Vidi Aquam

[manniemain]

At the Easter vigil as well as on Easter day we sing a rather nice albeit ancient setting of Vidi Aquam by J. Smith that we've had for years. As I've not heard anyone else speak of it I wondered if anyone else uses this and is it still in print? Does anyone know anything about this composer? I presume (from his style) that he was a contemporary of Samuel Webbe (the older) and that he wasn't the J. Smith who composed for Walt Disney or the composer of the Star Spangled Banner. Are there any more of his pieces available? His music goes very nicely with SW's Haec Dies, Victimae and Regina Caeli and is of similar style.

[HallamPhil]

Thanks ... may be I'll consider this when we bless the new toilets in the Cathedral.

[docmattc]

Thanks ... may be I'll consider this when we bless the new toilets in the Cathedral.

Surely you want Marty Haugen's "Springs of Water" for toilet blessing: "Praise, all you ponds and bogs"

[musicus]

Welcome to the forum, HallamPhil.

[HallamPhil]

Thanks for the very appropriate suggestion Matt. I will contact the visually impaired singer who normally sings that verse immediately.

[Southern Comfort]

Surely you want Marty Haugen's "Springs of Water" for toilet blessing: "Praise, all you ponds and bogs"

...or Paul Inwood's "We shall flush water joyfully...."

[docmattc]

Going completely off topic (because clearly no-one here can help with the Smith Vidi Aquam), how about All Heaven Declares?
...Forever He will be the Lamb upon the throne...

[Benevenio]

Or there's Forth in the dawn light by Pamela Yale, with the lines:
“Go, work today, the flush of early morning
Brightens the east, and day is coming on;"



Back on topic: for the Easter Vigil, we use a setting of the Vidi Aquam from Plainsong for schools - not the usual setting, but an alternative, over the page, which sits nicely over a drone (organ pedal, clarinets and violins on bare fifths in various octaves).

[manniemain]

At the Easter vigil as well as on Easter day we sing a rather nice albeit ancient setting of Vidi Aquam by J. Smith that we've had for years. As I've not heard anyone else speak of it I wondered if anyone else uses this and is it still in print? Does anyone know anything about this composer? I presume (from his style) that he was a contemporary of Samuel Webbe (the older) and that he wasn't the J. Smith who composed for Walt Disney or the composer of the Star Spangled Banner. Are there any more of his pieces available? His music goes very nicely with SW's Haec Dies, Victimae and Regina Caeli and is of similar style.

Hmm - I've drawn a blank so far! If anyone does come across this setting, I recommend it. It's pure Victoriana but lovely for all that (nothing wrong with a great deal of Victoriana).

[nazard]

Several relations and parishioners have dumped their deceased ancestors' music collections on me, and my conclusions from sorting through it is that the Victorians produced just as much drivel as we do, it is just that the intervening hundred years or so has dumped most of it.

Nevertheless, they did some wonderful stuff. I am a fan of Stanford and Terry myself. Would it be possible to post it to the web? Perhaps Mr Bear would let us create a posthumous user for Mr Smith on the composers section?

[manniemain]

I would certainly be willing to post it on the site as long as we weren't infringing copyright or performing rights or whatever else they've invented to protect composers (and torment choir directors) I think I've got a Sibelius processed copy somewhere on the computer I made to replace the rather illegible original I have. Can I post this? What say you Mr. Bear?

I am a particular fan or Terry's "Veni Sancte Spiritus" mass. The punters in the pew are also quite fond. We only do the Kyrie and the Agnus Dei (and not in English) We also do the Kyrie (in English) from his Short Mass in C. I confess we do that one with guitars and drums and frankly it sounds like it was written that way, which is more than can be said of some that actually were !

[musicus]

If you are sure that it is now in the public domain, by all means upload it as an attachment to a post. PDF files are preferred. If you would rather, email your Sibelius file to me at editors@ssg.org.uk and put 'FAO Musicus' in the subject line, and I will process it.

[pirate]

Brazenly off topic here...

When we had the Bishop in to bless the new lift to the parish hall, the choir stood on the stairs all set to sing 'God goes up with trumpet loud'; however before the main business the PP diverted the Bishop into the refurbished loo-for-people-with-disabilities. I murmured that we should have prepared "Vidi Aquam'; an otherwise innocent-looking Franciscan friar we had with us at the time suggested 'Purge me, O God'....

The lift itself is one of those ones with a voice: 'First Floor!' etc, but I still think it should have been programmed to say 'The Lord be with you!' and 'Go in peace!' as the doors open and close.

[musicus]

If you are sure that it is now in the public domain, by all means upload it as an attachment to a post. PDF files are preferred. If you would rather, email your Sibelius file to me at editors@ssg.org.uk and put 'FAO Musicus' in the subject line, and I will process it.

I have the file now, and will post it (all being well) at the weekend.

[Benevenio]

…bless the new lift …refurbished loo-for-people-with-disabilities.

Presumably with a reading from Isaiah 6: "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up"…