New Year … New Music

Cradley Heath Salvation Army Band will meet on Tuesday 19 January 2010 at 7:15pm for its first rehearsal of the New Year.  Bandmaster Rob Westwood-Payne has spent the past few weeks sourcing new music for the new year:

March: He Keeps Me Singing

This march by Robert Snelsdon is based on the words of Luther B Bridgers who wrote:

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.

These joyous words were penned by the author after a great personal tragedy. He was a Methodist minister and evangelist, and received word that his wife and children were killed in a fire, whilst he was away conducting revival meetings. Despite this terrible loss he wrote the uplifting song of which the above words formed the chorus, and the song has been an inspiration to many in the following years.

The energetic style of the march reflects the energy in the words of the song.

Spiritual – Standin’ in the need of prayer

This is a short arrangement of the traditional spiritual, by Shawn Okpebholo.  It begins in a reflective mood, showing the intimacy of prayer with God, and then abruptly switches to an upbeat, swing style.  This reflects the joy we feel in anticipation of answered prayer.  The composer has also weaved into the music the chorus Sweet hour of prayer.

Find us faithful

This clever arrangement of John Mohr’s song by Dorothy Gates deliberately nods to Respighi’s Pines of Rome.  The song Find us faithful beautifully depicts the journey of faith, and the words align themselves perfectly with the vision of a musical journey or pilgrimage:

We’re pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who’ve gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who’ve gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness
Passed on through godly lives

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we’ve left behind
May the clues that they discover
And the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them
To the road we each must find
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

We are faithless creatures, yet we asked by God to be faithful. The difficulty we have with this is depicted by dissonance in places. There are hints at the tune Pilgrims along the way, to which we sing:

Jesus shall conquer, lift up the strain!
Evil shall perish and righteousness shall reign.

The piece gradually builds to a full, sonorous and controlled fortissimo showing that whilst the journey may sometimes be difficult and we may bear the scars of battle, ultimately our journey culminates in hope and triumph.

Dance like David

This piece by Andrew Mackereth has become an instant hit with many Salvation Army bands.  It was written for the School of Performing Arts of the Netherlands Territory of the Salvation Army.  Andrew comments that because the music camp was as much about singing, dancing and praising as it was about brass playing, the lyrics to Dance like David provided a perfect stimulus.  Also, because it was for a School of Performing Arts, Andrew included obvious references to the theme from the film Fame, which was set in the New York School of Performing Arts!

When the Spirit of the Lord is within my heart,
I will dance as David danced.

We saw love

This piece is a setting by Songster Leader Ian Feltwell of the Nuneaton Salvation Army church of the song, We saw love, although it also incorporates the prayer chorus, O how I love Him.  It talks of the great love that God showed when he gave his Son to die for us and because of that act of love we, as Christians, love him too:

We saw love, when he rode the gentle colt through cheering crowds;
When He came as ‘Prince of Peace’ to humbly serve,
We saw love, We saw love.

We saw love in the face of God’s own Son,
In the mighty ‘Humble One’ we saw love.
Suff’ring shame, the ‘King of Glory’ came,
And when He took the blame, we saw love.

We saw love, when He wore the ‘crown of thorns’ upon the cross;
When He said, “In paradise this day you’ll live”,
We saw love, We saw love.

Song arrangement – Psalm 91

This piece by Stuart Watson is a musical meditation on the words of Psalm 91.  In this ancient text, the psalmist testifies that, even though circumstances may feel threatening, creation is essentially a safe place to be because God rescues and protects those who love and trust him:

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the Lord, who is my refuge—

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

(New International Version)

Round-up

Round-up is a fun piece by Martin Cordner – a bright, fun arrangement of I will call upon the Lord in a style often associated with “Westerns”.  There is reference to the TV series Bonanza and a motif from the film The Big Country!  Once the band gets the rhythms sorted out, we’re going to have a great time with this piece!

Christ is alive!

Was written by Charles Craig in the form of a suite:

I. Crucifixion.  Behold! behold the Lamb of God.
II. Second day. Lord, make Calvary real to me.
III. Resurrection. Christ is alive! Let Christians sing.

We really look forward to rehearsing this music, and hope you can come and hear us play it soon!