WLP 2018 NPM Showcase link
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,085
    WLP didn't provide a video of the actual showcase. Instead it has a page where you can listen to each song that was presented and also view sample scores:
    https://voicesasone.com/npm2018/

    Enter into the House of the Lord: okay melody, has a traditional sound. Not bad.

    The Sound of One Voice: nice arrangement, the syncopation would make it impossible for an assembly to sing.

    Creator of the Stars of Night: a contemporary rewrite of a classic in an early 90s soft pop romantic duet style that should never have been made. Youth ministry musicians such as Ed Bolduc are doing damage to young people's ability to worship and enter into the Church's liturgical tradition.

    Of the Father's Love Begotten: very nice arrangement!

    Rejoice, Rejoice at Christmas Time: not terrible, but doesn't do anything for me.

    Hodie, Christus Natus Est: I like it.

    Be Still and Know: another nice one.

    We Call to You, Lord: not bad.

    God in the Barren Spaces: okay tune. Weird that it has a Trinitarian structure in the verses but omits reference to the Father. Big theological flaw in the lyrics, IMO.

    I Know I've Been Changed: I don't care for M. Roger Holland's Gospel-style of composing.

    Christmas Gospel Acclamations on Gesu Bambino: quite good. Too bad it would only be used for about two weeks. The highly limited application of this set is a strike against it.

    Love One Another (bilingual): can't stand Alonso. Weird that he's gone to WLP for this one instead of GIA. The song gets very boring very quickly, as is typcial of Alonso's style.

    Jesus, Be Known to Us: Sullivan Whittaker went to WLP from OCP? I don't like this one. With all the Communion songs out there already, this one isn't good enough to add to a choir's repertoire.

    Today: when a liturgical song starts with "Oh......, oh........, oh......" you immediately know it's one to avoid. This is Angotti's semi-rewrite of "Jesus Christ is Risen Today". Stop with the contemporary rewrites. Just. Stop. It. Please.

    Altar of Hope: when it starts you think it's a romantic ballad for slow dancing. Not appropriate for Mass at all. Really, really, not appropriate. You feel like you're at a cocktail lounge instead of at Mass. Not surprised it was arranged by Bolduc.

    By Christ Redeemed: not a bad melody and arrangement. Weird that the refrain refers to "cups" plural: "let the bread be broken, let the cups be poured." I think the lyrics need some theological refinement. Not good enough to make me want to use it, in the final analysis.

    Hail, Mary, Full of Grace: not bad, but changed "thee" and "thou" and "art" in the prayer to contemporary English. The extended Amens at the end are kind of self-indulgent and out of place in such a short piece. With so many better Ave Marias out there that choirs could learn and sing instead, I don't see this piece being attractive.

    Victory Is Ours: based on a prayer by Desmond Tutu. Too repetitive and uninspiring for me.

    Also a link at the bottom of the page to WLP's We Celebrate hymnal.



    Thanked by 2melofluent irishtenor
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Thanks, Mark, for the link.
    Jesus, Be Known to Us: Sullivan Whittaker went to WLP from OCP? I don't like this one. With all the Communion songs out there already, this one isn't good enough to add to a choir's repertoire.

    Of course, I'm clearly a Sullivan Whitaker apologist. However I find the text more compelling than much of the modern Communion songs found in the Big Three's. I would agree that the melody and treatment may be, for some, more of the sweet song school. But one thing she isn't, is derivative. And she wields her craft well.
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    Plus they have hymns and whatnot of Kathleen Pluth, which are awesome.
    Thanked by 1MarkS
  • Schönbergian
    Posts: 1,063
    Very nice "Of the Father's love..." arrangement, I have to say.

    It's nice to see some technically competent pop songs finally coming out of these publishers. I can imagine Bolduc's defilementsarrangements being played on the radio, but never "Missa My Little Pony"

    That being said, it'd also be nice if the Catholic publishers could start offering more actually Catholic music, too.
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