF.

 

Categories
Quirky

Having Conquered Detroit

Last week, Theo and I journeyed to Detroit for the Inspire 2017 conference. After playing music for the conference worship services (me on bass, him on cello), eating Coney Island hot dogs, and visiting the creepily delightful Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum, we headed home. To keep me awake on the drive, he played his ukulele and we made up a song. It is not a work of genius, but it’s quite a pleasant little ditty. And frankly, what do you expect from two people driving down the highway at 10 pm?

Having conquered Detroit,
confidently we march on.
Malcontent, maladroit,
with rhymes and harmonies like a pond.

Who says that we’re idiots?
They will have to meet my furious fists.
Having conquered Detroit,
you are next on my list.

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Demos Hymn tunes

Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

E.H. Plumptre, author of “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart.”

Update 11/4/21: Sheet music for this song can now be downloaded at gregscheer. com.

This hymn tune is another one that’s been hanging out in my idea folder for far too long. From the very beginning, the refrain was just how I wanted it: a perfect wedge of notes that vibrated with dissonant energy. The verse, however, was another story. It went through 3 or 4 entirely different drafts before I was satisfied.

What I like most about this hymn tune is that it twists, turns, and teeters on the edge of chaos without ever losing its melodic momentum. Let’s if you agree.

I would be very pleased to turn this into a festive choral anthem with organ and brass. If your church commissions it, you get to name the hymn tune! Alternately, if you want to write a new hymn text (6.6.8.6 with refrain) to this tune, I’d be happy to collaborate with you.

Categories
Arrangement Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos Global Production music

Oh Jerusalén, que bonita eres/Oh, Jerusalem, How You Shine in Beauty

Lately, a large part of my work for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has been translating and arranging Hispanic worship songs for the forthcoming bilingual (Spanish/English) hymnal. These songs have included everything from the smooth pop praise of Marcos Witt to the joyous coritos that travel from church to church in Latin America and the USA, often changing as they go. I’ve completed almost 50 songs and have at least another 25 to go before my work is done.

To give you a taste of the project, my boys and I recorded “Oh, Jerusalén, que bonita eres / Oh, Jerusalem, How You Shine with Beauty.” The MP3 is above. You’ll just have to wait until the hymnal is published to see the music!

The Scheer Boys: they’re not only your favorite boy band, they’re a biking team!