Music Notes 6-21-26
Mark Hayes is a composer/arranger/pianist based in Kansas City whose music is renowned
around the world. He got his degree in piano performance at Baylor University, moved to
Kansas City to work as a music editor for Tempo Publishing, and now spends his time writing
music for the church and traveling around the world as a clinician and guest conductor. When I
met Mark in the late 80’s, I was struck by his pianistic skills – more specifically, the way he
manhandled the piano into submission to produce the most wondrous sounds. Mark’s writing is
superbly crafted, with influences of black gospel and jazz. He’s one of my favorite
contemporary writers, and if you play piano and want some music that will both challenge you
and satisfy your appetite for delicious piano music, pick up a book of Mark Hayes piano
improvisations. You’ll love it. This week’s anthem is a setting of Amazing Grace. Mark has
created several setting of this classic tune, and this one caught my attention. My wife Eileen,
upon listening to a recording of it, commented that it was a very “grown-up” piece of music – an
underlay of a 4 part canon supporting the tune, and a verse that is in a minor key…all very
unusual.
In 1994, BBC executive Richard Curtis approached composer Howard Goodall about composing
the theme music for what was to become BBC TV’s classic comedy series The Vicar of Dibley.
In his own words: “I felt that the setting of a familiar sacred text – and the use of some real
choral singing – would offset perfectly the quirky humor of the storylines; as it had also been my
ambition to write a setting of The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23), I was delighted that the
creative team loved the idea. Thanks to the popularity of The Vicar of Dibley on British TV and
elsewhere around the world, I have managed to give a whole new generation of younger listeners
and singers a version of this wonderful psalm they can truly call their own. Indeed, this piece
has become a stand-alone choral classic since it was introduced to audiences through the TV
series, and I feel humbled when I realize that for many people under 30 in the UK and Australia
it is the only tune for The Lord Is My Shepherd that they now know. I consider myself blessed to
have been able to share my setting of it with so many others of all possible backgrounds and
beliefs.” It’s a delightfully pastoral setting to sing, and for many of us, brings back fond
memories of chuckling (or guffawing) at the wonderful antics of Dawn French and the rest of
that brilliant cast. If you haven’t seen the series, go watch it. It’s streaming on BritBox and
Roku.
Chris Tomlin was born in Texas in 1972 and learned to play guitar by playing along with Willy
Nelson recordings. He has become one of the dominant forces in contemporary Christian music,
and in 2012 CCLI announced that his songs were played 3 million times in churches that year.
His 2013 album Burning Lights debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, only the fourth Christian
album ever to open at No. 1, and he was pronounced the most sung songwriter in the world that
year. In 2018, he was the 1 st Christian artist to receive the “Billionaire” award from Pandora for
reaching one billion Pandora streams. The song God Of This City was written by a worship band
from Belfast, Ireland called Bluetree. They composed the piece (and I’m not making this up!) in
Padia, Thailand at a bar that also doubled as a brothel. Chris Tomlin heard the song at concert of
worship bands in Belfast when the band took him aside and played the song for him. He was so
inspired by the message that he gave the song his own unique treatment and recorded it on the
2008 album Passion: God Of This City, which won the Dove Award in 2009 for Special Event
Album of the Year. His song Your Grace Is Enough was released on the album Arriving in 2004.