Where Musical Stuff Speaks Loudly
Posts tagged choral work
Sudden Terror – 8 Years Later
Sep 11th
I was in school in Florida 8 years ago from today when terrorists attacked the city close to my former hometown of Clifton, NJ – New York City. The hated faces rammed two planes, one in each of the Twin Towers I used to see on the looming skyline as I rode in my parents’ car on NJ 3, and both structures collapsed. My soon-to-be web pal Howard Goodall, uncle to a few of my Facebook friends, was about to relax in the park when he noticed in person what I only see on the screens, and I was a thousand miles or so apart from what was going on near my childhood hometown and where I was schooled.
A few years later, I heard the church praise band sing some tribute to the victims who reposed on what I appropriately call the attacks of September 11, 2001 the “Mournful Morning.” As I attended Senior Youth Group at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Seffner. A year later, I heard the same tune again, and ascertained that it was When Sudden Terror Tears Apart. I sang along and got so juiced up by the hymn that I went online, typed it up on Google, and found what I was looking for – on the Hope Publishing Company’s site.
The Brad Printz/Carl Daw anthem became the subject of last year’s (on September 26) dream, when I was sleeping over at a cousin’s house. I tuned into Bay News 9 and saw a high school choir singing it as a tribute to the victims, and at the point when the chorus sang the part modulated from the haunting G-minor to the assuaging G-major, my ex-cousin, who noticed me watching the television coverage, and I sang along. We applauded softly as the rest of the household slept, but I found them awake. I excitedly told them what I saw on Bay News 9, and woke up.
So this is my blog post for the night, as it is a tribute to those who died in the attacks some 11 miles from my former New Jersey home.
The Great Commission – in Harmonious Form
Aug 16th
I hate to admit that my favorite hymn is “Lord You Gave the Great Commission,” and I love it so much that I now allot “We Gather Together” as my second-favorite. It’s very beautiful as it is melodic, although some snobs who dislike contemporary liturgical music would turn up their noses at this near classic.
So why do I like this hymn so much, and what can be done to musically improve it?
An Episcopal pastor by the name of Cyril Vincent Taylor (1907-1991) composed the hymn tune in 1941 in the British village of Abbot’s Leigh, where it was named after. Initially sung to an older text, “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken,” it caught the attention of Jeffrey W. Rowthorn, a chapel minister of the Yale Divinity School. He wrote the lyrics which summarizes the ministry of Christ and set it in that tune. His new hymn, “Lord You Gave the Great Commission,” debuted in the school’s 1978 graduation ceremonies, and spread from denomination to denomination like a plague.
From my personal experiences of hearing the hymn, from Sunday Mass to mp3 files, the way it is performed lacks some bite because like, 90% of the time, it is always in unison. That’s what it’s supposed to be at the first Sunday of the month because it ensures the vocal security of the congregation. If I have a Sibelius in my hands, I’ll create this into an advanced choral work and transpose it to E-flat major. I’ll use the unison singing in the first verse only, and do the rest in combinations of harmony, leading to the descant in the sopranos when the arrangement modulates from the G-minor key of the fourth verse to the F-major of the fifth and finale verse. The arrangement concludes with a plagual cadence of “Amen,” as with any old-fashioned hymn. I’ll accompany this hymn concertato with organ and an optional small concert band, which would heighten its emotional aspect and grandeur.
Too bad I bombed the lottery – booooo…
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