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Curtis
Mar-07-2008, 9:38am
Anyone have suggestions for a Protestant church service for Mandolin and Guitar? It could also be Violin and Guitar obviously.

Doesn't need to be published arrangements as I can take a tune and arrange it for mando/guitar rather easily.

Doing Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring this Sunday for instance (wanted to do it for Xmas Eve but Guitarist was out of town--I know not the most Lenten of songs but wacha gonna do?).

Thanks.

JEStanek
Mar-07-2008, 9:59am
If you can work from a midi file (or have access to some hymnals) you could use oremus.org (http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/1892.html) as a resource. #I've linked to the 1982 Episcopal hymnal (it's what I use and has sections for liturgical seasons including Lent). #I like the tune Forty Days and Forty Nights. #I've written it out in tab (on paper) from the hymnal notation). #Most of these tunes can be pretty easy and ornamented (not too much... it is lent!). #I found this on a fast google... You could look form more hymnals on line to see if any have music on line too...

Ormeus also has this page (http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/yeara.html) you can scroll through that has suggested hymns for each week that tie into the lectionary readings. #This could be a good jump off page as it links to the hymns and midi's so you can hear what the tune is like.

Jamie

Curtis
Mar-07-2008, 12:44pm
Well luckily, I'm a music director at church (organist/choir director) so I have a ton of hymnals as reference. I'm looking for something a little less hymny though. I have a feeling some Bach Chorale Preludes (Wachet Auf) or Cantatas would work well but was wondering if anyone else had other ideas or even has done it themselves.

I have the arrangement for Jesu as a Finale file if anyone's interested.

allenhopkins
Mar-10-2008, 3:19pm
There are a lot of non-hymn tunes that would sound very nice as preludes/postludes. #I don't know how heavily classical you want to go, but here are some more "folkie" tunes I've used from time to time:

The Ash Grove
Greensleeves
Edelweiss (really!)
Song To Canada (Ian & Sylvia)
Rock Of Ages (not the Luther hymn, the Chanukah song)
Beautiful Dreamer
Aura Lea (I think this has been hymnified, called Christ Is Mine or some such, as well as becoming Love Me Tender)
Several O'Carolan tunes, such as Planxty Fannie Power, Sheebeg Sheemore (sp?), Planxty George Brabizon, O'Carolan's Quarrel

Just some thoughts.

craig.collas
Mar-10-2008, 3:38pm
Hi Curtis
I have done some cross picking on cord charts. The band has a couple of acc guitars drums & bass. But if you were looking for an item to do how about 'the little mountain church where my faith first found its home' it is on 'Will the Circle be Unbroken 2' (Ricky Scaggs I think). There are also some really good, gospel songs on cd. Great to hear about your music program and the inclusion of the mando.
Grace and Peace
Craig+

mrmando
Mar-10-2008, 4:20pm
I posted this (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=25;t=46778;st=49) a while back; it should be easy to add guitar accompaniment. One of those hymn tunes that became a folk song and then was changed back into a hymn.

Curtis
Mar-11-2008, 12:13pm
Wow. . . Mrmando that looks nice and will take quite a bit of practice. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif Is it the same tune as the Tallis I heard the voice of Jesus say? Just wondering.

The Ash Grove and those other Welshy 3/4 hymns are all good ideas. I hadn't thought of them. I'll try to get a decent arrangement together so it doesn't just sound like me playing a hymn with guitar strumming.

BTW, the guitarist is classically trained fwiw. I had Baroque stuff stuck in my head but some of you had ideas outside of that and it gave me some other options.

Jim Abrams
Mar-11-2008, 2:03pm
Just the other day I picked up a copy of a Mel Bay edition entitled Old English Hymns for Violin Solo. #The book features fourteen well known English hymns for violin solo with piano accompaniment. #The package comes with a CD that features the hymns on varying configurations of flute, recorder, violin, classical guitar, dulicmer, cello, and accordion.

The settings were transcribed by Linda M. Ellis Cummings. #They're not difficult and therefore make useful practice pieces as well as very nice performance pieces, especially with piano accompaniment. #And since the hymns are transcibed for violin in this edition, they are, of course, perfectly suited to mandolin. #Highly recommended.

Jim

PatrickH
Mar-11-2008, 11:00pm
I have performed a variety of seasonal and common time hymns and sacred music at my church both as a duet with my friend on the guitar or solo mandolin.

Christmas carols, hymns, etc all work very well. A simple melody like "It is Well" or "Great is Thy Faithfullness" can be beautiful. The sound of a simple melody against a moving guitar chordal arrangement can sound amazing.

Recently I performed "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" as a duo-style solo piece and it worked very well.

mrmando
Mar-11-2008, 11:50pm
Wow. . . Mrmando that looks nice and will take quite a bit of practice. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif Is it the same tune as the Tallis I heard the voice of Jesus say? Just wondering.
Hm. Well, I'm not aware of a setting of that lyric by Tallis. I thought Vaughan Williams was the one who set it to this tune. It is an old tune that might go as far back as Tallis; it's conceivable that he could have done something with it. Vaughan Williams also wrote a set of variations on this tune, like his more famous set of variations on a theme by Tallis.

Curtis
Mar-12-2008, 10:37am
Just the other day I picked up a copy of a Mel Bay edition entitled Old English Hymns for Violin Solo. The book features fourteen well known English hymns for violin solo with piano accompaniment. The package comes with a CD that features the hymns on varying configurations of flute, recorder, violin, classical guitar, dulicmer, cello, and accordion.

The settings were transcribed by Linda M. Ellis Cummings. They're not difficult and therefore make useful practice pieces as well as very nice performance pieces, especially with piano accompaniment. And since the hymns are transcibed for violin in this edition, they are, of course, perfectly suited to mandolin. Highly recommended.

Jim
Excellent. Thanks I'll check this out.

Curtis
Mar-12-2008, 10:39am
Wow. . . Mrmando that looks nice and will take quite a bit of practice. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif Is it the same tune as the Tallis I heard the voice of Jesus say? Just wondering.
Hm. Well, I'm not aware of a setting of that lyric by Tallis. I thought Vaughan Williams was the one who set it to this tune. It is an old tune that might go as far back as Tallis; it's conceivable that he could have done something with it. Vaughan Williams also wrote a set of variations on this tune, like his more famous set of variations on a theme by Tallis.
That's the tune I'm speaking of. Called Song 1 or Tune 3 or something in most hymnals I believe. From what I remember it is attributed to Tallis. Variations on a Theme of Thomas Tallis which featured prominently into Master and Commander is probably the Vaughn Williams you're thinking of. I love that piece.

Ted Eschliman
Mar-12-2008, 2:59pm
I had fun playing this with my daughter last summer: Ode to Joy (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=15663041).