APRIL 2020
MUSIC COLLECTIONS
Of Womb and Tomb. Edited by Kate Williams. GIA Publications. Book G-9816, $18.95; CD- 1061, $16.95; Octavo bundle G-9816B, $54.
Here is a valuable resource of prayer and music for those in time of infertility, miscarriage and
stillbirth. Parish leaders will find a wide selection of stories, prayers, songs, and orders of service to help lead families through what is often unspoken and unseen suffering and grief. A helpful “how to use this book” introduction gives wise counsel to those accompanying each woman and family in their unique journey. Five poignant, personal stories help to illumine the wide range of feelings that come with loss, and the hope that can emerge with time. Te music on the CD has been previously published and recorded by GIA in other locations, but having these songs of consolation together will be useful in many ministerial contexts. Composers include Tony Alonso, Liam Lawton, Chris de Silva and John Bell.
Deep Peace: Songs, Litanies and Anthems. Barbara Bridge. OCP. Octavo packet 30141832, $23.10; CD 30141833, $17.
Tis collection brings together music of quiet contemplation and challenge, with
easily singable melodies and depth of harmony and text. Te litanies are particularly strong, and easy to implement in a parish or school of any size. “Litany of Peace” utilizes the prayer text attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, and has the assembly repeat “Make me an instrument of your peace.” “Litany
for the Earth” adapts its text from Pope Francis in the encyclical Laudato Si– with the assembly singing “Heal our common home!” Other songs in the collection are simple Taizé-like refrains with verses for cantor; others are more advanced choral pieces. Useful in a variety of settings.
Come, Praise the Lord: A Collection of James Quinn Hymns. Music by Paul Inwood. OCP 3014927, $20.
Tis small collection presents twenty-seven settings of Quinn texts, many written but unpublished in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Inwood’s
harmonic language is fresh and interesting, and complements the concise and uncomplicated vocabulary of the texts. Highlights for this reviewer are: “I Will Tank the Lord in Joy and Sorrow,” a lively tune that could serve young singers especially well; “Lord God, You Made Us for Yourself,” a newly composed tune whose text is based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola; “May Flights of Angels Lead You,” a setting of the In Paradisum; “Where True Love Is Dwelling,” a setting of the Ubi Caritas; and “O Praise, My Soul, the Lord,” a setting of the Magnificat. It is a collection well worth exploring.
Heinrich Schütz: Tirty-Two Psalms from the Becker Psalter. Selected and edited by Alice Parker. GIA G-9799, $9.95.
As Alice Parker writes in the preface, these psalm settings “epitomize hymn singing in the 17th century, as Bach did in
the 18th.” With fluid modal harmony and changing meters, they present a welcome variation from the four-square I-IV-V-I patterns with which we are
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