Category: Music

Growth Curve

franciscanmom2 Comments

During the past two weeks I’ve been rehearsing for Sunday’s performance of Marty Haugen’s Song of Mark, a musical production based on the Gospel of Mark, with a group of musicians and singers that I don’t ordinarily work with. It’s been a wonderful and interesting experience.

Playing with a new group is always a challenge, and that’s good, because when you play with the same people week after week, you start to know what to expect. It takes playing with different people to make a musician grow.

I’m not an excellent musician by any stretch of the imagination. Once I was out of college, I haven’t been in a position where I could play my guitar every day. It was more like one or two times per week. That’s not conducive to growing as a musician either. And while I had enough basic piano lessons to know how to read music, I’m a self-taught guitarist. The director of this production teaches music and can play just about any instrument. Frankly, if she weren’t so nice, I’d be really intimidated.

It’s nice being a part of a musical production with my kids. All 3 are taking part. Big Brother is playing electric bass, and Middle Sister and Little Brother are both in the children’s chorus. Since there are only about 20 in the entire cast and orchestra, we make up 1/5 of the people involved in this event.

All the music is new to me, and Haugen’s music is always a challenge. One of the other guitarists from my Sunday folk group observed that Haugen must hate guitarists when I showed her some of the music, written in tortuous keys and including chords like E-flat, Gm, and the like.  Many of the songs are 6 or 8 pages long, so I also had to learn to work in page turns!

I have loved the opportunity to go and play for almost two solid hours at a time–though my arms are really feeling it.  I’m playing along with a pianist, a keyboard, and Big Brother on the bass.  With only one guitar, I don’t have much room for error.  That’s a challenge too.

I think the challenge is good for me.  And certainly playing is good for me.  And some of the songs are really, really good.  Here’s the refrain from my favorite one:

When the day of our God has come to pass,
The skies will ring out with the angels’ song.
The last will be first and the first will be last
When the day of our God comes,
The wondrous day of our God.

That’s been stuck in my head for days–and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Much-Needed Perspective

franciscanmom1 Comment

At Mass yesterday, the message in the homily was, “God does a lot with a little.” Not only did we hear about Jesus feeding the multitudes on nothing but some little boy’s lunch, but we also reflected on the commitment of those early apostles. They were not Roman lawyers, Greek philosophers, or Asian mystics, Father D told us, though certainly Jesus could have chosen such apostles had he wished to. No, they were ordinary people: fishermen and tax collectors. Maybe, Father suggested, this is because such people would not let their egos get in the way of Jesus’ message.

Ouch. I’ve been guilty of that one lately. We just came through the Triduum and Easter, which means that it was time for my Semi-Annual Musical Pity Party. I sing and play guitar with the Folk Group. We operate on the “Keep It Simple” theory of liturgical music. Keep it simple, and people will feel welcome to sing along with you. It works for us. But our parish also has an Adult Choir. They like things more complicated and elaborate in that choir. And that’s the choir that gets to sing at Christmas, and the Triduum, and Easter.

We didn’t get asked to participate in the Triduum in any way. We were not invited to join in with the Adult Choir for the Great Three Days.

And it hurt. Boy, did it hurt. I went to Holy Thursday Mass and really felt it. And since Big Brother was playing at another church on Good Friday, we went to the service there. By the time the Easter Vigil rolled around, I was so completely upset that I even skipped the Easter Fire. I just didn’t think I could be there without losing it entirely. Even on Easter morning, I was having a rough time.

“You’ll feel better after you go to Mass and sing,” TheDad assured me. And he was right. I needed to get there, put on my guitar, and belt out the Gloria with everything I could muster. After that, I did feel a lot better.

This is all about humility, really. It all boils down to God doing a lot with a little. Our Folk Group may not have been asked to do anything at all for the Great Three Days. But Sunday after Sunday when we’re there at 12:00 Mass, we give it our all. We’re not always pitch-perfect, and sometimes a guitarist will (loudly) strike the wrong chord. Yet when we sing the Gloria, we mean it. And people are singing the Gloria with us. That’s what we’re there for.

It’s time for me to let go of the feeling of resentment that we’re not “good enough” for the Triduum and just rejoice in the fact that we help people pray though music, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. Maybe we just have a little talent, but if we get out of the way, God can do a lot with it.

When Genius…Isn’t

franciscanmom1 Comment

I usually love iTunes’ “Genius” feature, which lets you select a song, and builds a playlist around it from other songs in your library.

This morning I felt like listening to some Christmas music, so I cued up Taylor Swift’s “Silent Night” and hit the Genius button.

Along with “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Rascal Flatts and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” I also got Toby Keith’s “Who’s Your Daddy” and Big & Rich’s “Comin’ to Your City.” Scrolling down, I noticed that coming up will be “Rhinestone Cowboy”, “A Boy Named Sue” and “Duelin’ Banjos.”

What a strange mix. Genius has failed the IQ test this time.

I Have Been to Church

franciscanmom3 Comments

Tonight was our “away game” for the folk group. Once a month, we play at the 5:00 Mass at our parish’s other Worship Site.

I found out during the morning retreat I attended that this weekend’s Gospel was the Lord’s Prayer. Our folk group loves the Lord’s Prayer. We used to sing it every Sunday during Mass. It was kind of a signature of the group. It’s a peppy arrangement and we’d sing it with gusto, matched with similar enthusiasm from the congregation.

Our current pastor is not a fan of the sung Lord’s Prayer, at least not the way we sing it. For him, it’s chant during certain seasons or just recite it. Chant really doesn’t mix well with our particular blend of instruments (guitars, bass, mandolin, the occasional harmonica or didgeridoo when Big Brother is so moved) but we’ll do that when we have to. We were all sad when Father pulled the plug on our favorite arrangement of the Lord’s Prayer. We’re not allowed to sing it during Mass. Period. No reason given.

People protested to us about it and we told them to ask Father. It wasn’t our choice but we are doing as we’re told.

Anyway, we’re also required to sing a Prelude and Father wants that to be peppy. So we came up with the idea of pitching the Prelude song we’d practiced for tonight and putting in the Lord’s Prayer. None of us have taken it out of our music binders–hope springs eternal.

We sang it for Prelude. The congregation at this Worship Site (I hate that term!) wasn’t familiar with it, but we were beyond happy to be singing it and did so with our usual gusto. The Prelude is not a song where assembly participation is expected anyway.

After the song was over, we had a few moments’ breather before beginning the entrance procession. But at that point, the rest of the songs were an afterthought to me. I had BEEN TO CHURCH.

Never underestimate the power of music to move someone’s soul.

A Little Chant

franciscanmom2 Comments

You might think that just because I play guitar in church, my favorite religious music consists of tunes like “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love” and “Abba, Father.”

You’d be wrong. (Actually, I’m not a big fan of either of those tunes, and I call them “tunes” on purpose. There’s much better church music for guitar out there.)

One hymn that really sticks with me is the Salve Regina. I learned it in college; Father Campbell, the chaplain, held Night Prayer and Benediction each Sunday night. He “guilted” a few of us campus-ministry “folk groupies” into going, so that there’d be somebody there.

Father Campbell was smart. He knew that he’d only have to use the guilt trip once or twice. After that, we were hooked–we wanted to be there.

Having grown up on guitar Masses, Sunday Night Prayer was the first time I ever heard Gregorian chant. We concluded Night Prayer with the Salve Regina. It is so simple, spare but beautiful. I know all the words, and I love to pray it by singing it.

In honor of Mary’s month, here is the Salve Regina:

Thanks go to Barb at Praying for Grace, who is hosting a whole month of Marian topics on her blog.

Another Musical Rant

franciscanmom4 Comments

Otherwise known as, “if I got to pick, things would be different.”

Wishful thinking.

Today is the Solemnity of the Blessed Mother, a feast of Mary in the Christmas season. You’d think we’d have sung a carol or two at Mass.

Anything would have been better than “Sing a New Song,” which is no longer a new song and which has just had a lyric change. We’re not allowed to say “Yahweh” anymore. And they further “improved” on it by clumsily replacing a male pronoun used for God.

I will give props to the choice of “Ave Maria” at Offertory, though it still toasts my marshmallows that the Offertory song (oops, sorry, Preparation of the Gifts) is apparently not meant for congregational participation. It’s the one time that people are sitting in the pew, not busy!

“Prayer of Saint Francis” is not a long enough Communion song when you have a full church. And believe me, I was thrilled to see the full church. Maybe next year Father will add an extra Mass on this feast! It was standing-room-only.

And the version of the Magnificat to close out the Mass was a nice choice on a Marian feast–but the cantor obviously didn’t know it. No one in the congregation did either. I think “Joy to the World” would have gone much better.

Deacon J gave a very nice homily on how Mary “pondered these things in her heart” while the shepherds and wise men fell away, lured by other cares and concerns. He challenged us not to forget about Jesus once the manger scenes and Christmas trees are packed away. And he used an interesting term to describe Mary: “the perfect disciple.” I never thought about it that way!

Gloria FTW!

franciscanmomLeave a comment

I defy anyone to listen to Michael W. Smith’s “Angels We Have Heard on High” and not have their spirits lifted.

What’s in a Name?

franciscanmomLeave a comment

I am a member of a musical ensemble at my church. It’s been around for more than 25 years, and has a name that has been around that long: the Folk Group.

That’s not a very dignified or pretentious name, but that’s OK. We’re not dignified or pretentious. I’m not saying we’re irreverent, just that we’re not full of ourselves.

We have no illusions about what we’re there to do. We’re on a mission, and I believe that as humble as our instruments may be (we’ve got 5 guitars), we fulfill our mission well. Our mission is to help the assembly at church pray through song. Our mission is to lead them in sung prayer. We don’t do solos; we rarely do echoes or descants; there’s nothing fancy going on. And I think it works. We see people opening their hymnals. We hear them singing along. Even if the song is new to them, they make an effort.

But now that we are under the leadership of the Musical Powers That Be in our parish, we’ve had to change our repertoire. We had to cast out of the Mass one of our very favorite acclamations–and one that the assembly absolutely loved. A year and a half later, that wound is still raw. We miss singing “our” version of The Lord’s Prayer, and so do the people in the pews, who used to raise the rafters on that one week after week after week for more than 25 years.

We had to learn some new songs. Sometimes that’s good. But some of them have not been such great songs, and we cringe–because we don’t get to pick, anymore.

Last Sunday there was an interfaith music service hosted at our church. All the choirs from the area churches were invited to participate. Our Folk Group attended, and we were amused to see that we were not labeled “Folk Group” as we call ourselves. We were not labeled “Guitar Group” as the Music Director calls us. We were listed in the program as “Contemporary Group”–even though most of our music is less “contemporary” than what the regular choir sings. Go figure.

I guess “Contemporary Group” sounds classier than “Folk Group.” But we’re not in it to be classy. We’re just folks who sing and play guitars and try to get people to sing along with us, because we’re doing this for the glory of God.

My Not-so-Humble Musical Opinion

franciscanmomLeave a comment

The musicians at church have received our copies of the new Breaking Bread for 2010.

It’s a rare occasion when I get to pick the music for a Sunday Mass. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have an opinion. Having volunteered as a church musician since 1981 (except for my 3 “maternity breaks”), I’ve had plenty of time to cultivate my opinion about the music.

  • Some of my opinions are theological. I’m not a fan of the songs that make us “sing the words of Jesus” even though they may be musically beautiful and Biblically-based. However, I think those songs definitely have a place, but not for congregational or even choral singing. And many of them are beautiful, as I’ve said–musically and lyrically.
  • Some of my opinions are musical. I don’t care for the kinds of songs that sound more like show tunes than hymns.
  • Some of my opinions are editorial–there are songs out there that are just plain bad poetry.
  • Some of my opinions are nostalgic. It drives me nuts when the lyrics to a perfectly good song get changed because they are no longer “PC”–for example, the masculine pronouns are used for God. (Oh, the horror!)
  • And some of my opinions are based upon exhaustion, because there are songs that have been so overused that I simply cannot stand to have to hear them again, let alone sing and play them.

So here’s my list, based on the 2010 Breaking Bread, of songs I’d rather not have to sing during the coming liturgical year. I’ve only included songs I know. If I don’t know the song, no matter how bad it may be, it’s not going to be on my list.

Let the Valleys Be Raised (Schutte)–this one was wonderful before they changed the words to be PC.
Ashes (Conry)–ick.
Beyond the Days (Manalo)–belongs on Broadway, not in church.
In These Days of Lenten Journey (Manalo)–could we get any more self-congratulatory than these lyrics?
Resucito (Arguello)–fortunately, the music director who had us singing this has moved on. We’re not a Spanish-speaking parish, so there’s no need to sing in that language. And the translation is terrible. The English and Spanish verses have little to do with each other, and neither one is good poetry.
Gather Us In (Haugen)–this one is bad on so many levels.
Gather The People (Schutte)–it’s not very original; many of his songs have the same theme. He’s been very big on “inclusion” lately. And that last line of each verse: “Here we become what we eat”–I get what he means, but there has to be a better way to say that.
Song of the Body of Christ (Haas)–whiny melody, and bad poetry. Not a good combo.
I Am the Bread of Life (Toolan)–if I never have to sing this one again, it’ll be too soon. Every time I’m told that we’ll be singing it, my response is “Kill me now.”
Pan de Vida (Hurd)–again, we don’t speak Spanish here (but I do, and the translation is horrible). I don’t switch well between languages, so it drives me crazy that the refrain is half English, half Spanish.
That There May Be Bread (Weston Priory)–along with just about all the Weston Priory songs, the lyrics are bizarre. Nice words that really say nothing.
The Summons (Bell)–first-person singular.
Servant Song (McCargill)–I like the sentiment, but not the lyrics, and not the melody.
Here I Am, Lord (Schutte)–first-person singular.
All Are Welcome (Haugen)–this is not a bad song in itself, but it has a bad association for me. It was sung at a special Mass where we said goodbye to the Sisters who had been told by the pastor that they needed to relocate because we could no longer afford to keep the convent open. All are Welcome–but don’t let the door hit you on your way out.
Sing a New Church (Dufner)–don’t get me started.
Endless is Your Love (Kendzia)–sounds like something the leading lady sings when she’s alone on the stage. To her boyfriend.
You Are Near (Schutte)–this was fine until they took out the “Yahweh.” I understand that we want to be sensitive to other faiths…but it’s hard to rethink lyrics I’ve known since the ’70s.
The Spirit is a-Movin’ (Landry)
Come to Me (Weston Priory)–first-person singular.
You Are Mine (Haas)–first-person singular.
The Lord Is My Hope (Ridge)–more Broadway stuff.
We Have Been Told (Haas)–first-person singular.
Anthem (Conry)–FUN to play. I love playing it. But the lyrics are STRANGE!
We Are the Light of the World (Greif)–kill me now.
Sing to the Mountains (Dufford)–it was great before they made it PC.
Lift Up Your Hearts (O’Connor)–same thing.
Sing a New Song (Schutte)–this is no longer a new song. Let it go.
Speak, Lord (Uszler)–the refrain is great but the verses are a little off. You can tell that some of the verses were by a different lyricist.
They’ll Know We Are Christians (Scholtes)–overdone.
Join in the Dance (Schutte)–I especially can’t stand verse 2.
Isaiah 49 (Landry)–first-person singular.
Seek the Lord (O’Connor)–they’ve got the PC and the original versions here. How are you supposed to announce to the assembly that you’ll be singing one version or the other? “We’ll do the ORIGINAL verses, you know–the ones that offend a certain population because a masculine pronoun is used in reference to God.” Yeah. That’ll work.
Turn to Me (Foley)–first-person singular.

So there you go.

Tiber River Review: Sacred Hymns Collection by L’Angelus

franciscanmomLeave a comment


Recorded by a group of young-adult siblings, the Sacred Hymns Collection by L’Angelus contains twelve beautiful and reverent treatments of familiar Catholic hymns. The instruments used are unique: piano, guitar, strings, mandolin, steel guitar and even accordion are featured on this CD; organ is only used in three of the tracks. The artists are clearly very gifted, and they perform the hymns flawlessly, with excellent harmony and beautiful accompaniment. The music is extremely peaceful and uplifting.

Song selection includes: Ave Maria; This Day God Gives Me; J’irai la Voir un Joir; Sing of Mary; Tantum Ergo; The Kind of Love My Shepherd Is; Salve Regina; Panis Angelicus; Muerto Para el Mundo; Jesus My Lord, My God, My All; Holy God We Praise Thy Name; Be Thou My Vision.

After previewing this CD at home, I brought it with me to a meeting of my Secular Franciscan fraternity, to be played during our social time. Many among the group commented on the beautiful music and were heard singing along. I found these arrangements very “welcoming” in that regard, because the hymns are not performed in a range that only trained singers can attain. The music is traditional, but the arrangements are fresh and unique rather than stuffy, and that makes these familiar hymns accessible to listeners who might normally shy away from the choir-and-organ arrangements generally associated with most of these titles. The artists have done church music a great service in this regard, opening the door to new listeners who are tired of the vapid contemporary church music to which they are normally exposed.

The Sacred Hymns Collection by L’Angelus is appropriate and highly recommended for listeners of any age.

I wrote this review of Sacred Hymns for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.

Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.

This is a non-compensated review. A review copy of the CD was provided to me.