I will have a few weeks break from blogging…see you in May. Before I go, I have at times despaired at the quality of Catholic material posted on YouTube and the web in general. Especially when it relates to music there is little that resonates with any parish situation I have come across. I suspect that most of the people doing good work in the schools and parishes have neither the time nor inclination to create bitter YouTube channels ranting about the musical crimes committed against the faithful in Catholic churches. I won’t link to ill tempered, uncharitable and uninformed commentary, but ..read more

This is a song of exhortation from Emmanuel Worship. It is the last song from their 2021 album, He Is Moving. The chord sheet is free at their site. My backing uses their chords and my approximation of the melody. 1 No temptation has overtaken Cause God is faithful to us. Walls you’ve been watching, fall at the sound of His voice, He has won it for us. Prechorus You have told us these things, So that in you we may have peace, Though the world will bring its trouble we’ll take heart! Chorus And I’m ready, to just fall into your arms I’m expectant, I know you have overcome All my trials, and th ..read more

This song is very specific to its origins in the Ignite conferences run by Emmanuel Worship. It takes the point of view of someone in the crowd there. It was written by Madeleine Luciani and is from the 2021 album, He Is Moving. The chord charts are free at Emmanuel Worship. This is a fast waltz or a slow 6/8 really – the latter makes more sense to me. Thankfully for those trying to sort out the melody this in G, rather than their favourite key of F#. While their version gets typically rowdy it does not need to really, and my backing stays much more restrained. The melody is, again, possibly a ..read more

As I look through the Emmanuel Worship album, He Is Moving from 2021, the theme of feeling the need for forgiveness is prominent. It is a Lenten album in many ways and not always noisy. This song, by Chiara Keady could easily be done as a quiet prayer. The chord charts are free at their site. My backing goes more pop this time, and with no lead sheet to guide me the melody is only my take on their song. It is another song written in F# – the horror. 1 I am a rebel heart, This is the 77th time, I’ve been back here again. Back and forth back and forth, You never count, you never scorn Arms ever ..read more

This is a simple sung prayer for personal peace from the Emmanuel Worship album, He Is Moving. It was written by Liam Desic. The chord chart is at their site. Once in again, in the absence of a lead sheet, the melody in my BIAB backing may be approximate. Verse x4 Lay your burdens, Lay your troubles, Lay your whole life down Chorus x2 Jesus you are fighting for me Now No sin, no shame separates us now Father I know that you love me now My friend, my rock, you are everything. then verse and chorus and instrumental ad lib ad infinitum © 2021 Emmanuel Worship ..read more

This is the title track of the 2021 collection He Is Moving from Emmanuel Worship. It is written by Dominic Dougherty and would perhaps have a use outside a youth rally at Pentecost. The chord charts are free at their site. In the absence of a lead sheet, my backing has me guessing the melody, so don’t take it as gospel. The tempo is ~70/min, not 142 as indicated on their chord sheet as everything in Emmanuel land is played half time. 1 The Spirit calms our heart in restlessness, Descending like a dove he brings us peace We don’t have to fight for his presence O Paraclete of heaven take this ..read more

I’m looking at the songs from Emmanuel Worship‘s 2021 album, He Is Moving. There is a recurring theme of finding joy in commitment to Christ that must have been important to this cohort of young people. This one is by Madeleine Luciani and Chiara Keady. The chord sheet is available from their site. I would ignore their bpm of 176 – it’s half speed again at 88/min. At least it is in G, so guessing the melody was somewhat easier these time. It still is likely to be approximate in my backing. Verse Take my offering I don’t have much but what I have it’s yours Prechorus Everything I am Everything ..read more

This song from emmanuelworship‘s album He Is Moving is by Dominic Dougherty. It is another sung prayer that would be OK for youth rallies, but also for liturgies involving commitment – lets pencil it in for ordinations! In their version it starts quietly and builds up to boisterous, but it could stay restrained just as well. The chord sheet is free at their site. They state a tempo of 145 bpm, but it’s best to think of it as ~72 bpm, because they do everything half time. This one is in B, which is almost as bad as F#, but the guitarists play it capo 4 in G. I massaged their chords into Band in ..read more

This is another song from emmanuelworship‘s 2021 album, He Is Moving, this time by Liam Desic. Maybe it’s because of the need in young people especially for relief from guilt and a purpose in life, songs like this may sound like youth rally material, but they often feel like Lenten reflections. Looking at the chord charts provided, the stated bpm always seems twice the actual tempo to me – or do they always just play half time. Also, who writes in F#! – I know the guitarists are capo 2 in E, but sorting out a melody line with so many sharps is hard for an old man with no musical training. My b ..read more

Emmanuelworship is a Brisbane based collective that has been producing youth orientated catholic music for decades. They can be noisy at times, but have a lot more reflective material these days. Understandably, they deal in songs that resonate with a youth target demographic, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have wider applicability and liturgical usefulness. I have blogged some of their collections and their masses in the past and I am now looking at their 2021 album, He Is Moving. They used to provide lead sheets, but of late we are only getting chord charts. That means I am trying to figur ..read more