Those things one can't do without

[Nick Baty]

This morning, as we were singing We Walk by Faith, I was thinking how much we couldn't do without this particular song. It fitted reasonably well today but, for the Second Sunday of Easter, I couldn't imagine anything better than this and, of course, O Godhead Hid or Godhead here in hiding.

So I was just wondering if anyone else has any must-haves for particular occasions. I'm not talking faves – we be here until Doomsday if we tried that – but items for which there is no substitute.

Another has just sprung to mind: For Christ the King, Year C, Taizé's Jesus Remember Me – it's the only setting I know of those particular words from Luke's Gospel.

[FrGareth]

'My Soul is Sad' for Maundy Thursday. After all, when else could you sing it?

[Mithras]

'My Soul is Sad' for Maundy Thursday. After all, when else could you sing it?

Gareth, see the Truduum thread - Gwyn uses it for the strippping of the altar, as do we, as, I believe, does the Belmont Abbey parish choir. My only caveat is the I am Your God statement, a claim which Jesus never explicitly makes.

M

[alan29]

"When I survey" at the veneration on Good Friday. It has such passion and dignity.

[Nick Baty]

"When I survey" at the veneration on Good Friday. It has such passion and dignity.

Although it's a tad tricky to process and venerate while singing it.
However, Wesley said he'd happily have not written every hymn he'd every written if he could have written this classic.

My Song is Love Unknown on Palm Sunday.
(And sometimes again on Good Friday)

[alan29]

"When I survey" at the veneration on Good Friday. It has such passion and dignity.

Although it's a tad tricky to process and venerate while singing it.
However, Wesley said he'd happily have not written every hymn he'd every written if he could have written this classic.

My Song is Love Unknown on Palm Sunday.
(And sometimes again on Good Friday)

Totally.
Come Down O Love Divine at Pentecost.

[Mithras]

Chris Walker's Veni Sancte Spiritus and Alan Rees' A Song for Pentecost are two must-haves for me.

M

[Nick Baty]

And Alan Rees's Where is love and loving kindness on Maundy Thursday.
And Taizés Stay with me at the altar of repose.

[John Ainslie]

And Alan Rees's Where is love and loving kindness on Maundy Thursday.
And Taizés Stay with me at the altar of repose.

I prefer the less well-known Taizé Stay here and keep watch with me. We sing it three times, mp, p, pp unaccompanied at the very end of the Evening Mass liturgy, then everyone stays ("watch and pray") or departs in silence.

[Nick Baty]

We do something similar with Stay with me but we keep singing and singing until it fades naturally. Some years it goes on for up to 10 minutes, others it might just be two or three time through. It's one of the few time of the year when the assembly (and the mood) takes charge.

[Mithras]

And Alan Rees's Where is love and loving kindness on Maundy Thursday.
And Taizés Stay with me at the altar of repose.

Yes, Alan's Where is Love is quite special. Many years ago when he was Abbot I used to stay at Belmont about once every two months as I was at that time thinking of signing on the dotted line and Alan asked me to play for the community Mass one Sunday, and this was the communion piece. This was to me a great compliment, as it demonstrated his confidence in my playing, and something that although I had forgotten about until this thread, revives very happy memories of the weekends I spent there.

M

[alan29]

We do something similar with Stay with me but we keep singing and singing until it fades naturally. Some years it goes on for up to 10 minutes, others it might just be two or three time through. It's one of the few time of the year when the assembly (and the mood) takes charge.

We do exactly that .... it leads naturally into watching at the altar.

[Nick Baty]

Apart from the year one of the old dears saw that "Father had left him outside the tabernacle, so I've locked him in the safe".

[nazard]

In vernacular hymns "Now thank we all our God". It is right for all sorts of occasions, and no one seems to have been able to express the joy of thankfulness quite so succinctly. It is a marvelous excuse to draw full choruses to reeds and mixtures with the couplers and bring the roof down.

For a complete contrast, when leaving the church late at night after a good practice, I love to sing alone the "Nunc Dimitis" to a simple tone. In a way it is the same sentiment.

Perhaps more on topic, for St Cecelia's day, "When in our music God is glorified." The Stanford tune (Engleberg) is poor, the Haugen tune is considerably worse, but it does go well to "Sine nomine". Now that is one thing we would be poorer if we did without: the music of Vaughan Williams.

Now does anyone have anything for Sea Sunday to see off "Eternal Father, strong to save." Its just too much of a cliché.

[Mithras]

Hymns I couldn't do without:

Angel Voices
There's a Wideness (Corvedale)
How shall I sing (Coe Fen)
Hail Gladdening Light (Stainer's tune)


More to come...
M