Hymn Blog - May 9, 2010

May 9, 2010 – Easter VI

VU 415 – God, We Praise You for the Morning. This is a lovely opening hymn with tune by Jim Strathdee and text by Jim and Jean Strathdee. The Strathdees live in Southern California and have contributed greatly to Christian hymnody over many years. The Strathdees are performing in concert at Leaside United Church on Tuesday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m.

MV 149 – Peace for the Children. The text for our childrens’ hymn is by Doreen Lankshear-Smith of Thunder Bay, and the music by David Abramsky, originally from Toronto.

VU 187 – The Spring Has Come. This springtime hymn was written by Shirley Murray in August 1990, springtime in her native New Zealand. Murray’s beautiful and theologically rich texts appear frequently in Voices United (12 texts) and More Voices (6 texts). Murray’s frequent collaborator, Colin Graham wrote the lovely syncopated tune VERVACITY for this text. He was born in Dunedin, the south island of New Zealand. He has been writing hymn texts and hymn settings for over 20 years. His works have been published and performed in Africa, Canada, the United States, Asia and Australasia, Great Britain and Europe.

VU 204 – Come, Holy Spirit. Our prayer response is a traditional text sung to a setting from the Iona Community.

VU 586 – We Shall Go Out with Hope of Resurrection. Author June Boyce-Tillman is Professor of Applied Music at King Alfred's College, Winchester, England. She has a particular interest in Music and Theology including Religious Education and regularly writes and leads workshops linking these areas together.  She has written and spoken on women's role in church music and music in general, encouraging the promotion of music by women and holding workshops for women on composing.  Her research is into the medieval abbess, Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - 1179) and she is founder of the Hildegard Network, which stretches over three continents and is concerned with bringing together the areas of healing, the arts and theology. The arrangement of the traditional Irish tune, LONDONDERRY AIR, is by John Barnard, who is active in church music as composer, arranger, choir director and organist in north-west London, England.