Category: Church music

St. Columba (revised, free score)

Wouldn’t ya know it: someone just now bought my previous version of my arrangement. Whoever you are, thank you! But, I hope you see this post so you can download this revision. I really do think it’s better and more playable.

If you have a student who you think would enjoy playing this piece it can be purchased from my composer page at either SheetMusicPlus or SheetMusicDirect. (Those probably won’t have be listed until sometime next week…it always takes them a few days to review.) The audio can be streamed for free at https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/st-columba-pf-solo-revision.

st-columba-piano-solo-revised-scoreDownload

Fire of Justice, Fire of Love (organ & solo trumpet, congregation & chorus)

(note: title screen is silent, music starts with score)


Fire of Justice, Fire of Love
for unison congregation and chorus,
organ, and solo trumpet

words & music by
Hilton Kean Jones

In honor of Blessed Mother Marie-Rose Durocher, Foundress of
The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jésus et de Marie)
Commissioned by the Academy of the Holy Names, Tampa, Florida October 6, 2018

The Dream of Love That’s Come

Our move is finally over and I’ve got my office (and my mind) more or less tidy enough to start back to work. The first project was to finish this anthem/song/whatever…

You can download the score at this link:

The Dream of Love that’s Come PIANO VOCAL – ScoreDownload

And you can listen to it here:

I’d love to get a grant that would pay the musicians, conductor, and studio to make a recording of the couple dozen anthems (hymns) I’ve written, but I really don’t know where to even apply for such a thing. My stuff’s too commercial and, doubly damned, it’s religious. Not promising for grants.

Until such a utopian future, I’ll have to satisfy myself with computerized orchestral demos, like this one. The score gives the words, so you’ll have to use your imagination.

“O God, Our Help in Ages Past” with multiple descants

A basic skill for any organist/church musician is composing hymn descants. Descants are countermelodies that make the singing of the hymn tune more enjoyable for the congregation…they allow the singers to enjoy the tension of counterpoint at a visceral level.

Jesus walked this lonesome valley

Back in the days of hardware synths, Proteus had a patch called “Whistlin’ Joe,” which was the sound the old TV series, The X-Files” theme used. I think the Proteus sounds are now available as a softsyth library. Was tempted to track it down and buy it just for the little echo sound in this sort of Mayberry R.F.D interpretation. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but the melody of this great old tune has always seemed to me to be optimistically lighthearted despite the lyrics and therefore deserves that treatment.

Come O Fount, Jesus Savior, Tossed and Driven

I was born and raised down at the very bottom tip of Illinois where it meets Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky…partially in an area known as the Ozarks. In short: a hillbilly. I knew classical music of course. My first records were Stravinsky’s the Rite of Spring, Shostakovich 1st Symphony and his cello concerto and the electronic music pioneer Oskar Sala, but also Al Hirt, George Lewis and Elvis, and playing in my father’s evening church services and in summer youth camp meeting tents. Eclectic fair for a middle school kid to say the least.

Now rejoice ye, dear Christians all – JS Bach

Well, I lost the performance video of me performing this on keyboards that goes with the soundtrack itself, so (waste not, want not) I married the track to pictures of my favorite liturgical symbol — BREAD!

Yeah, I know, communion bread is supposed to be unleavened bread (wikipedia: The hostia or sacramental bread, known as prosphorá or a πρόσφορον (prósphoron, “offering”) may be made out of only four ingredients: fine (white) wheat flour, pure water, yeast, and salt.) Nevertheless…

%d bloggers like this: