The Musical Diary of Greg ScheerOn this July 4th, it wouldn’t be right to gloat about what a great nation the USA is without feeling a little twinge of sadness for our neighbors to the north. My son Theo put it best when he held up something we had purchased and said wistfully, “I feel sad for Canadians. They always have to pay more for things.” Very true, Theo. Very true.
My fellow Americans, click on this MP3 and take a moment to feel sad for Canadians.
Finally, the weirdest song of the three written for Emily Brink’s retirement collection. It is quite possibly the first 12 tone hymn tune ever written. 12 tone technique, also known as serialism or dodecaphony, uses “tone rows” to give equal weight to all twelve notes of the chromatic scale. Or “one note, one vote” as we used to describe it in music school.
Since Emily began her career as a music theorist, I thought it would be appropriate to combine her love of hymnody and theory in a ground-breaking new hymn tune. I wish I had been at her retirement party when people sang through some of the songs written for her. I’m pretty sure she would be the only one who fully appreciated the musical riddle of a pungent hymn tune named DODECAPHONIA. I thought she’d also appreciate that the text was written by her long time friend and collaborator, Bert Polman, who died recently.
#2 in the Emily Brink hit parade is a collaboration with Ron Rienstra. Ron had written a short song in a bouncy, country style for an event years ago and wondered if I’d revisit it with him. I applied some gospel sauce and it turned into this: PDF, MP3.
And no, I don’t know how it is possible for a professional musician to sing so out of tune…
Update 3/12/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.
The grande dame of congregational song, Emily Brink, recently retired. I was asked to provide some music for a book celebrating her career: “One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church: A Scrapbook of Worship Resources for the Worldwide Church.” Of course, I was happy to add to the collection, and only wish I could have been at her retirement party to celebrate with her and sing some of the songs from the book.
The first song is a setting of Psalm 133 by Michael Morgan for which I wrote a new tune: MP3.
Why the tune name MY IMAGINARY FRIEND, you ask? Well, Maria Poppen told me that her daughter Rebekah has an imaginary friend, and somehow she decided to name her Emily Brink! How cute is that?
Terry Taylor recently asked me to submit a song that would serve as the theme song for next year’s Growing in Grace children’s music ministry curriculum. I’m pleased to say that “Know, Grow, Show” was accepted and will be used throughout the year for all ages of the curriculum. Here’s a demo to whet your appetite. Now head over to their website and order it for your children’s music ministry!
A few days ago, a friend of mine, Wendell Kimbrough, asked about a Nigerian song he had heard. I checked it out and was immediately smitten. It has everything you’d want in an African praise chorus: it’s immediately singable, thematically focused, and it leaves plenty of room for ad lib verses. Oh, and one more trait of African praise choruses: everyone sings it slightly differently. Below are a few versions to give you an idea of the variety of styles.
I decided I needed to commit the song to notation, but that meant I needed to synthesize all the different renditions and make some comprises for Western musicians and notation. First, I bumped the key up to G. No biggy; it just felt more congregation-friendly. Next, I standardized the syncopation–“of the Lord” is always syncopated the same way. This is fairly consistent in all the recordings, so I felt it was the right thing to do. My transcription keeps the spirit of the original rhythm, and also gives newcomers only one rhythm to learn. On the same subject, “from heaven come down” is usually syncopated in the source recordings, but I decided to go with the straightest version of them–no point in giving Western congregations the “right” rhythm which they’ll never get right. Finally, I wrote it in four-part harmony. Since an SATB version doesn’t exist in any of the original performances, I had to create one from what those performances imply.
Consider the above paragraph “truth in advertising.” There are some Western arrangers (some of whom may hail from Scotland) who give the impression that their versions of songs are definitive. I want to document what recordings I was working from and what decisions I made. You are free to make your own arrangement or adapt to your context. That is especially true for an “off the page” song like this. For example, I must say that I really like Wendell’s rendition below. It’s completely different, yet entirely faithful to the original.
If anyone has any background information on the song, I’m all ears.
Update 3/12/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.
The last song from my Hallel Psalm cantata, Everlasting to Everlasting, is a setting of Psalm 118 for which the cantata is named. Psalm 118 is also the lectionary Psalm for Easter Sunday, so I decided to use the song at Church of the Servant this year. This is a slow burner–it sneaks up on you rather than grabbing you by the collar and shaking you–but I think it worked rather well. Of course, who can dislike a song that starts with a boy soprano? Thank you, Christian Voetberg for doing the work of winning over the congregation to my new song!
Listen to the MP3.
Update 3/16/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.
Wendell Kimbrough is one of my favorite new congregational songwriters. I figured I’d hitch my wagon to this rising star early on his career so that when he becomes a household name, I’d be a household footnote.
One of his latest songs is a setting of Psalm 31 called “In You, Lord, I Refuge Take.” It’s simple–most congregational songs are–but also profound, translating the desperate prayer of Psalm 31 into fresh new language that sings well. I wrote a four part harmonization of it so we could use it in my church. As you can hear from the recording, my congregation took to it right away.
Since you all are so kind to stop by my blog, here’s little bonus Palm Sunday music for you: Hosanna in the Highest, and Sanna Sannanina (piccolo, djembe, choir).
The Rosthern Junior College Choir in Saskatchewan, Canada did a bang up job of singing “Deeper than the Sea” (Psalm 36):
What are you waiting for? Get your sorry self over to GIA and buy a few dozen copies for your choir!
It’s very satisfying to know that half a world away, the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church of Singapore sang my song as part of their 120th year anniversary celebrations!