Posted on 08/19/2013 10:32:53 AM PDT by matthewrobertolson
Here are 8 great Christian songs. (The links lead to the corresponding audio via YouTube.)
Read "8 Great Christian Songs"
(Excerpt) Read more at ignitumtoday.com ...
They’re not called “hymns” anymore?
Hymns are passe, unfortunately. And if you aren’t Catholic you probably won’t recognize most of the list.
Or you could just post links to the videos here, instead of sending traffic to your blog.
A powerful old hymn that few Roman Catholics will have ever heard and most certainly not in church!
``A Mighty Fortress is Our God’’
by Dr. Martin Luther, 1483-1546
Version of Frederick H. Hedge
Text From:
THE METHODIST HYMNAL
(Nashville, TN: The Methodist Book Concern, 1939), Hymn 67.
1. A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing;
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On Earth is not his equal.
2. Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing;
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
3. And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us;
The Prince of Darkness grim —
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure,
On little word shall fell him.
4. That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth.
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Though Him who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom us forever.
A good one here too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMVkKA6xFe0
A good one here too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMVkKA6xFe0
These “hymns” sound flat compared to Pentecostal southern gospel singing. To liven up things a bit, here’s one by the Speer Family: “I never shall forget the day.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek5s8VcpT1E
You don’t want to miss Sue Dodge, the big gal in the white dress, singing her part about half way through the video!
Nothing tops Ave Maria
This is Schubert, I would rather hear Gounod any day.
Here are 8 great Christian songs. (The links lead to the corresponding audio via YouTube.)
1. Hail, Holy Queen. This is, by far, my favorite hymn. Hearing it during the closing procession at the evening Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption this past week was one of the highlights of that day. And I’m not the only one that shares such a high enthusiasm for it – after all, who could forget the famous Sister Act version?
2. Panis Angelicus. It was written by St. Thomas Aquinas as part of Sacris Solemniis, and it is one of my all-time favorite songs – out of every genre. If it were up to me, singing it would be mandatory around the Eucharist at every Mass. The polished version from Luciano Pavarotti is the best.
3. Turn Around. I’m not a big Matt Maher fan, which is probably due to my unsatisfying Protestant upbringing and, stemming from that, my general distaste for anything affiliated with the charismatic movement. Despite this, the song contains a good message on God’s grace, and I can be occasionally caught humming it.
4. Dies Irae. Considering its prominence in the traditional Requiem Mass, this chant about Judgment Day is hardly uplifting, but it maintains a sense of the sacred that I find lacking in most other songs.
5. The Litany of the Saints. I never hesitate to give credit to this prayer when discussing my conversion to Catholicism. This particular rendition from the 2005 papal conclave always fills me with awe.
6. Te Deum. It has traditionally been ascribed to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine (two of my favorite saints!), and it is simply great. I was first introduced to it by an Anglican, surprisingly enough. The lyrics are not especially profound, but they provide a captivating reflection on the grandness of God.
7. Miserere. This Latin classic is based on Psalm 51 (Greek: 50), which enshrines contrition.
8. The Paraklesis. It consists of a series of odes to Mary, the Theotokos (Mother of God). This version from the Greek Orthodox is beautiful. (An English translation is available in the video’s description.)
Actually, I have sung this song in church. I am a Catholic and we do sing it although not often. I was aware also that it was by Luther.
In earlier times, it would have been considered a “Protestant” hymn and not used in a Catholic Church. Happily such is no longer true.
There's a place for Southern Gospel (I have sung Sacred Harp for years). Just not at Mass.
Our choir sang at an ecumenical prayer service once, at the local Greek Orthodox cathedral. The "Greek Pope" (the Patriarch of Constantinople) was there, with a number of Greek priests in attendance. So was a classic Pentecostal choir . . . to say that the visitors were completely nonplussed and confused by their performance is an understatement. It was completely outside their experience.
Our choirmaster, on the other hand, was careful to select works that would be on some level familiar to our visitors. Wound up singing Gregorian chant paired with Palestrina and Victoria motets derived from those chants. They loved it - one of our priests said that the Patriarch had tears in his eyes.
My point is that there is a universal Christian idiom in music. We share it with the Orthodox (Russian and Greek) as well as most Protestants. Southern Gospel is an outlier (so are Sacred Harp, West Gallery music, "cowboy church" and Christian Rock). They are local, not universal. NOT that there's anything wrong with that.
You want something lively, I recommend the English Renaissance, they do lively and reverent simultaneously:
or this . . .
A hymn is a particular type of vocal music, not part of the ordinary or propers for the day. But none of these appear to be those (except possible the "Dies Irae"). So I would still call them hymns (especially the ones that are part of the Office, which is where hymns started. E.g. "Salve Regina" or "Hail Holy Queen".)
Salve Regina by the great master, Palestrina. Since this is a polyphonic setting, it's technically a "motet".
My favorites, in more or less chronological order:
. . . but you can truly say, "We got a million of 'em." Any composer worth his salt has tried his hand at this.
Hey, we periodically sneak Luther in. We’ve been known to sing “Ein feste Burg” and “Von Himmel Hoch”. . . after all, both are paraphrases from Scripture.
THANK YOU!!
AT LEAST a million.
From what I read many of the 17th-19th century composers were Catholic and they ALL did an "Ave Maria."
Can there be too many songs for the Mother of God?
I don't think so.
You linked to a beautiful version of César Franck’s 1872 composition, “Panis Angelicus.”
And that doesn't count all the settings of the Magnificat, the Four Marian Antiphons, and Masses based on all of them.
Can't be enough of them for the Blessed Virgin. Fortunately in Eternity we will have plenty of time to run them ALL.
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