Wednesday, October 14, 2009

New Setting of This is the Feast


New setting for "This is the Feast" from Alleluia! -- a brand new setting for the communion mass, performed by The Braeded Chord.

Alleluia! is filled with memorable melodies and beautiful instrumentation set to upbeat rhythms. While it is fully scored for acoustic instruments-- piano, guitar, flute, and violin, it easily translates to contemporary instruments like drum, bass, and electric guitar (lead sheets available), as this recording demonstrates. Alleluia! bridges the gap between ancient tradition and modern worship.

While I appreciate its upbeat tempo, I'd like to hear the whole service. Also, it strikes me that with the writing duo's natural harmonies, something might be lost in trying to sing this in unison. Since I haven't seen the lead, I don't know how well this is compensated for, but I try to eschew service music that can only be performed by skilled singers / harmonists.

(Nothing wrong with uber-complicated introits, sequences, offertories, etc., but I think the modern church music trend runs the danger of the Medieval & baroque choral tradition of taking singing away from the people through needless complexity.)

(I'm also unrepentantly satisfied with the two - count'em, TWO - settings of this hymn already in the 1982 Hymnal /1979 LBW.)

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