The Musical Diary of Greg Scheer“So how did it sound?” You ask.
I posted a rehearsal MP3 for my choir last week, and now you’re probably dying to know how it went on Sunday. Well, maybe not dying, but at least a tad curious. Die no more, my friends. Here’s how it sounded: Bless the Lord, O My Soul! (Psalm 103)
Strange. I though I had uploaded this song to the blog over a year ago. In any case, today’s Half the Man post is a depressing little thing called “Let It Go.”
This Half the Man CD project is winding down. I have a few more songs to finish, then I’ll spend a few harried days doing a basic mastering of the whole project. THEN comes the fun part:
Tuesday, October 23 at 7pm will be a CD listening party, dubbed the Half Manathon. It will be a chance to listen through the whole project and give me feedback. Who’s in? Just email me if you’re interested in taking part.
I just got out of choir rehearsal. The singers were real troopers, learning Liszt’s “Pater Noster” and my new setting of Psalm 103 in one rehearsal. But even troopers can you use some back up sometimes, so I’m posting an MP3 of the Finale playback of the piece so they can practice between now and Sunday. Here it is folks: MP3.
By the way, you’ll hear some strange stuff at the end of the MP3. I’m pretty sure that Finale’s “human playback” is programmed with the principle that to err is human. Therefore, it inserts random errors in the file. Thanks Finale…
Today’s post swerves from the musical valley of last week’s deacon dance ditty into the higher ground of a majestic orchestral arrangement. Aesthetic whiplash? You betcha.
One Generation is one of my big hits. “Big,” “hit,” and perhaps even “one of” are relative, of course, but it has been published a few times and even sung at weddings, so I count it as my “Freebird.” In any case, there are a few events coming up where they plan to sing One Generation and have large ensembles on hand, so I thought it was time to orchestrate it. I wanted to dress it up so that it felt more majestic than the everyday praise song, so I added a fanfare and splashes of color throughout. Also, knowing that most people won’t have full orchestra, I created multiple options (choir/piano, congregation/strings/piano, etc).
Here’s a rough demo as performed by Finn Alley: MP3. If you want the score and parts, just let me know.
At some point last week, reality hit me and I cursed myself for agreeing to compose an infectious dance/pop song about the changing role of the deacon in the CRC. But nothing inspires like a deadline, and here I am today, October 1, with a sparkling new recording called “Everybody Get Diakonian!”
This song was written to publicize the “Diakonia Remixed” proposal of the Office of Deacon Task Force which will be considered at next summer’s General Synod. In a few days, we’ll release the song and the song files as part of a remix contest. For now, just listen, enjoy, and maybe even dance a bit: MP3.
1. Diakoniawhat’s that mean?
You say, “it’s all Greek to me.”
But when you hear it with new ears,
maybe you’ll catch the Spirit.
Cause it’s being Jesus’ hands and feet
in a world so full of need.
This world is groaning for release: open your ears.
Jesus is calling you to hear.
2. Diakonia used to be
a lonely band of deacons.
But the way that they see it now,
it is me, it is you, it is everybody working,
helping our neighbor, doing good deeds,
showing the love of Jesus.
You don’t think you’re needed? Open your eyes: take a look around.
Cause sometimes it seems that there’s no hope when everybody wants to break it down.
Well, it used to be, in the CRCNA,
that deacons served and elders led the way.
Are you ready for a brand new feelin?
Everybody get DIAKONIAN!
Would you be freakin out
if I told you you’re a deacon now?
Let that spin your head til the room is reelin.
Everybody get DIAKONIAN!
Serving God is everybody’s business.
So get busy, get jumpin in it.
Throw your hands up to the ceilin.
Everybody get DIAKONIAN!
West coast, East coast, city, suburb,
Young and old of every color,
Indonesian, Friesian, Navajo, Korean:
Everybody get DIAKONIAN!
Remix, rethink, redeem, reboot;
remember that our God renews
us all to a new way of bein.
Everybody get DIAKONIAN!
By the way, I’m pretty darn proud of rhyming “Korean” with “Diakonian.”
I was really pleased to find out that one of my songs has been chosen to be included in the Gospel Coalition’s Songs for the Book of Luke project. It’s a big honor.
They’ll create their own arrangement for the recording, but I didn’t want the rest of you to be left out. Here is a piano accompaniment for the song, with SATB vocal parts on the chorus: PDF, MP3.
If you want just a lead sheet, you can visit the original post.
Today’s recording is a musical riddle created by me and my boys. Sophisticated sense of humor for young lads? You betcha.
The first person to solve the riddle gets a signed copy of the Greg Scheer Songbook CD–a $10 value. So get cracking, you musical detectives! Listen to the MP3, then register your guesses in the comment section.
Update 12/11/21: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.
Just a quick post to show how mean I am. When I found out I had two really fine violinists lined up for our Sunday services a few weeks ago, I decided to give them a little challenge. I wrote a descant for the hymn “God Himself Is with Us” so that they could provided counterpoint to the congregation’s a cappella singing on the last verse. It turns out they had to *practice*, which made me feel really bad when I found out about it later…
Eventually, I’ll turn this into a full-fledged orchestral arrangement–perhaps a theme and variations with violin solo. For now, listen to how it sounded in worship: MP3.
One of the songs I arranged for Global Songs for Worship was the Arabic Lord’s Prayer (aka “Abana Alathi Fi Ssama,” also know as “Abana in Heaven”) from Egypt. For a song that I was told “would never be sung in North American churches,” it’s done pretty well for itself, appearing in Psalms for All Seasons, the forthcoming Lift Up Your Hearts, and churches and conferences across the country.
For those collections I arranged it with a drone that made the haunting melody sound even more, well, haunting. But Egyptians are more likely to sing it accompanied and in more of a folk style, so I decided to write a piano arrangement along those lines. We sang it a few weeks ago at COS, and it went swimmingly. Because this version has a stronger rhythmic backbone, it helps the congregation stay together. Take a listen: MP3. If you’re interested in seeing the music, just email me.
Update 10/6/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.
First of all, my humble apologies for letting 9 days go by without posting a new song. I’m sure some of you have spent more than a few sleepless nights wondering if the well had finally gone dry. Never fear, my friends. The well is still wet, but there just hasn’t been enough time to tell you about the latest, refreshing drinks from the cool waters of my musical mind. (How’s that for a metaphor?…)
On September 9 at Church of the Servant, Cindy VanderKodde led my new setting of Psalm 1, “Blessed Are They.” Yes, there are lots of very good settings of Psalm 1 that I could have used, but two things pushed me to write a new one: First, as I was going through my files in preparing the service, I found a draft I had written a few years ago. It was too much for me to resist. Second, Psalm 1 has lots of “blessed are they (read: me)” set against the wicked who reject God and curse themselves to destruction. This sort of thing is bitter medicine for moderns, who see things in far less binary terms. A spoonful of musical sugar can go a long way with a Psalm like this.
And so, I finished this new setting of Psalm 1 and we sang it the following Sunday. Take a listen to the MP3 or print out a PDF of the music (see link above).