Category Archives: Choral

We Have Come with a Force More Powerful

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Music is sometimes more effective than words This is another of the Peace Poets short chants. They call this “a Deescalation song to honor the strength of our love.” Non violence is in its essence a method of communication by taking down walls and, if possible, making friends with the enemy and convincing them to change their ways. We always hope for that possibility. Often, we can do this work better through music than we can by yelling and arguing. Here‘s an interesting clip from The Tennesseean showing a confrontation at the No Kings demonstration in Nasheville between the police, a group from The Proud Boys and a crowd of demonstrators. A lot of protestors were yelling and swearing; but a brass band stepped up and started playing O Bella Ciao. By the end of the song, the tension had dissipated and everybody, even the Proud Boys, were clapping and cheering for the music.

Listen to the YouTube Video: We Have Come With a Voice More Powerful

What does the Lord Require of You

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Jim Strathee has here combined a verse from the Book of Micah with a variation of Pachelbel’s famous Canon in D. Strathee’s arrangement for choir and piano is copyrighted.

Here is a YouTube recording that includes a piano accompaniment. I haven’t been able to figure out where to purchase the sheet music for this arrangement and, anyhow, I can’t present it here because of copyright issues. The piano adds a bit of lushness, but the song works perfectly well as an a cappella round.

Wade in the Water

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Download Arrangement for Band in E-flat (listen to audio below).

This is just one of my favorite hymns. Not exactly a protest song, but I think it would be great at a vigil or a memorial celebration. I’m not sure what the words mean, exactly, but somehow it comforts me when I feel trouble is coming. “Good trouble,” I hope!

In the PDF I’ve included a version with very simple chords plus another version that has been arranged for a choir. If you have singers who are good at improvising harmony, I’d go with that; but the arranged version is also excellent.

The rhythm on this is kind of hard to read (most American gospel, pop, and jazz music is); but, if you listen to a couple of recordings, you’ll find that it’s pretty easy to do it. Don’t forget to sing the eighth notes with a swing rhythm.

The Beatitudes

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Download a PDF file of The Beatitudes

Chant from the Russian Orthodox liturgy — Matthew 5:2–12

I have a fantasy of getting together a small choir and singing this on the steps of the Capitol, maybe singing it repetitively—a lot of times—to make sure it is heard.

Below is an excerpt of this wonderful harmonized chant from the Russian Orthodox tradition. Download the PDF above for the full thing, or go to the Episcopal Church’s The Hymnal 1982 (hymn number 560).

You can hear this chant, beautifully sung by the choir of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Fort Worth in the embedded YouTube recording below.

A note about Chant

This site is, of course, about politics, but on a deeper level it is about clearing and healing our spirits through singing. Chanting is a kind of active meditation that goes very deep. I’d like to do more of it in vigils and witnessing actions, moments when we want to influence the course of events with the power of our own inner centeredness and peace, rather than with anger, times when we come together to remember those who have died or who are imprisoned.

Most of my experience is within the Christian Church; but chant is found in all faiths and spiritual traditions. A good book about chant is, The Sacred Art of Chant, by Ana Hernandez; however, better to start by chanting rather than reading about chanting.

The Beatitudes sung at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fort Worth, Texas

We are Singing for Democracy (Siyahamba)

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Download PDF of We are Singing for Democracy
Download PDF of Siyahamba with full harmony and words in English, Spanish and Zulu

Siyahamba is a song from South Africa. Here, Ellen Oak and Laura Beck have rewritten the English words to fit the need of this moment. The downloadable PDF has the original version in English, Spanish and Zulu, as well as the version with “We are Singing for Democracy.”

Here are the Original words in all three languages:
Original Zulu:
Siyahamba ekukhanyeni kwenkos.
Siyahamba ekukhanyeni kwenkos (repeat)
CHORUS
Siyahamba, ‘hamba. Siyahamba, (ooh) ‘hamba
Siyahamba ekukhanyeni kwenkos.

English:
We are marching in the light of God, we are marching in the light of God. (repeat)
CHORUS
We are marching, marching, we are marching, (ooh) marching,
We are marching in the light of God.

Spanish:
Marcharemos en la luz de Dios, Marcharemos en la luz de Dios.
Marcharemos, ’remos, Marcheremos, (Uuu), ’remos,
Marcharemos en la luz de Dios.

This version is the same arrangement as the one in the PDF.

Listen to the harmony on this MP3 file…

Here is the Mwamba Children’s Choir singing Siyahamba