I always hated having to go to church, it was so BOOOORING! BO-RING! The only part I liked was the hymns. The Methodist hymn book is awesome. Lord of the Dance kicks ass, so does this other one… I forget how it goes, but I remember I liked it, and it’s hymn number. Wish I could remember a line… It’s about how people might be called on when they least expect it… something about “Here I am Lord/If You need me” or something like that. Great song! There’s so many good church songs. I’m not a-religious or atheistic or anything, church is just TOO BORING! The Bible can tell me all I need to know about God, and I anything I can’t find can easily be extrapolated from the source material.
Our church band writes a lot of their own music(I am sure that many other churches do the same thing). It is published and recorded I know that the music is picked through a guideline made by the diocese. And yes, it is a charismatic Catholic church. There are many members, but there are many people who think it is the spawn of the devil.
Hmmm…Anywho…
This is the first time I have ever heard using PowerPoint to sing from(or was that a joke?). About fifteen years ago our church ditched the Glory and Praise books and missals. We now use song sheets, which can be used at all the weekend’s masses(with a few songs added for the teen mass on Sunday nights) and then recycled. They are much easier to deal with when the band has to sing a song; no references or flipping of pages. Of course, there are children who decide to make paper airplanes but if you supply the material…
Whenever I go to a church that uses hymnals and missals, I am at a loss. I love to sing in church, but the books make it kinda annoying. I don’t know why, it just does. I guess I am used to just one sheet, not a whole book. Of course, the books are good to hit someone who is falling asleep, but then everyone would be walking away from Mass with welts.
As for your question, rastahomie, I find it refreshing when there are pieces of music included that are by classical musicians. I do like the contemporary stuff though, like Jars of Clay and DC Talk. I do not listen to Christian radio, though. That is my mom’s job and she does it quite well. Even the house has to listen to it when it is left alone. Poor, poor house.
LC, the next time you are going to make me laugh, could you please warn me. I almost choked on my water. Thank you for getting the song stuck in my head now.
Okay this post has gotten a little out of hand, so I will end it.
My Catholic church has a wonderful music director. Some services are of the traditional solemnity variety, and others are of the more modern, energetic type. It’s not exactly rock music, but it’s the peppy sort that makes you feel like the entire congregation has suddenly been made honorary cast members of Godspell. She does a remarkable job of matching the genre of the music to the overall tone of the Mass. Of course, Catholics probably have it a little easier, we know what’s coming up pretty far in advance.
The other remarkable thing she accomplishes is incorporating a variety of musical styles. The congregation is made up of people from very diverse heritages, and she does her homework and finds interesting examples from different musical traditions, and then brings in say, West African drummers or a Native American flutist or a Celtic harpist (harpist? that looks wrong. harp player?) a few times during the year.
This system seems to keep everyone happy. It adds another element of excitement to going to church.
We do not have PowerPoint. The supplemental music * a ditto* that is passed out at the beginning of the service. Dittos lend an excellent note of Catholic hard line traditionalism to any service, IMHO
I’m a staunch atheist. I think the whole religion thing is a steaming pile of political, power-mad, paternalistic poo. If religion dropped off the face of the planet tomorrow, I’d take the day off and drink a lot of beer.
Wait. I’m liable to do that anyway. I digress.
Religion = baaaaad.
That said, I love religious music, especially the somber, monolithic Latin liturgies of the Catholics, the “high, lonesome sound” of that good ol’ Appalachian religious music, and the toe-tapping, entrancing black, Southern gospel.
The mix CD I’m listening to right now has Jeff Buckley’s version of “the Corpus Christi Carol” (I KNOW it’s not really ancient, it just sounds that way,) the Blind Boys of Alabama doing “Amazing Grace” to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun,” Hank Williams doing “I Saw the Light” (incidentally, I saw Willie Nelson end his show with this tune a couple of weeks ago. Stunning,) and “Angel Band,” from the “O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.”
Whatever the inspiration is for this music, it’s grand and powerful, and almost makes me a believer, just for the period of time that I’m singing along, wailing “I’ll Fly Away” or “May the Circle be Unbroken.”
It’s wonderful. It raises the hair on the back of my neck. It makes me lift up my voice to sing. The emotion is real, the yearning is genuine, even if the religion behind it is not.
I guess I’m enough of a Southerner, too, that this music is imprinted on my bones. Most of it, indeed, might as well be genetically heritable. I believe I popped out of the womb knowing how to sing and tap to “John the Revelator.”
If this is the song I’m thinking of, we sang it at every single school Mass. Let’s see if I can remember it…
“I the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry,
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them,
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord,
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord,
If you lead me…”
And I can’t remember the last line of the chorus, or any of the other verses. But then I haven’t actually heard it in four years…
Oh, and we did “Lord of the Dance” a lot, too. And “On Eagle’s Wings.”
Ginger, I sang in the Faure Requiem once – it’s wonderful. (Though my favorite Requiem setting is Verdi’s. I’d love to sing that.)
Ogre, I’m also fond of the Corpus Christi Carol, if the song I’m thinking about is the one you’re talking about. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” also kicks ass.
delphica, another choral piece I’ve sung in is Hatfield’s Missa Brevis, which uses folk motifs from different parts of the world – my favorite is the Sanctus which is based on folk melodies from the Andes.
Oddly, we never get to hear any of this cool religious music in church…
I was to sing the Pie Jesu from Faure’s Requiem for an audition to the Opera Society in Calgary. Sadly, due to a family tragedy I couldn’t make the audition. It still bounces around in my head, 15 years later.
I also have a soft spot in my heart for the Ave Maria, Schubert’s version. In Latin, of course! I’ve sung it at so many weddings, but it’s still my all-time favourite.
Ah heck I’m singing it now as I type. I’m so odd.
Another one that comes to mind now that I’m thinking of it, “Sing a New Song unto the Lord, let your songs be sung from mountains High…” I think that’s Fr. Carey Landry, but I’m such a bad Catholic that I don’t even remember all of the words to the Creed without being there and having the congregation help my memory along. Oh oh and “Seek Ye First” with the soaring harmonies in the chorus… joy!
Ah well, after all, what’s the line? Make a joyful noise unto the Lord?
Here is the song I mean, Katisha. It turns out, after a brief web search, that it indeed dates back to 1500. I was under the impression (actually, I heard Jeff Buckley say outright) that it was written in the 1940’s after the style of medieval music. Guess he was mistaken.
May/Will/Can the Circle Be Unbroken is fantastic, but I’ve seen the title under all three words. Which is correct?
Yeah, I really like that one, though it’s too high for me.
My favorite Ave Maria, though, is Vittoria’s – it’s so ethereal. (When I was in high school it was traditional for the senior glee club to sing this at graduation – it was really effective.)
I don’t know “Seek Ye First,” but I do know “Sing a New Song.” Can’t remember who wrote it, though.
That’s the one. Actually, there’s a variation on the text in the Norton Anthology of Poetry, with a chorus that goes
Lully, lullay, lully, lullay,
The falcon hath stolen my make away.
And there’s some other stuff about a wounded knight and whatnot. There’s also a footnote about an allegorical interpretation dating back to the reign of Henry VIII (the ffalcon is supposed to be Anne Boleyn) but I don’t think I buy that.
I believe it’s “Will the Circle be Unbroken.” At least, it is on the recording I have. (Incidentally, the sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is called Let the Circle Be Unbroken, but the actual song title is mentioned in the book.)
Nope, thats not the one. The one you are thinking of is “Here I am, Lord”. The lyrics to the song they are talking about begin with:
Dance, Dance, where ever you may be,
I dont know any more.
Strangely enough, We would have to sing that at every school mass aswell. Some things remain the same, no matter what side of the Atlantic you are
And By the way, there is nothing Irish about a guy from Chicago wearing a Jackie Stallone Headband and dancing the Flamenco.
Yeah, we have a contemp service that attracts almost no-one. The problem with the worst contemp music is that it lacks a scriptural base. 10 years from now it will sound ludicrous while the traditional stuff will sound traditional and eternal (oh yeah, and scriptural). It is also less fulfilling musically than the traditional hymns.
Problem with the contemp service itself is that it lacks portions that the traditional service has, like confession. Further, assuming that the contemp service is an entry point for church membership, there is no plan for how to move new attendees from the contemp to full membership. IMHO, the contemp service is an extended junior sermon.
Yes, most “praise and glory” music is “boring and nauseas.” What can I say.
As a minor hijack, is anyone else bored to tears with the so-called “Christian” music as a genre? When I run across it on the radio, I have to fight immediate sleepiness. I think the stuff should be banned from the airwaves; it promotes accidents from people falling asleep at the wheel.
Yes, I know Amy Grant made the transition, and she has some good songs under her belt. But I mean really, most of that stuff is soporific at best. Where is the divine law that says when you start writing music about God after 1900 you have to rob it of any power or interest? (Well, maybe 1940 — Ralph Vaughn Williams wrote some really great hymns for the Episcopal hymn book).
Yes, Charlotte Church singing Pie Jesu brings me to tears – but probably not for the reasons you mean. As I’m not a fan of either Ms. Church (and her appalling vocal technique) or Lord Lloyd Webber (urgh), the combination of the two is too glurgerific for my system. However that has nothing to do with my agnosticism, merely my tastes in music.
My sacred music tastes run towards the traditional – Latin texts, solemnity and grace – or to the sort of Gospel music that has you on your feet and hollering in the aisles. To me, all this happy-clappy post-Vatican II stuff is the musical equivalent of Prozac – it makes you feel better, but there’s nothing real about it. It’s a shallow communion.
Now you’re talking. You can’t stand in the middle of a choir of 150 singing Praise to the Holiest and not be moved. One of the finest moments of my life, as a matter of fact.
Really, I’m not trying to denigrate other people’s musical tastes, and I recognize that YMMV in terms of what gets you into the spirit. But I see all these people who think that modulating up a half-step is the epitome of holy rapture, and I think: is that really all there is to it?
Dance, dance whereever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, whereever you may be,
I will lead you all in the dance said he.
Personally, I always hated the song. Any song where you sing that “they whipped and they stripped, and they hug him high, and left him there on a cross to die” in the most UPBEAT way just creeps me out.
Not to belabor a point, but the 1935 Carter Family recording of the song that I have is very plainly “Can the Circle Be Unbroken,” so a definitive song title seems to be…unclear, to say the least.
Yes, but Falcon, you must understand, you simply can’t be a good Catholic if you forget for one minute that Christ suffered and died because of what YOU did!
Personally, that’s why I’m a Lutheran. We’re Catholic Lite®! All of the Savior, only one-third of the guilt!™
:D[sub]Please don’t flame me, that was all a joke. Well most of it was. [/sub]
Actually I LOVE “Lord of the Dance” because of the first verse:
I danced in the morning
when the earth was begun
and I danced in the moon
and the stars and the sun
A beautifully lyrical paraphrasing of John 1, my favorite chapter of the Gospels. (And thank you zgystardst for the link! I’ve been looking for that info for ages.)
And I think you guys just might have helped me finally formulate the reason I can’t get into Christian Rock. It’s not reverent enough. It just doesn’t communicate the awesome majesty of the Creator like Beethoven, Bach, or Handel do.
I love hearing Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring on the organ during the prelude to worship.
Ginger - I’m getting a kick out of reading yer posts. “Seek Ye First” is one hymn I will often sing aloud to myself. And you’re right, hearing people sing the harmonies in the chorus is beautiful.
Katisha - the last line of the chorus to “Here I am” is ‘I have heard you calling in the night.’
I guess to me “Here I am” and “Lord of the Dance” are more campfire songs in my mind. We do have a musical liturgy that we use sometimes in church (although it, too, is more often used on camp retreats) but it’s very “folksie”, and I find the rythms to be very odd and it seems to throw off the pacing of the service for me.
But maybe that’s because I grew up Episcopal, and went to services at the church that was built along with the Biltmore House by George Vanderbilt. The building is similar to European cathedrals, so the service always had an inherently reverential tone to it anyway. Not much emotional exuberance - once our minister, in a fit of frustration at our lack of feeling, referred to us as “God’s Frozen People”. Guess you just don’t run across too many Charismatic Episcopalians.
Now, y’all 'scuse me while I go try to download some Gregorian Chants from Napster. Now THERE’S solemn, reverential music.
Our church realy tries to make everyone comfortable. We are a fully ‘modern’ church with PowerPoint Slides, Dramas, the whole bit. One thing our musical bunch does is take traditional hyms and re-arrange them to be more modern. It makes the old timers feel sort of at-home because of familiar lyrics but makes the younger crowd happy because no one feels like they have to suffer through the same old hyms for the 1000th time.
Our church doesn’t sing enough of the old hymns to suit me, but we do still sing at least one each service.
The radio station I listen to, though, plays lots of hymns. Mostly sung by contemporary artists. I love that…Twila Paris and Eden’s Bridge sing lots of the old ones. They are so beautiful…and I really like the new arrangements.
But many of the contemporary songs are wonderful, and soul-inspiring, also. Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael English are currently my favorites, along with Eden’s Bridge.
The mass is ended
All go in peace
We must diminish
And Christ increase…
It’s over? Lord be praised!
On the other hand, as the station manager of my college station, I got a lot of pressure to cut the Christian contemporary DJ from the rotation. I credit my strict Catholic upbringing with giving me the sense of justice to evaluate him as one of the better broadcasters at the station regardless of the music he played. I remember being really stoned one morning and hearing him play a song called (I think) Trumpets of Jesus. I laughed so hard that the Mountain Dew I was drinking squirted out of my nose. Verily, the Lord works in mysterious ways.
:rolleyes: pardon me, I’m so ashamed. That’s the second time this week…
Does anyone remember this one?
“Make me a channel of your peace
where there is hatred, let me sow your love
where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
and where there’s doubt true faith in You”
Am I the only one here who was involved with the “Search” and “Live-In” societies? This could be why I think the ‘new’ stuff all sounds better with an acoustic guitar.
Ok, so now we all know. Ginger is a conundrum. Can’t make up her mind between old and new, sacred and profane. Although this thread has knocked the Lita Ford right outta my confused brain. I’m gonna blame it on the high altitude and thinner air.
A preacher decided to preach a sermon against the evils of drinking. So Sunday morning comes, and he preaches a sermon full of fire and brimstone, and thoroughly convinces the congregation of the evils of the demon rum. His rousing conclusion goes like this:
“If God gave me all of the beer in the world right now, I’d go dump it in the river!” <crowd> Amen!
“And if God gave me all of the wine in the world right now, I’d go dump it in the river!” <crowd> Amen!
“And finally, if God gave me all of the whisky in the world right now, I’d go dump it in the river!” <crowd> Amen!
He sits down, and the music director looks at him sheepishly. The minister motions for him to go on.
So the music director turns to the congregation and says, "Let’s sing our closing hymn, #435, “Shall We Gather at the River?”
