Favorite Hymns & A New Version of an Old Mormon Standard

[_William Schryver]

I haven’t dropped by in a while, but this thread caught my eye.

In my current calling as the ward organist, I get to pick the hymns each week. I like having that power, because there are (I must admit) several hymns that I really do not like. I concur with AmazingDisgrace on the “Sunshine” hymns. They are a favorite of our current Stake President, and whenever he asks me to play one of them for an early morning Stake Priesthood Marjorie Taylor-Greene., I always tell him that I don’t play that one very well and then get him to let me choose an alternate. I also tend to dislike almost all the hymns with music by Evan Stephens, except for We Ever Pray for Thee.

As for my favorites, I would have to say that I am partial to several sacrament hymns, including There Is a Green Hill Far Away and Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King. Among the “1985” additions, I really like Lord, I Would Follow Thee and Where Can I Turn for Peace. Another few that come to mind are Sweet Is the Peace the Gospel Brings, O May My Soul Commune With Thee, and Sing We Now At Parting.

Incidentally, the opening hymn I selected for this week is If You Could Hie to Kolob. I also like it because it’s written in E minor. I tend to be partial to the minor keys myself, and I don’t like the hymns that were transposed to G from Ab and to D from Eb in the 1985 hymn book. There is a real difference in tonal color between G/Ab and D/Eb. Come, Come Ye Saints should be sung in Ab, not in G! I guess I just like keys with lots of flats. Don’t know why. Just do. My current favorite keys for composing are Ab minor and Eb minor. Maybe it’s because people with long fingers are more comfortable playing with lots of black keys in the mix. Anyway, I go on the church’s website and transpose the offending hymns to the keys I prefer, print them out and then tape them in my organist’s hymnbook over the newer versions. I don’t think anyone ever notices.

Anyway, good thread. My mother-in-law, who has not been a practicing Mormon for almost thirty years, still loves to come to Sacrament meeting when she’s here just to sing the hymns. She can also be brought to tears easily (as can I and my wife) by live performances of the Tabernacle Choir. Music is not ruined by doctrinal differences or historical controversies. That’s its beauty.

[_Blixa]

I don’t like the hymns that were transposed to G from Ab and to D from Eb in the 1985 hymn book. There is a real difference in tonal color between G/Ab and D/Eb. Come, Come Ye Saints should be sung in Ab, not in G! .

They changed the key of "Come, Come Ye Saints?" Bad. Wrong.

[_Lucretia MacEvil]

And do you or did you make up new funny lyrics to the hymns to make them more entertaining, like I used to do, lol?

Always happy to oblige this sort of request...

Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful

Oh, come, all ye faithful, Come and have more children!
Oh, come ye, oh, come ye and have many kids.
Come and then raise them, it’s your job to make them;
Oh, come, and have more children; Oh, come have lots of children;
Don’t come if not for children, even if you’re bored!

Look at all my children, I have too many children
But I will be so blessed, yes, in the heavens up above
Run for your lives, cause I’ve been looking at your wives
Oh, come, and have more children; Oh, come have lots of children;
Don’t come if not for children, even if you’re bored!

Hi, kids, it’s me, I've wasted not one seed
Hello kids, hello kids, you can thank me
We don’t have enough, but who needs lots of stuff?
Oh, come, and have more children; Oh, come have lots of children;
Don’t come if not for children, even if you’re bored!

Fabuloso!

[_gramps]

Will wrote:

As for my favorites, I would have to say that I am partial to several sacrament hymns, including There Is a Green Hill Far Away....

That is always a killer for me, too. Always loved it. Still do.

What noone likes the primary song:

I looked out the window and what did I see,
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree....

That one comes back to me every Spring. My Japanese friends thought I was very strange when I would start singing that song in the middle of a cherry blossom rave party.

[_William Schryver]

I don’t like the hymns that were transposed to G from Ab and to D from Eb in the 1985 hymn book. There is a real difference in tonal color between G/Ab and D/Eb. Come, Come Ye Saints should be sung in Ab, not in G! .

They changed the key of "Come, Come Ye Saints?" Bad. Wrong.

Not when I'm playing. And that's one I have long since memorized (in Ab of course) so I can easily sing along while I play. I also tend to craft my own custom harmony lines to sing as I'm playing. Sometimes I get a funny look from the chorister. Not because I'm off-key, but because she can tell I'm working my way through the alto, tenor, and bass parts during the course of a verse. I probably shouldn't sing while I'm playing the organ, because every once in a while I hit a wrong note because of it. But it isn't fair that the organist never gets to sing, so I sing along during the week when I'm practicing the hymns for the upcoming Sunday. And, as far as making mistakes is concerned, I've found that very few people are even aware of it unless it's really egregious. Liz can probably confirm that as well. Do you also play the organ Liz, or just the piano? I know most people who play the piano tend to shy away from the organ. That's too bad. I love the organ. It's a very soothing instrument. And, contrary to what many people think, it's NOT harder to play than the piano. It's just different. And, in a way, after a while it becomes easier to play hymns on the organ than on the piano.

Anyway, I'll cease and desist. It's just nice to come across a thread that I can get excited about. I'm bored to death with most of the subject matter on the message boards anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anyway, I'll cease and desist. It's just nice to come across a thread that I can get excited about. I'm bored to death with most of the subject matter on the message boards anymore.

No need. Help keep this one going.

I'll be home in Utah soon and I'll have access to two pianos! The crappy practice one in my parents basement and my grandmother's much nicer, lovely one. Not only that I'll be able to go through all her 20's and 30's sheet music!!!! Can't wait to play "The Doll Dance" again. (You can hear a version here, such a fun piano part: EDITED BECAUSE LINK BELOW IS BETTER)

(I'm hoping she'll be able to play with me. She could still play a bit last October, despite increasing arthritis---I mean she's 92!----but she'll be just out of the hospital and rehab for a broken hip when I get there.)

[_William Schryver]

Gramps:

Will wrote:

As for my favorites, I would have to say that I am partial to several sacrament hymns, including There Is a Green Hill Far Away....

That is always a killer for me, too. Always loved it. Still do.

There is something about the sheer simplicity of that hymn that makes it work. Plus, there is almost a "drone note" quality to it -- kind of like the sound of bagpipes. A combined Tabernacle/BYU men's choir did a version of it during the General Conference priesthood meeting a few years back. It was the most amazing thing I have heard in a long, long time. In fact, if you PM me an e-mail address, I will forward you an .mp3 version of it. It is really quite astounding, at least in my biased opinion.

My wife is shaking her head right now. She can't understand how I can be listening to Smashing Pumpkins one minute, and then listen to the MoTab next. I guess I have a strange brain when it comes to music ...

[_Blixa]

Oh just found a better version of The Doll Dance for piano. My grandma is a genius with novelty ragtime. I used to beg her to play this for me all the time when I was a little girl. She'd vamp it up with all kind of flourishes and trills. It's a fun song to play.

http://members.aol.com/doremidi/novelty/dolldnce.mid

[_silentkid]

When I attend church, which is rare, I still enjoy singing the hymns. I like to test how high I can sing and still stay on key...a little falsetto here and there. My brother sings as low as he possibly can. We make a great duet. I like Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief, Abide With Me, Tis Eventide (the old version, not the newer one), and Kolob. I detest Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel, Called To Serve, The Iron Rod, Praise to the Man, and Do What Is Right.

[_Blixa]

When I attend church, which is rare, I still enjoy singing the hymns. I like to test how high I can sing and still stay on key...a little falsetto here and there. My brother sings as low as he possibly can. We make a great duet. I like Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief, Abide With Me, Tis Eventide (the old version, not the newer one), and Kolob. I detest Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel, Called To Serve, The Iron Rod, Praise to the Man, and Do What Is Right.

I ADORE "Abide With Me." I'll start crying in a minute now, because I'm singing it.

I once played "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" in church (sacrament meeting? primary?) in an arrangement for six hands on the piano (with two other girls who also took lessons with the ward organist like I did).