Hymns #18 and #19

Here are two more hymn rewrites that I did this summer. They are part of a project called ‘Pentecost Songs’, produced by Cardiphonia. The 23 songs on this compilation are really incredible, and you can download the whole thing for free here.

 

 

 

Breathe on Me

(listen | chart)

1 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.

2 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until my will is one with thine,
to do and to endure.

3 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
till I am wholly thine,
until this earthly part of me
glows with thy fire divine.

4 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life
of thine eternity.

Great Comforter, Descend

(listen | chart)

Why should the children of a King
Go mourning all their days?
Great Comforter! descend and bring
Some tokens of thy grace.

Refrain:
Great Comforter, descend! and bring
Some tokens of thy grace

Dost thou not dwell in all the saints,
And seal the heirs of heav’n?
When wilt thou banish my complaints,
And show my sins forgiv’n?

Assure my conscience of her part
In the Redeemer’s blood
And bear thy witness with my heart,
That I am born of God.

Thou art the earnest of his love,
The pledge of joys to come;
And thy soft wings, celestial Dove,
Will safe convey me home.

Two new songs, coming soon…

First off, if you are checking out this blog on a regular basis, thanks for hanging in there for what has become quite a dry spell.  When I started this project, my intention was to do a hymn rewrite each week for a year.  It has ended up being every 2-3 weeks, at best.   Still, I have been more productive than I would otherwise have been, so I’m not too worried about it.  The good news is, I will be posting two new songs next week.  They’re part of another collaborative project by Bruce Benedict, in the same vein as Hymns of Faith and Songs for Lent.  Should be a really great collection of songs.  Stay tuned for a release early next week.

Hymn #17: Crown Him with Many Crowns

We did this version of Crown Him with Many Crowns as a prelude on Easter at Hope Chapel.  We had a string ensemble live, which gave it a bit of a different feel, but I substituted some extra guitars, piano, and about 10 vocal tracks.  Hope you enjoy.

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Crown Him with Many Crowns

(listen | chart)

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him Who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of love! Behold HIs hands and side–
Rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou hast died for me:
Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of life! Who triumphed o’er the grave,
Who rose victorious in the strife For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of heaven! One with the Father known,
One with the Spirit through Him given from yonder glorious throne.
To Thee be endless praise, for Thou for us hast died.
Be Thou, O Lord, through endless days adored and magnified!

Hymn #16

Here’s a hymn from Hope Chapel’s first record, released last year, called What Spoils from Death He Won.  You can download the 6 song collection for free here: https://noisetrade.com/hopechapel#.

Words were written by James Allen in 1831. Additional words and new music was written by Ryan Bowles, Charlie Swing, Todd Van Patter and me.  Musician credits are: Patrick Collins, drums; Charlie Swing, electric guitar; Hannah Van Patter, BGVs; Michael Van Patter, guitar, bass, keyboard, vocals.

Glory to God (worthy is the lamb)

listen | chord chart

Glory to God on high! Let heav’n and earth reply, Praise his name!
His love and grace adore, Who all our sorrows bore, Praise his name!
Sing aloud evermore: Worthy the Lamb!
Sing aloud evermore: Worthy the Lamb!
Jesus, our Lord and God, bore sin’s tremendous load, Praise his name!
Tell what his arm has done, what spoils from death he won, Praise his name!
Let all the hosts above join in one song of love, Praise his name!
To him ascribed be Honor and majesty, Praise his name!

Songs for Lent (and hymn #15)

I’m proud to have contributed a song to a new compilation of hymns for the season of Lent.  The whole thing was put together by Brian T. Murphy (producer of several Red Mountain Music records) and is a really moving collection of songs.  The songs follow the Stations of the Cross, which trace the final hours of Christ’s life, from his being condemned to being laid in the tomb.  I wrote music for a text about Station 13, ‘Jesus’ body is taken down from the cross’.

Download the full Songs for Lent for free here: https://www.noisetrade.com/newyorkhymns

Hymn #14: Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners

Here’s a favorite text of mine with a fresh melody.  Hope you like it.  It’s all “first takes”, so this is not a perfect recording by any means.  In fact, expect more of that in months to come.  I’ve got tunes written, but haven’t been finding the time to do good recording work.  So to keep them a little more frequent, I’m going to shift to doing more “demo” quality arrangements.  Maybe at some point I’ll go back and re-record some favorites.

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Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners

(listen | chart)

1. Jesus! what a friend for sinners!
Jesus! lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

2. Jesus! wwhat a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him;
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my strength, my vict’ry wins.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

3. Jesus! what a help in sorrow!
While the billows o’er me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my comfort, helps my soul.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Hymn #13: There Is a Safe and Secret Place

This is another text by Henry Francis Lyte.  You can read more about Lyte from my earlier post of “Praise My Soul The King of Heaven”.  He also wrote “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken”, which you may know.  I kept this arrangement very simple– it seemed to fit the text, which is all about a place of refuge and rest.  My favorite line may be in the third stanza: “O child of God, O glory’s heir, how rich a lot is thine.”

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There Is a Safe and Secret Place

(listen | lead sheet)

1 There is a safe and secret place,
Beneath the wings Divine,
Reserved for all the heirs of grace;
O be that refuge mine!

2 The least and feeblest there may bide,
Uninjured and unawed;
While thousands fall on every side
He rests secure in God.

3 He feeds in pastures, large and fair,
Of love and truth Divine;
O child of God, O glory’s heir,
How rich a lot is thine.

4 A hand almighty to defend,
An ear for every call,
An honored life, a peaceful end,
And heaven to crown it all!

Hymn #12: When Christ’s Appearing Was Made Known

Thanks to Bruce over at Cardiphonia (a fantastic site/blog for all things liturgical) for introducing me to this hymn text…

When Christ’s Appearing Was Made Known
Words: Caelius Sedulius (5th Century)  
Translation: John Mason Neale (1818-1877)

(listen | lead sheet)

When Christ’s appearing was made known,
King Herod trembled for his throne;
But He Who offers heavenly birth
Sought not the kingdom of this earth.

The eastern sages saw from far
And followed on His guiding star;
By light their way to Light they trod,
And by their gifts confessed their God.

Within the Jordan’s sacred flood
The heavenly Lamb in meekness stood,
That He, to Whom no sin was known,
Might cleanse His people from their own.

And O what miracle divine,
When water reddened into wine!
He spake the word, and forth it flowed
In streams that nature ne’er bestowed.

All glory, Jesus, be to Thee
For this Thy glad epiphany:
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.

a few Christmas tunes

I have been inconsistent this month in keeping up with the weekly hymn writes.  December has been busy for us (and probably for you too) and I’ve had little time to write/record.  Today I continue that trend by offering you a version of “Lo How a Rose ‘Ere Blooming” that a did a couple of years ago.  I’m also linking to a couple of short video clips from Hope Chapel’s worship service yesterday.  I spent much of last week writing arrangements for these songs and we had a great time with some extra instruments (violins, flute, bells, acoustic bass….).  Hope you enjoy.

And I am looking forward to working on some new tunes in the new year.

Lo, How a Rose Ere Blooming

Angels We Have Heard On High (video clip from worship service at Hope Chapel Greensboro on December 19, 2010)

What Child Is This? (another video clip)

Hymn #11: Savior of the Nations, Come

Here’s some info about this hymn from hymnary.org:

As attested by Augustine in 372, as well as by other early writers, Ambrose wrote this hymn in Latin (“Veni, Redemptor gentium”) in the fourth century. The text appears in a number of eighth- and ninth-century manuscripts. Martin Luther (b. Eisleben, Saxony, Germany, 1483; d. Eisleben, 1546) translated this text into German in 1523 and included it in the Erfurt Enchiridia (1524). Consequently “Savior of the Nations” has become possibly the best known of the Lutheran Advent hymns. Various English translations are found in modern hymnals, many of which use, at least in part, William M. Reynolds’s translation from his Hymns, Original and Selected (1851).

Ambrose (b. Treves, Germany, 340; d. Milan, Italy, 397), one of the great Latin church fathers, is remembered best for his preaching, his struggle against the Arian heresy, and his introduction of metrical and antiphonal singing into the Western church. Ambrose was trained in legal studies and distinguished himself in a civic career, becoming a consul in Northern Italy. When the bishop of Milan, an Arian, died in 374, the people demanded that Ambrose, who was not ordained or even baptized, become the bishop. He was promptly baptized and ordained, and he remained bishop of Milan until his death. Ambrose successfully resisted the Arian heresy and the attempts of the Roman emperors to dominate the church. His most famous convert and disciple was Augustine. Of the many hymns sometimes attributed to Ambrose, only a handful is thought to be authentic.

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Savior of the Nations, Come

(listen | chart)

Savior of the nations, come;
Virgin’s son, make here your home.
Marvel now, O heav’n and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human power or seed
Did the woman’s womb conceive,
Only by the   Spirit’s breath
Was the Word of God made flesh.

From the Father forth He came
Soon returning to the same.
Captive leading death and hell;
Let the song of triumph swell!

Christ laid down his majesty,
Passed through dark Gethsemane;
Though he left his Father’s home,
Christ now sits on God’s own throne.

Praise to God the Father sing,
Praise to God the Son, our King,
Praise to God the Spirit be
Ever and eternally.