Category: Church music

Midweek Hymn: NCH #522 473 & 442 featuring Higher Ground

 

Compassion (a new original hymn)

This new hymn, COMPASSION (“Just as a Nursing Mother”), is based on a sermon by the Rev. Kim Wells that may be found at https://lakewooducc.org/2020/10/23/corona-sabbath-32-compassion-reflection-text/

Here’s a video of the music score for COMPASSION (“Just as a Nursing Mother”) synced with an instrumental recording. Someday…someday, we’ll all be able to sing together again and I’ll be able to make a recording of the words being sung. Until then, it’s up to your imagination.To see the words more clearly, be sure to take advantage of the icon on the video that lets you make it full screen.

If you’d like to print out a copy of the hymn to play at home, here’s a link to a PDF of it: COMPASSION HYMN – Score. You’re welcome to print it out for you own use at home.

Here’s the text:

REFRAIN
Just as a nursing mother feeds
The growing child upon her breast,
The soul sustaining way of Christ
Gives solace, succor, life refreshed.

VERSE 1
And yet, today, their spirits starve
They want to grow and thrive in truth.
They know not what it is or where
It’s found that healing hearts produce.

REFRAIN
Just as a nursing mother …

VERSE 2
And sadly, faith is often seen
As offered in a selfish way.
It’s offered with a hidden catch:
Salvation giv’n but you must pay.

REFRAIN
Just as a nursing mother …

VERSE 3
It is no wonder we are shy
Of telling of Christ’s love content.
But, we must gently share our lives
For we have found soul’s hunger quenched.

REFRAIN
Just as a nursing mother…

Note: COMPASSION is the tune name. Hymns have tune names that are used in a specific index in the back of hymnals. “Just as a Nursing Mother” is the first line of the hymn. There is a different, specific index just for first lines of hymns. There are other indexes, such as the metric index. The metric scheme of this hymn is 8.8.8.8.D which is four lines iambic tetrameter, doubled.

Below is an earlier hymn I wrote based on a sermon of the Rev. Kim Wells. I’ve used two different musical settings for those lyrics, one the Irish tune, “Down by the Sally Gardens,” the other an original anthem. (I think I like the “Sally Gardens” setting better for congregational singing!) But, here’s just my lyrics:

I find the thoughts contained in Rev. Wells’ sermon inspirational and providing novel thoughts and perspectives.

Holy Mana

https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/holy-mana

My setting of an old early American hymn tune. It’s sung to a number of different texts.

NCH #418 My Faith, It Is an Oaken Staff

 

ST ANNE with descants plus 3 chorale preludes on the tune

The tune name of this famous Hymn is St Anne. The words are equally famous: “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” Seems like an appropriate text for these days.

This rendition has all 6 verses as found in NCH #25. There’s a very short intro and the first verse begins when the trumpet enters. Hang on to your part because starting in verse 3 the descants begin (there’s 4 verses with descants)!

Here’s a link to three chorale preludes for solo piano I composed a couple years ago that are based on ST ANNE. They’re audio streaming (nothing to download). You can hear the famous melody used in various ways. For instance, in the slow movement, it’s the top notes of the accompaniment.

(To listen to preludes, click on following link, then the “play” button)
https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/3-preludes-on-st-anne-for-solo

And…you’re welcome to download the score HERE, for free. Of course, every composer hopes maybe somebody will feel like playing a piece if there’s a free score on offer!

NCH #28 For the Beauty of the Earth

My Faith It Is an Oaken Staff

As part of my job as music director at Lakewood UCC, I write a lot of original music (original hymns, anthems, solo keyboard pieces, hymn-tune settings). Because of the corona virus lockdown, I’ve been doing all those same things, but for online posts by Lakewood. If those interest you, you can hear those posts at https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/music/.

I’ve decided to post some of those here: the ones that feature original content by me. This post was originally posted on March 23, 2020 at http://lakewooducc.org/2020/03/23/my-faith-it-is-an-oaken-staff/.

oak treeHere’s a tune for your morning meditation that will lift your spirits. Rev. Wells introduced me to this hymn and it’s become a favorite of mine. Every time we do it in church I only wish there were more verses so it lasts longer. Feel free to sing along this morning. You can see the words in the New Century Hymnal #418 or at https://hymnary.org/hymn/NCH1995/418.

There’s a very short organ introduction. When the brass come in, you start singing. Between verse 2 and verse 3 there’s a little organ interlude. But, on verse 3, BE WARNED (!), there’s a trumpet descant. What might confuse you is that the trumpet plays an echo, like a kid’s round (you know, like in “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”), of what you’re singing. So don’t get lost…hang on to your own part (follow the trombone…a trombonist will never lead you astray).

Wendeyaho

(original hymns, anthems, solo keyboard pieces, hymn-tune settings). Because of the corona virus lockdown, I’ve been doing all those same things, but for online posts by Lakewood. If those interest you, you can hear those posts at https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/music/.

I’ve decided to post some of those here: the ones that feature original content by me. This post was originally posted on March 29, 2020 at http://lakewooducc.org/2020/03/29/wendeyaho/.

Screen Shot 2020-03-29 at 4.40.50 AMSomething different this morning! It’s not found in any hymnal although it should be; rather, it’s a Native American hymn traditionally sung to the four directions in the morning by the women of the community. The arrangements and orchestrations are my own. I’ve done several settings–orchestra, solo piano, and choir–the first two of which are presented here.

“Wendeyaho” is often described as a “Cherokee Morning Song.” However discussion of it on the Internet indicates that the word, “Wendeyaho,” is not contemporary Cherokee, although it may have its origins in an ancient form of the language. The translation I was able to piece together from various internet sources is as follows:

Translation – We n’ de ya ho
Freely translated: “A we n'” (I am),
“de” (of),
“Yauh” –the– (Great Spirit),
“Ho” (it is so).

First, here is my orchestral arrangement.

And, here is the piano solo arrangement. Feel free to download the 2 page sheet music PDF from THIS LINK so you can play it at home, yourself. You need to do some tricky shifting of hands to cover all the parts in the last two variations, but it’s doable, I promise.