I'm curious about the variety of music played in your church today.

What images did they evoke?

What types of faith / understanding of Easter did they share

The theme at church today was definitely "Hallelujah" with hymns like "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" and "Halle, Halle, Halle-lujah" and the anthem, which was "Christ is Risen! Allelujah!"

One of my favourites - "Joy Comes With The Dawn".

That would have been wonderful, Gecko.

I love when the choir sing Majesty

Hymns:   Jesus Christ is Risen Today

In the Bulb there is a flower

The Day of Resurrection

I Come with joy

Thine is the Glory

Anthem:  WCome Down, O Love Divine

      and   Laudate Dominum  (with solo parts)

Postlude:   A rousing rendition of the Halleluah Chorus

Outside at the lake, with hand drum accompaniment,  Halle, Halle, Halle

Inside-

recording of Jubilant Fanfare (McChesney) with hand bells

Jesus Christ is Risen Today

Halle, Halle, Halle (accompaniment - pill bottle shakers filled with coins for leprosy)

In the Bulb There is a Flower

The Spring Has Come

Hallelujah Chorus as we departed

Pinga,

I remember being told "we sing what we believe and we believe what we sing".

I am aware you can love a tune and skip a verse because of the lyrics. (We all know people are known to mumble through sentences)

My hope would be that if someone was asked they would say the image of the music matched the image of the prayers and sermon- that it was one of joy and love. I would hope that they said that what was beneath it was a belief that the ministry of Jesus and the Easter story message is that God's love cannot and does not ever die.

Thanks SG, did you select the music?  If not, it sure sounds like you had a good selection that covered various interests and did carry that joy through..well done.

Curious hearing from others on their music selection, as well, and also , how well the music matched the words spoken in community and listened to by community...

Pinga,

Be it a blessing or a curse, yes, I have to pick them when I am leading worship.

It seems to be common up here that the person preaching picks them. (at least in the pastoral charges I know about)

We had FANTASTIC  music on Easter Sunday!  Guests - The Toronto Brass Ensemble (about 15-18 high school aged youth), all our choirs, and our amazing organist.

Organ  prelude - All Glory Laud & Honour

Hymn - Jesus Christ is Risen Today (adult & youth choir processing in, Toronto Brass playing from the balcony at the back of the sanctuary)

sung Lords prayer (VU 959) - our usual

Hymn - Christ Is Alive

Anthem - younger children's choir - Gaudeamus Hodie - sung in two parts

Anthem - Easter Celebration! by Don Besig - this was youth & adult choir, plus organ and Toronto Brass! (now at the front of the sanctuary)  What a huge and joyful proclamation!  The original music just includes 2 trumpets - but the brass conductor did an arrangement for all instruments.  So amazing!

Offertory:  Rigaudon in F Major by Andre Campra - organ & brass

Closing Hymn - Thine is the Glory

Postlude - Rejoice the Lord is King

Hi, carolla, sounds fabulous.  Are these the lyrics? http://www.heartwindmusic.com/eaces.html

No, I don't think those are the lyrics pinga - the anthem was by nancy price and don besig.  I've been 'googling around' but can't find any of the lyrics posted for free anywhere. 

Responding to your comment on the other thread - at Easter I suppose I'm anticipating the 'old reliables' to be the feature of the service - and I must admit I focused more on the mood and celebration and fullness of the moment than on the specific lyrics.  That's not true every Sunday - often there are bits of some hymns that I don't/won't sing because of the language.  But the Easter music was joyful for me this year.

It seems you have a spirit of restlessness within you over recent times at your church.  I get that.  Seems you worked hard over many years to 'grow it' into more progressive directions, and now see a swing back the other direction, which must be disappointing.  Perhaps that spirit is readying you for a bigger change to come. 

In the meantime ... I offer you this (if I can get it to embed!!) from Margaret Rizza - I heard her music for the first time at the Table.d event last week - it was all instrumental, but so spiritual. 

Ooo ... success is mine!  I love it when that happens!

This isn't an "Easter piece" - but lovely, IMO.

lol, it's ok Carolla, it was actually my spouse who named the music, which is interesting.

I am trying to see what the patterns were in other churches, to see how they compared to ours, in part to be able to better judge my reaction to the music.  

I think if the brass band you are taling about had been there, or the tympanies of years gone by, i mightnot have noticed the words so much!

So true!  And we almost always have some special musical guests of this sort at Xmas & Easter - it does lend an air of greater celebration - hard to not respond with that swell of sound all around!

I also got an earful from a much older feminist who had returned for Easter, so figured I should get some input prior to going to have the coffee that I promised to have with her....to see what is norm in churches these days

I forgot to mention that we had a guest playing the trumpet with some of the hymns and anthems.

Hi Pinga,

In Waterford we sang:

This Is The Day VU #175

Christ Is Risen From The Dead VU #167

Thine Is The Glory VU #173

Go To The World VU #420

The choir also did a masterful job of presenting a mini cantata during which they sang:

Christ is Risen

Beautiful One

In Christ Alone

He is Exalted

Christ The Lord Is Risen Today (with the Congregation joining in)

The prelude was Easter Sunrise

The postlude was Jesus Christ is Risen Today.

Both the prelude and postlude were Organ/Piano Duets.

Hymns:
Jesus Christ is Risen TOday (VU155)

This is the Day that God has Made (MV122)

Now the Green Blade Rises (VU186)

I Danced in the Morning [Lord of the Dance] (VU352)

JR Choir Anthem was called    Come! Sing! Rejoice!

Sr Choir Anthem was called     The Everliving Song

Easter Sunrise:  Morning has Broken;  To Show by Touch and Word;  Main service:Prelude -- Partitat on "Christ is Alive"; Introut Easter Call to Worship by Ralph Grosvenor; Hymn: Christ the Lord is Risen Today; Hymn: Now the Green Blade Rises; Anthem: Sin Alleluia! He is Risen! by David Angerman; Hymn: Thine is the Glory;  Offertory: The Strife is O'er; Dedication: In Gratitude and Humble Trust; Anthem: O, Risen Lord by K. Lee Scott; Hymns:  This is the Feast of Victory and Sent Forth By God's Blessing; Commisisoning: Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah; Postlude: Grand Jeu by Louis Antoine Dorval.  I had trouble with the words in some of the hymns; The message was a bit political and pedagogical -- I outlined challenges in understanding the story; briefly summarized what I say as the mission for Jesus, How I saw my mssion including a comment about our theft of aboriginal land; and invited the members of the congregation to decide whaty they believe and how they see their mission in response to their experiences and their interpretation of the story.  One person in her twenties or thirties made a point of expressing her appreciation of the message.  My message is posted as a blog on WC.  You may have noticed we had a lot of music in our service, and I did not include the music played during communion.  Our music director, accompanist and choir provide superb music, even when I have trouble with some of the lyrics.  I would have liked Joy comes with the Dawn, but that has never been sung here.

Jim, I appreciate your feedback. Is music superb when it doesn't match the message?  I sometimes wonder about that....if the music is back in the 50's, then there can be  a discord and not a nice one.  (well, dependent on the message, shucks, i read some prayers from the 50's from a social gospel leader and was blown away by the power of the message)

Pinga,

Let's think about music for a minute.
 

Some people don't care about lyrics, they are bopping to the beat or relaxing into the sound... they love the sound of the instruments or a voice. They could care less what the words say.
 

Some people do care about lyrics. They can listen to a voice sing that is not that great when the lyrics speak to them. The insturments become background sound to the words.

Some people need both.
 

Some think music is just noise. Imagine that. The radio off in the car, even.

It takes all kinds.

I think that church is the same.

Now, I think when we actually open and hoestly dialogue about instruments, singing, the music selections, imagery in hymns, disconnect from what we say and what we sing... we can feed more people during worship (people from each group).
 

I am with you in that I do have trouble with Big Band music with a rap message. It feels like disconnected. Yet, I know that is me.

The connection in worship is being made for many people. For me, in picking say 5 hymns, it is about worship. That to me is about feeding many with the loaves we have.

We have young and old....music lovers, lyric lovers, non-music lovers (maybe the sermon is their thing or coffee time)... opera at opera types and rock opera types.

Diversity and what do you do with it?

Me? I cannot say I value it and then also say I wish it was not there.

Some pick what they like, some mix it up, some have separate worship services, some try to satisfy the majority....

Both ministers are feminist and one is a process feminist.  I say this because of the earlier comment re feminst.

Here is the music ruth Ducks Jesus Chrisst is Risen today; Run, Mary Run by Jospeph Martin anthem When we are living vu 581 MV 182  Vu 182 stay wutg  Joy comes 166 and mv 182 and ending with vu 586 we shall go out.

Just to had some trumpet and drums were there when needed.

Thanks Pan.

Now I have to get my more voices and voices united out.

At our church, the Easter repertoire rarely changes. Looking over the last 8 years the hymns sung are:

155 Jesus Christ is Risen Today (all 8 years)

166 Joy Comes With the Dawn (7 years)

158 Christ is Alive (4 years)

175 This is the Day That God Has Made (4 years)

173 Thine is the Glory (3 years, but in 3 other years sung a week later).

Does this tell us that we really don't have anything more (or new) to say about the resurrection, or at least nothing that we can sing about?  Or that we've come to expect some adherents to come only at Christmas and Easter and when then come at Easter, they expect to hear "Jesus Christ is Risen Today", so we have to oblige them? Just wondering if there is ever a place for variety at Easter.

On the other hand, I was surprised with the choice of the offertory music (which the congregation sings as the offering is brought forward) - a new one called "We Bring Our Gifts to Share" (and one written by myself, BTW). It was "in the lineup" (we switch offertory music every 6 weeks or so) but I was expecting something traditional for Easter and behold - it got moved up. Only one comment about it from the congregation, and that was from a musician, who liked it. So, little changes are sometimes possible. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to Earth Sunday on Apr 21, when I'll introduce another new hymn of mine called "The Earth is the Lord's".  Here's hoping the congregation isn't overwhelmed by a bit more new stuff.

Just looking at this now.....interesting stuff.  How many of you still have postludes and preludes?  I was suprised to see that this still happens.  Also, how many "parade" up the isle in some sort of fashion - choir, leaders etc...I thought that had died out years ago.

it has been reintroduced in our church recently.

postlude & prelude present

We often have a postlude, but a we have a pre-sing instead of a prelude (and no parade up the aisle).

The church I go to has both.  I love sitting in silence for both.  I preached this past sunday and they had both. Easter Sunday I represented Presbytery and they processed -thier anthe has trumpt and drums.  AS did the church my wife serves.

I should note...it is the procession that was reintroduced.

Postlude & prelude are always there and have been.

As Pan said, they allow for reflection / gathering time, as well as closing time.

Youth and guests soemtimes do the prelude, the postlude is almost always an organ piece

Most of the churches I've been in have preludes and postludes (even my UU fellowship). It's just music leading into and out of the service.

The processional is something I haven't seen in a while other than for special services. My church used to do a processional and recessional for most services back in the eighties, though.

Mendalla

I think the processional was dropped at our church wheen a few old knees had trouble climbing the steps to the choir loft while holding the hymn book and keeping in time.  Now they enter through a door to the side from the second floor choir room (which they can reach either by climbing a wide stairs with railings or by elevator).  

Occasionally for a special occasion many of the choir will enter by processional, to be joined by the others slipping through the door.  

This door also comes in handy for any choir member who slips in late or has to leave early.

Seeler said "...a few old knees had trouble climbing the steps".  Same here, and it couldn't happen soon enough - much too formal and stiff-necked for my tastes.The processionals are limited to special services, such as Palm Sunday (which after all, commemorates another processional).   The underlying purpose seems to me to proclaim the authority of the event, much like armed troups would parade into a town to announce their power and authority. That's not my theology - if the Word can't carry my allegiance, parades certainly will not.  Besides, the accompanying music ends up being restricted to martial-style ie marching (4/4) music. That tosses out any chance of any music in 3/4 time, anything syncopated (unless the choir likes dancing up the aisle, which I doubt with those old knees), anything fast or anything slow. With many churches already obsessively narrow about the music they choose, that's bound to be another reason to avoid the service altogether.

Depends how the processional is done.  It can be formal and regimented.  Or it can be celebratory, joyful, and a little bit chaotic

I have been reading this thread and fighting the temptation to join in with a memory of Easter services in my childhood.  I now give in.....................

The church I attended had a very old and inadequate organ, and to my young eyes, the organist was a good match. Year after year I struggled with a renditions of "Jesus Christ has risen today" played at the speed of a funeral dirge.  When I was about twelve some of us younger folk decided to try to speed things up - this hymn was sung joyfully at our school, which had a hymn and a prayer every morning.  So when the poor organist started to play we sang at a faster tempo - most of the congregation joined in - chaos followed. 

In retrospect it wasn't kind to the old organist who couldn't play any faster.  On the other hand she did have an opportunity that year to step down and let a wonderfully educated and talented 'new person'   play instead.  The new person was quickly snapped up by a neighoring church which led to them developing a fantastic music program.  We continued to sing all the hymns at a snail's pace!

Your post made me chuckle kay - we have a terrific organist/pianist, and it's quite evident when we have a replacement person at the keyboard - the congregation often goes galloping off at their usual pace for hymns, leaving the player to catch up, or struggles to slow to the pace of the music which is also tricky.  Style does vary, for sure. 

I have derailed this thread, I apologize. 

In our two churches, much discussion, visiting etc occurs as people come in and while sitting in the pews…the pretlude (if you want to call it that) is merely background noise, unless something is played that folks like to hum/sing along to.  So to me, it much like being in a bar, entertainment is there to be enjoyed or ignored.  Setting mood for service, if its classical being played bolt for door – kind of hard to have an upbeat service if this is the mood being set…saying that, it can be used for contrast.

We have a large lobby/foyer/narthex, and most of the people who want to visit before church do so there.  The prelude is a signal the choir is about to come in, so people quickly finish their coffee and come in, some of them at the same time as the choir.  Others go into the sanctuary and use the time quietly, sometimes beginning with lighting a candle in the candle garden.

aaah, good idea, coffee before in the narthex.  smart!