Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me

We are working on Christmas in Ward Choir. I pulled out our first piece of Christmas music in June! I have a Bishop who loves music, and that has been a dangerous thing for me - six pieces that the choir will learn, plus the congregation singing "What Child is This?" from Sallie DeFord, and an arrangement for choir and congregation of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" that I'm working on. I'm really looking forward to the program.

Ward choir is not just Christmas, though, and we are doing a WONDERFUL arrangement of "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me" by Linda Pratt. The link to her web site is on the sidebar. I chose it because I like the hymn, and not being too talented on the piano, the first time I heard it was at ward choir. Awful, I know!!! I was BLOWN AWAY by the chords in the piece, the way it develops. I looked at the choir and asked them if they heard that! And we sang it again, and there it was. I'm tempted to put an .mp3 file on my page, because she doesn't have that on her page, just so you know how great this piece is! It is beautiful! So gentle, so lilting, with chords to die for. The piano arrangement is beautiful just by itself, something I am NOT talented enough to do. So, my recommendation to you is to go to Linda Pratt's web site and download the sheet music - one of the best free pieces you could find!

I Often Go Walking

This is a Mother's Day arrangement of the Primary song. It is simple, with the choir singing parts on the second verse. The Piano plays right out of the Primary songbook - you can get copies of the Primary songbook songs online at www.lds.org. Click on "Serving in the Church", "Music".

Pioneer Children: A Medley

This is a light-hearted Pioneer piece, combining some of the pioneer songs from the Children's songbook. It doesn't teach much, but I like the way the songs meld together. Songs included are "Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked", "The Handcart Song", "Little Pioneer Children", and "Whenever I Think About Pioneers". It is two part the whole way through the piece, but for the last 2 measures.

The Lord is My Shepherd

This arrangement combines the standard arranging of the hymn with the Women's arrangement at the end of the hymnbook. The first verse is sung unison on the melody, or as a solo, A'Cappella, with the choir singing the second and third verse. I like the Soprano part, but this may be the only hymn in the hymnbook where the Sopranos do not sing the Melody! I thought it would be a nice surprise for everyone to hear the actual melody.

The Spirit of God

So, I'm using an arrangement of "The Spirit of God" by Vieve Thompson (link to her free music site is below). I'm planning on having the ward choir perform it the week after the Draper Temple Dedication, to help people to remember the dedication if they went, and just to bring the Spirit. I was struggling at first with the practices, feeling like the song was going to drag a bit, singing all the verses, that it would be too long. Well, last Sunday, I had the choir work on dynamic levels. I asked them to go soft at the beginning, as written, but not lose the energy, to punch every note, and be very crisp with every word. WOW! They started out, and they sounded like the MoTab would! I don't say that often, but it was wonderful! I always liked the arrangement, but now I love it! Props to Vieve Thompson! I love how the men are singing Hosanah under the women's melody! Beautiful! So, for anyone looking for a good piece, check out Vieve Thompson, and "The Spirit of God"! It has everything I only dream about being able to do!

Downloads

Well, my vanity was saved a bit when I looked at the site where I store the files for downloading, and saw that someone actually is finding the site, and finding the music worthy enough to at least download and look at! Thanks for considering me! I'm glad if I can help out other ward choir directors like myself!

This sounds SO CONCEITED, but if you have a hymn that you love, and have ideas on how it could be sung by a choir, but want help getting it in a "publish"-able format, I'd love to help! Or just to have your ideas on what could be done. I love working with music, and I just lack passion about the hymns I haven't yet messed with. I'm currently working on "Hope of Israel", because it was referenced in Stake Conference this past weekend. :)

Let me know if you have used one of my pieces. I really just want to know that I am being of service to SOMEONE! :) And, especially let me know if you practiced a piece, and changed something in it - I like feedback, and may choose to change the piece permanently!

REVISED - Christ the Lord is Risen Today

So, I ran it by people I trust, and got some good feedback. I've changed the piano to organ, and simplified the sheet music by having the organ follow the same line as the congregation (especially since the congregation won't have the music, they'll sing out of the hymnbook). Hope you enjoy!