Music Notes 7-5-26

All of us in the music department would like to wish you all a very Happy 4 th of July, with a

special shout out to Pastor Henry, who served our country faithfully for more than 10 years

before bringing his talents to the pulpit. Happy 4 th , everyone!

Patricia Mock is a pastor’s wife, mother and grandmother residing in Big Canoe, Georgia, who

has still found time write over 80 choral anthems. Today’s anthem, Savior, Like A Shepherd

Lead Us, is a setting of words by Victoria era poet Dorothy Thrupp, using the familiar hymn tune

He Leadeth Me by William Bradbury. It was published in 2010 and is a lovely, gentle piece that

sooths the soul.

I Want Jesus To Walk With Me is a traditional spiritual, in this case arranged in a bluesy style by

St. Paul, Minnesota resident John Helgen. He is currently the director of music at Roseville

Lutheran Church in St. Paul, where he plays the piano and organ and directs several vocal

ensembles. Written in 2019, the piano accompaniment gives the accompanist the chance to lay

back and be groovy.

Hailing from the small coastal town of Bangor in Northern Ireland, the Rend Collective is a

group of “twenty-somethings” that gathered at Rend, what the band describes as “a ministry for

spiritually hungry young adults, desperately seeking an authentic, raw and real expression of

church, which was informally pastored by bandleader, Gareth Gilkeson.” Their first album –

Homemade Worship by Handmade People – was released in 2012, and was followed by a string

of hits in the contemporary Christian music world. Their music is based around older

instruments - their native Irish folk instruments, old rock and roll guitars and assorted other

whimsical musical toys - and has a raw, uninhibited style that gets the toes tapping and the feet

stomping. They don’t call themselves a folk band, but insist rather “We are not actually an indie-

folk band - despite all the beards and bow-ties and banjos. We are a celebration band. It’s just a

coincidence that folk music and celebration make a great pairing!” Their song Rescuer (Good

News) is the title song from the album Rescuer, which was released in 2017. It’s an interesting

tune in that the musical form is slightly irregular, and features a shouted “Hey!” in various places

during the song, which I’m told is a popular device in that part of Ireland.