Palm Sunday for guitars and flute

[JW]

We have a situation where the only musical resources for our main Palm Sunday Mass will be some guitars and a flute. It's been a pain to plan because most of the music for Palm Sunday is not really suited to these resources. So this is what we're using, it may help if anyone has the same issues:

Procession: Hosanna, Carl Tuttle (CHON 232) or Come to Jerusalem, Stephen Dean (L 231)
Psalm: From Mike Anderson's website
Gospel Accl: JW setting
Offertory: Unless a grain of wheat
Eucharistic Acclamations: New Celtic Liturgy, except 'Echo' Our Father
Communion: Were you there when they crucified my Lord (not last verse)
Recessional: Servant King.

[VML]

We were in that situation 22 years ago when our church was being rebuilt and we were using a sports hall.
That was the first time we used that 'Hosanna!'
I did once leave the parish without an organist for Vigil and Easter Sunday for urgent family reasons. But this year the current standard rota is being followed, so as it is not my turn, I am told the organ is not required for Easter Sunday, so we ail have guitars and maybe a keyboard.

[helen rees]

Our family music group as led the music on Palm Sunday for several years and as well as those hymns already suggested have used very successfully
Matt Redman - Once Again
TIm Hughes - Here I am to worhsip
Ron Kenolly? - Majesty
Lord Jesus Christ you have come to us
TAize Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdon

Our procession is elongated with a 10 minute walk so we added other praise him such as Rejoice in the Lord always so that people would not need hymn sheets while walking.

[Southern Comfort]

TIm Hughes - Here I am to worship

Very difficult to see what this song has to do with Palm Sunday.....

[Ian Coleman]

Why does the Palm Sunday liturgy require any instrumental accompaniment at all? Be bold - be 'a cappella!'

[JW]

Why does the Palm Sunday liturgy require any instrumental accompaniment at all? Be bold - be 'a cappella!'

Now that would need some unpacking! Briefly, even though the rubrics ask for no instrumental accompaniment after the Gloria on Mauday Thursday to the Gloria at the Easter Vigil, I doubt if many churches observe this. There just isn't the singing confidence or ability among many music ministers and congregations. Last All Saints Day, our organ was out of action and we had no other musicians, so I cantored a full sung Mass from the ambo - so it is possible. But there would be a revolt if I tried that every week without good reason (and it would be seen as freezing out our instrumentalists).

For example I had to cantor the psalm / gospel acclamation today because we only had 2 guitarists to accompany and most of our singers are not prepared to sing solo unless there is an instrument playing the actual melody. One of our best cantors remarked to me afterwards - "how did you do what you just did, when you couldn't hear the note?"

[VML]

Why does the Palm Sunday liturgy require any instrumental accompaniment at all? Be bold - be 'a cappella!'

Now that would need some unpacking! Briefly, even though the rubrics ask for no instrumental accompaniment after the Gloria on Mauday Thursday to the Gloria at the Easter Vigil, I doubt if many churches observe this. There just isn't the singing confidence or ability among many music ministers and congregations.

We did this for many years until our new guitar and worship music group joined in. Now they find it too difficult, and anyway, don't have time for practices.

I often think it would be good if church singers also sang in other situations and genres. My other genre is traditional folk song and I know there are some songs guaranteed to bring in a roomful of people to raise the roof in unaccompanied spontaneous harmony. A bit ironic that it is 'a cappella.'

[Ros Wood]

Tried it for the first time last year and it worked remarkably well. I did warn people before hand not to worry when the organ stopped playing.

[helen rees]

TIm Hughes - Here I am to worship

Very difficult to see what this song has to do with Palm Sunday.....

I think that the singers found inspiration after reading the Passion and the Second reading and thought the words particularly of the second verse were appropriate :

"King of all Kings Oh so highly exalted Glorious in heaven above.
Humbly you came to the earth you created. All for love's sake became poor."

"I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross"

"Here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down, Here I am to say that you're my God"

[John Ainslie]

Besides the tradition of doing without instruments for much of the Triduum, there is a lot to be said for doing without instruments from time to time. It prevents people thinking that because there are no instrumentalists around, they can't sing. On the contrary, saying to people (explicitly or implicitly) "it's up to you" can be a good way of facing them with their responsibility for liturgical music - and in my experience can produce some surprisingly good results.

There's also the fact that people will sing an Alleluia (chant or 'Celtic') and/or the Great Amen - and without any fuss - without thinking that this is the first inklings of a 'Sung Mass'. Add the chant 'Holy' and perhaps the eucharistic acclamation and you're away.

As for Palm Sunday, you need strong voices to lead the processional music anyhow.

[alan29]

Our music group closes for business during the school summer holidays. The congregation manage just fine, but then they sing their socks off normally anyway. And of course we are welcomed back with open arms.

[Southern Comfort]

TIm Hughes - Here I am to worship

Very difficult to see what this song has to do with Palm Sunday.....

I think that the singers found inspiration after reading the Passion and the Second reading and thought the words particularly of the second verse were appropriate :

"King of all Kings Oh so highly exalted Glorious in heaven above.
Humbly you came to the earth you created. All for love's sake became poor."

"I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross"

"Here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down, Here I am to say that you're my God"

Complete lyrics, as posted on the Plus One Lyrics website:

Light of the world, You step down into darkness.
Opened my eyes let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore you hope of a life spent with you.

[Chorus]
And here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.

King of all days,
Oh so highly exalted Glorious in heaven above.
Humbly you came to the earth you created.
All for love's sake became poor.

[Chorus]
Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.

I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
And I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
No I'll never know how much it cost to se my sin upon that cross.

[Chorus]
Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.
So Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,

Would respectfully suggest that this song is almost all about the individual who is singing, and their personal reaction to being redeemed. It's a general beginning.

Palm Sunday is about the bittersweet combination of "Hosanna!" and "Crucify him!" And the procession is all about the fact that the Jewish people thought their Messiah had arrived, palm branches (waved in honour of a King) laced with reminiscences of Psalm 24 (Open wide, you doors); it's about our entrance into the sacred time that is Holy Week. The personal self-abasement ("bow down") evident in the lyrics does not fit well with the standing and shouting and praising and waving palm branches in procession that is characteristic of Palm Sunday; and it is personal and not communal — try changing everything into the (1st person) plural to see the point.

Like hymns such as "My song is love unknown", a better place for this personal reflection would be after the Liturgy of the Word, not during the procession. (I thought we were discussing songs for the procession.) For the procession, choices that work unaccompanied include Chris Walker's "Sing Hosanna", Taizé Hosanna round, etc. They can all go on for 10 minutes quite easily while on the move.

[JW]

As well as those that SC mentions, there is the Psallite Hosanna, with verses. We've done it for the procession for the last 2 years with a couple of guitars and a strong cantor to sing the verses.

[High Peak]

We have a situation where the only musical resources for our main Palm Sunday Mass will be some guitars and a flute. It's been a pain to plan because most of the music for Palm Sunday is not really suited to these resources. So this is what we're using, it may help if anyone has the same issues:

Procession: Hosanna, Carl Tuttle (CHON 232) or Come to Jerusalem, Stephen Dean (L 231)
Psalm: From Mike Anderson's website
Gospel Accl: JW setting
Offertory: Unless a grain of wheat
Eucharistic Acclamations: New Celtic Liturgy, except 'Echo' Our Father
Communion: Were you there when they crucified my Lord (not last verse)
Recessional: Servant King.

Hello. I tried to give a response to this but it took much longer for my membership/login details to be confirmed than I expected. So, for future reference.....

I am part of a music group that has been going for about 16 months. Over that time our numbers have grown from two guitarists to anything up to three guitars, one mandolin, two flutes and six or seven singers; usually two of us share Psalmist/Cantor roles.

Although the make-up of our group lends itself more naturally to a "folk"-style of Mass (what ever happened to the 1980s?) we do try to employ as broad a range of musical styles as we are able; partly due to my own musical/liturgical tastes and partly because of the demographics of our parish.

Here is what we we did for the Palm Sunday Mass:

Procession: "All glory, laud and honour" (but only with flutes and including a harmony that I put together).
Psalm: Plainchant in style. Most Masses we set the Psalm to on of the 8 modes and I set the response to a tune. On Palm Sunday we sang without accompaniment but for most Masses I use a simple, single strum of a chord for the verses with a more rythmic strumming for the response. (Apologies for my poor description - I have no formal musical training and so musical nomenclature is largely a mystery to me!!)
Offertory: My song is love unknown - guitars plucked, not strummed.
Sanctus/Agnus Dei: During the penitential Seasons we tend to use Sanctus/Agnus Dei XVIII.
Post Communion: God of mercy and compassion.
Recessional: Servant King.

Any thoughts on this? I very much feel like I'm the blind leading the blind at times!!

With "traditional" hymns we often simplify the guitar part - there are usually far too many chord changes for those of us of modest ability to manage!!

[quaeritor]

Why does the Palm Sunday liturgy require any instrumental accompaniment at all? Be bold - be 'a cappella!'

We did the "purist" thing after the Gloria on Maundy Thursday - and I too warned the congregation that the fact that the organ did not "come in" for the Holy Holy etc did not mean that they were not expected to sing. They joined in very well. We used the "Missa pro Editione Tertia" to which I was introduced many moons ago on this forum which allows a flexible range of resources including A Capella, and is genuinely easy to sing, especially when the Gloria is not required. (To hear it, go to this link:

http://www.benesonarium.com/roman-missal/ )

I often think it would be good if church singers also sang in other situations and genres. My other genre is traditional folk song and I know there are some songs guaranteed to bring in a roomful of people to raise the roof in unaccompanied spontaneous harmony. A bit ironic that it is 'a cappella.'

Mine too VML! - maybe it's time we met! Most of my psalm settings have verses in three parts in a style not a million miles from that of the Young Tradition or Coope Boyes and Simpsaon, without so much fundamental bass in the chords to give a more chant-like feel. (Specimens available on request!)

Q