Categories
Contests Quirky

Victimae Paschali Laudes: St. Gregory Remix

What can I say? I can’t say no to a contest.

My latest foray into the contest world is a remix contest of the male vocal quartet New York Polyphony singing the plainchant “Victimae Paschali Laudes.” They provided the “stems” (raw sound files) at Indaba and let the contestants go wild.

And go wild I did. I added an intro featuring the Monastery of Greg singers, laid down a rhythm track of beat boxing, layered in sound effects, and finished with a Latin rap. I guess I’m just a guy with big ideas and a bigger mouth…

I thought it would be appropriate to name my entry the “St. Gregory Remix,” as he is the namesake of Gregorian Chant. He was also the right saint to invoke on this remix, as the recording is all a cappella. Obviously, I did some slicing and dicing, but the whole mix comes from either the the mouths of NY Polyphony or me. Check out all the entries at Indaba or listen to the MP3 right here.

This is something new and different for me, so I’d be interested in hearing your feedback.

Categories
Congregational Songs Retuned hymn

A Cardiphonia Pentecost

I’m proud to have two of my songs included in the new Cardiphonia project Pentecost Songs. This is the second of Bruce Benedict’s “flash mob” song collections, in which he gathers songwriters from around the country to write new songs on a particular theme.

The first of my tracks is named “Glossolalia,” and is not a song so much as a sound collage. It is inspired by one of my favorite memories from my Pentecostal upbringing: singing in the Spirit. Have you ever heard this? A congregation quietly sings in tongues or improvises on phrases like “Hallelujah, Lord Jesus.” It’s like the Holy Spirit is playing the congregation like a large harp.

The second is called “O Holy Spirit, Come!” The verse is based on “Veni Creator Spiritus,” a chant from the 10th century whose authorship has never been verified. I retained the chant melody and wrote a new translation of the 7 verse Latin text. I also added chords that would allow it to be led by a band; it was no easy task to squeeze the fluid chant melody into a form that made sense with a rhythm section. Finally, I added a refrain. In the end, the song spans some 11 centuries of of singing to the Holy Spirit.

Update 10/1/20: Sheet music for “O Holy Spirit, Come” can be downloaded here.

But to tell you the truth, my two contributions are hardly the stand outs of the collection. You really need to listen and download the whole project: Cardiphonia’s Pentecost Songs.

Categories
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!

Categories
Quirky

Attack of the Aliens!

What are a Dad and a seven year old to do on a rainy afternoon, except for…you know…write songs about aliens? Look at the picture below (Theo as an alien; me as a frightened human) while listening to the song we recorded. It is truly terrifying apocalyptic madness.

Aliens Attack!
Categories
Arrangement Church Congregational Songs Retuned hymn

Veni Creator Spiritus

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

Bruce Benedict is at it again. Last time it was a collection of songs based on the Apostles’ Creed. This time he’s assembling a group of musicians to compose and record songs for Pentecost. I have a real affinity for the Gregorian chant Veni Creator Spiritus, so I chose to contribute an updated version of this hymn to the project. Wikipedia has a good overview that includes the Latin, chant notation, an English translation, and an audio sample. CHeck out the original, then take a look at my first draft PDF or listen to an MP3 of me singing it directly into my laptop. As you can see, my version keeps the original chant melody intact, provides a new English translation from the Latin, and adds a refrain–“O Holy Spirit, come!”

Now I need your help before I begin recording. One of the difficulties I had was trying to wrangle the flowing, asymmetrical rhythms of the chant into a regular metered pattern. I chose 3/8 to give me the most flexibility of phrasing, but am still not entirely satisfied with how that plays out in measure 6 and 16. Is the tied pick up too fussy? How about the key signature? I’ve put it in E, but it really works better with an A drone. Should I put it in A? I sort of like the way it floats between the keys of A and E–it feels more chant-like to me–but maybe I’m just being stupid. And the translation? Anything you’d change? I like how each verse gives a name for the Spirit at the beginning, and am generally pleased with the rest of the text, but would appreciate any feedback you have on it.

Let’s make this better and then I’ll get to work on the final recording!

Categories
Arrangement Art Music Choir

The Christian’s Farewell, premiere video

My latest commissioned composition, “The Christian’s Farewell,” was premiered Saturday night in Waco, Texas in the “Southern Harmony” Concert at Baylor University’s Armstrong Browning Library. The musicians did a lovely job! You can see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KDyiU3a3LM.

Check out videos from the whole concert here: http://elsalvadormusical.blogspot.com/2011/05/southern-harmonyconcert-at-baylor.html

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Psalms

SINKING SHIPS 8.7.8.7 D

Update: Sheet music for this tune (still waiting for a text to call its own)
is now available at gregscheer.com.

Last night I had a rehearsal/recording session with The Choral Scholars as part of our upcoming Psalm CD. The recording is in conjunction with a forthcoming print publication from the CICW and Faith Alive that will feature multiple settings of all 150 Psalms. We’re reading through 20 or 30 Psalm settings each rehearsal; the “fair use” clips will go on the web, and we’ll polish up a few dozen songs for the CD.

As I was preparing for the session, I came across a great metrical setting of Psalm 12 by Adam Tice–and it’s not easy to write a great metrical setting of Psalm 12–that included a hand-written note “need another sturdy tune like Latvian hymn.” To a person who has OCD (obsessive compositional disorder), the words “need another tune” read as “Greg, write a new tune in the remaining 1/2 hour before rehearsal starts.” Which is exactly what I did.

Listen to an MP3 of TCS singing the song. If you like what you hear (and it’s hard to dislike anything TCS sings), head over to my website to download the PDF of the tune. I don’t have permission to use Adam’s text, so I’ve left the score blank. But that’s a great opportunity for you to write your own text in 8787D meter.

By the way, are you wondering why I named the tune SINKING SHIPS? What better tune name to go with a text entitled “Lying Lips”?

Categories
Quirky

Odds and Ends, part 5

Holy Manna Remix: MP3

Church of the Servant’s Guitarchestra played this Sunday night. As I was recording demos of the music for them to listen to while practicing, one thing led to another, and soon I was adapting a rap I had written a long time ago to the chords I was using for the hymn “We Have Come to Join in Worship” (HOLY MANNA).

How could it be so wrong when it feels so right?…

Categories
Arrangement Choir Church Congregational Songs Psalms

Odds and Ends, part 4

From the Dust You Shall Raise Us Up (Solo, SATB Choir and Piano)

I posted a song at the beginning of Lent called From the Dust You Shall Raise Us Up, with verses taken from Psalm 103. Here it is again, this time arranged as a choral anthem: MP3, PDF.

Categories
Arrangement

Odds and Ends, part 3

The Best Book to Read Is the Bible: MP3, PDF

At Church of the Servant we have a Basic English Service geared toward the many refugees and immigrants in the community who need a place to worship, but are still learning English. It’s a wonderful, collaborative effort between lifelong and recent Americans. One of my BES friends told me he’d like to sing a song that he learned at church in Nepal. He sang it into my mini-recorder and I transcribed it and made a simple arrangement that will allow our pianists to lead it.

A bit of internet searching seems to indicate that The Best Book is something like The B-I-B-L-E, but not as popular. Lots of bloggers refer to it, but I couldn’t find any music or recordings. I still have some questions about how the song goes, so if you know this song please contact me and let me know if I got it right!