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Arrangement Church Congregational Songs

SALVATION

What’s with all the songs in D minor?

I’m still stuck on the tune SALVATION. It’s a Kentucky Harmony tune that’s not used nearly as much as some other early American tunes. And that’s a shame. I am trying to single-handedly right this imbalance by using it every other week at my church. This time it’s paired with the Herman Stuempfle text “You Strode into the Temple, Lord,” and accompanied by the COS Guitarchestra. Take a listen to the MP3. Of course, the problem is that I’ve used the tune so much that now people in my church are beginning to ask,

“What’s with all the songs in D minor?”

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Church Congregational Songs Psalms

Psalm 80: O Faithful Shepherd

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

Diephouse/Scheer strike again!

A month ago, I decided that Psalm 80’s vine themes would fit perfectly with a sermon on “I am the Vine.” But I wasn’t sold on any of the versions I found. The closest thing to something that excited me was a stodgy metrical text paired with a great Genevan tune that I hadn’t heard before, O PASTEUR D’ISRAEL, ESCOUTE.

So I sent David Diephouse an email: I think there could be some kind of rich ties between God clearing a place to plant a vine (Israel), Jesus ingrafting us into himself the Vine, and perhaps even the fruit of the vine and the Tree of Life. Play with it and see what you come up with, whether it’s a literal metrical setting or a looser hymn that treats Psalm 80 through New Testament eyes.

He, like me, works best when a songwriting project is a diversion from a pile of “real” work, and he quickly sent me a first draft. He would insist that the bulk of the final draft is my words, but the fact is he established the basic structure and set up key phrases like “graft us into the Living Vine.” Add a bit of advice on Goudimel’s harmonization from our church’s local music historian, Cal Stapert, and you end up with a really solid metrical Psalm that revives an overlooked, but beautifully singable Genevan tune.

MP3

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Church Congregational Songs Live Retuned hymn

Jesus, Lord of Life and Glory – two recordings

Update 2/15/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

A few weeks ago, I told you the exciting story of writing this song. (It was exciting, wasn’t it? I mean, when I got to the part about the 4/4 measure, I bet you were on the edge of your seat.) Now I’ve had a chance to test drive it twice.

The first time was at the Ash Wednesday service. There we used the piano accompaniment I wrote for the occasion, and added a few recorders for good measure (MP3, Ash Wed). The next time was during a Sunday morning service in which the Guitarchestra led the singing (MP3, Guitarchestra). It’s interesting to hear how the music takes on a different feel with the different accompaniment. The Ash Wednesday version brings out the plaintive, lamenting character of the melody, while the guitars make it sound more like an urgent prayer.

Which do you like better?

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Psalms

WTS Bless the Lord

My friend Ron, knowing that I can’t say No to a quirky commission asked me to write a short refrain based on Psalm 103 for use at Western Theological Seminary’s graduation. What can I say? Not no, that’s for sure.

The graduation will be held in the massive Dimnent Chapel which has the reverb of the Grand Canyon, so I decided I needed to go easy on syncopations and quick rhythms. Instead, all the rhythms lay pretty flat from the congregation’s point of view, with ample opportunity for a good gospel pianist to put some life in between the notes. Speaking of gospel, the MP3 features the Gospel of Greg Mass Choir. Righteous!

Bless the Lord, MP3

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Retuned hymn

Jesus, Lord of Life and Glory

Update 2/15/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

If you aren’t a musician, you might be led to believe that composers just pluck ripe songs from the muses’ orchard of musical delights.

You would be wrong.

This composition stuff is actual work. Take, for example, my latest creative endeavor. I came across the 1839 text “Jesus, Lord of Life and Glory” by James John Cummins and wasn’t convinced by the tunes written for it. So I wrote one. That was easy enough. But then I tweaked and tweaked until it sang more smoothly. (What–you think that single 4/4 measure is an accident?) And then I entered it into Finale. And then I tweaked a few more things as I saw it on the page. And then I made the best demo I could in the last 35 minutes of my Friday afternoon. (Yes, my voice does crack in verse 4. Cut me a little slack–I did it in one take.) And then I realized that in taking out the Thees and Thous I had messed up one of the rhymes. And then I added a cool echo that Theo really liked. And then I realized that it wouldn’t work without a bass line and maybe some percussion. And then I remembered that Logic Pro got all out of whack when I got a new computer, so I didn’t have a quick way to add more stuff. And then I took out the cool echo that Theo liked. And then it became 9pm on Sunday night and I said “I’m going to upload this thing, warts and all!”

So here it is, straight from muses’ the orchard of musical delights (just not quite ripe), Jesus, Lord of Life and Glory: MP3.

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Colin

Video: If Only I Had Wings

Here’s a new video of the song I wrote with Colin Gordon-Farleigh, “If I Only Had Wings,” sung by Milli Alaira:

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Rock and/or Roll

Starting Fires

20 years ago I wrote a song about a girl I really liked. She was pretty, smart and talented, all rolled into one. 18 years ago I married her, which was the best thing I ever did. In 2 days it will be Valentine’s Day, so I thought I’d finish recording a song I wrote when we were dating. Back then I didn’t know much about love, and to tell you the truth I still don’t get it right most of the time. But even though it’s hard sometimes, I’d do it all over again.

Starting Fires, mp3

Categories
Psalms Quirky

Revenge of the Killer Bs: Ridiculous Outtake

The Choral Scholars, Norma de Waal Malefyt and I produced a CD with 22 tracks (Cry Out to God!). But we also recorded all the “B Sides” you’ve been enjoying here over the last few weeks, as well as reading 200 some Psalm settings in preparation for the recording. That’s pretty exhausting stuff, and there are bound to be some moments in which things get giddy.

Here, in a “choral scholars gone wild” moment, is our reading of Psalm 2. We were chanting through the Psalm and it occurred to me how funny it would be to not only chant the text “The God whose throne is in heaven is laughing,” but to also chant the laughing itself. You can hear the ridiculous result here.

Categories
Choir Church Congregational Songs Psalms

Revenge of the Killer Bs: Psalm 145, One Generation

If I were to have a big hit, this would be it. It sort of won the CRC Sesquicentennial hymn contest, then appeared in Contemporary Songs for Worship, and can now be found in Psalms for All Seasons, #145G. But there were already too many of my songs and arrangements on the PfAS CD, so this got cut. After all, you don’t want to overdose on Greg. But here’s a small fix to hold you over until my next blog post.

And thus, my loyal readers, concludes my 16 song series of songs that didn’t make the cut for one reason or another. But don’t lament the one that got away. No, just head on over to the Psalms for All Seasons website, where you can buy the book and CD so you can get all the songs and recordings that did make the cut.

Categories
Arrangement Choir Church Congregational Songs Psalms

Revenge of the Killer Bs: Psalm 133, How Very Good

I added verses to Barbara Boertje’s “How Good It Is,” but I’ve never posted a recording of the full choral arrangement. Until now.