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I Know That My Redeemer Lives

3/25/2019

Choosing music for Stake Conference has always been a spiritual experience for me. I start by requesting the theme from the Stake Presidency. They have many ideas, usually, but not one solidified by the time I need to order the music for rehearsals. I then start my own preparation. Through prayer and a lot of looking and studying, I find music (or at least titles) and make multiple suggestions to the Stake President. After a few days, I hear back that a few of my choices will be fine, but could we do them in a different order? Or maybe use one as a choral number but include the Congregation on the final verse?

Sure, that will be fine, I say. But then, I have to make good. I actually need to find arrangements for the ones they chose -- of course they chose the hymns I just suggested titles and assumed there would be a fantastic arrangement already in existence. The search really begins in earnest at this point. It's my fault that I just assume that there will always be an arrangement out there to suit our needs. And that's when I get let down. After searching and searching, I regularly DON'T find an arrangement that will work for our group and situation. (sigh)

"I Know That My Redeemer Lives" seems like a hymn that would have multiple arrangements for SATB Choir, Organ and Congregation. And there were many, many versions - SAB, SA, Unison, straight out of the Hymnbook with piano accompaniment, piano solos, even one with Guitar tablature. But I was looking for something very special for my last Stake Conference with my YSA youth.

So, because I had so little time, I reworked my own duet arrangement that I had already done years ago that already had organ accompaniment. We rehearsed and rehearsed and sounded quite good. They really sang their testimonies of the Savior. The youth have wonderful voices and good sight-singing skills. We were prepared for Stake Conference, but not for what actually happened. The weekend of Conference, my husband died. I was not able to be there to direct them in performance. Fortunately, one of the young men was primed to take over for me. I will miss them so much!

Those wonderful youth sent me such touching love notes:

Sister Bailey, While you are not here physically, we feel your powerful presence in the arrangements shared today.  This is a very trying time for you and your family.  Heavenly Father knows you and is aware of all of them. His work will continue on and you will continue to feel His love through all of it.  We love and support you and your family.
I have been thinking of you and trying to channel your love for music and for the Savior today as we sing.  Thank you for sharing your talents.  We’re praying for you and your family.
Sister Bailey, Thank you for leading us, and for picking such inspiring and beautiful music. These songs have allowed many to feel the Spirit and God’s love very strongly.
Thank you so much for your example of love and faith in the Savior.  You bring the Spirit for others to feel.  God will bless you!

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Celestial Glory Shall Be Mine If I Can But Endure

3/19/2019

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These words from the 4th verse of "I Am a Child of God" (by Naomi Ward Randall, 1908–2001) have deeper meaning for us now. Our extended Bailey Family gathered to sing this wonderful hymn for their father and grandfather L. Ellis Bailey's funeral on March 16th, 2019. We know that he is released from this world of care and a withering body, and is now shed of mortal constraints. He endured faithfully to the end of his mortal existence and now, it is for us to endure to the ends of ours.

When our seven children were all living at home, we were often asked to sing in Church. The children all learned to sing in parts, but these parts changed from year to year as the boys voices dropped. Fortunately, our girls could sing any of the treble parts plus tenor. And Michael, the oldest, could sing bass and keep Dad on his part. The younger boys sang soprano and alto until much later. Now Michael sings Tenor, Matthew Bass, and Mitchell Baritone. The girls are all "mugwumps" -- they sing any part that is needed. We were lucky to have enough voices to be able to sing in 4-6 part harmony a cappella. Now with 38 members of our extended family, there are enough of us to be a full choir of singers.

For many years, I reserved this as a special arrangement for JUST our family to sing. But as the years went on, my singers moved on to their own homes in new locations. We could sing unaccompanied, but when I handed this piece out to my ward choir to learn, they could not. So, I was compelled to create a piano accompaniment. For the funeral, my oldest daughter Kathryn is accompanying us because the spouses and grandchildren had to perform this with very little rehearsal. (Kathryn and I have been a team for many years. We have often used our "superpowers" as director and pianist having a "mind meld." It seems we have to rely on feeling the music together because we can rarely see each other during the performance.)

I finally released this arrangement for use by other singers in two versions -- with or without piano accompaniment. Enjoy!

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Hymns for the New Hymnal

3/6/2019

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Be it known that I do not think of myself as a hymn writer. I have spent way too much time taking existing hymns and stretching their melodies and harmonies and creating new settings for them to ever be confined by such a tight musical form. However, when the call came out for submissions of original hymns for a new Hymnal, I wondered if I maybe could write a hymn.

After studying various texts and many many hymns, I decided to look at some anthems I had already written to see if they could be pared down to bare essentials so they might fit the tight hymn form. (This exercise seemed so backward to me!) Let me share with you what I discovered.

When my oldest son came home from his mission, I wanted my ward choir to sing something special when he gave his talk. I wanted to do something original and started studying General Conference talks. While reading a talk by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley about missionary work, I was struck by this quote: "For this is the joy of which angels sang when they sang at the birth of God's son...Press forward with faith and endure to the end 'til the work of the master is done." This became the impetus of the entire anthem.

Four verses and a contrasting section later, "Go Forth in the Service of God" was ready for the choir to learn and perform. It was sung again for the Stake Conference that year with the special emphasis on Missionary work. One of my friends encouraged me to enter it in the Church Submissions contest that year. So I did, but I decided to enter it in the Hymn Text category. I can't help feeling that if I had left out the words to the contrasting section (that were not the same meter as the hymn verses) it would have garnered a prize more than a Special Recognition.

So, now I have lined up the verses by stanza in hymn style and left out the contrasting section. The hardest part was leaving it the same for each verse with no modulations, melodic or harmonic variations, no soprano descant, and no exciting accompaniment on organ and piano. Tough! But, I submitted it anyway.

The other submission was a new setting to an existing hymn text by W.W. Phelps. "Come All Ye Saints Who Dwell on Earth" has such a cheerful message. I had always felt sorry that it was matched with a stolid, boxy 4/4 hymn tune. I actually entered the SSAA choral version in the Church Submissions contest and it won and Award of Merit. So now, I created a 4-part hymn version in 3/4 meter leaving out the fun choral stuff but hopefully leaving the essence of the upbeat message.

There you have it --- my hymn submissions.

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Submissions for New Children's Songbook

3/2/2019

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Ever since the Church announced the call for submissions to a new Hymnal and Children's songbook, many people in my world have been a-buzz with excitement. For months I have been hearing about songs people are writing or have written and are trying to get input about. Or those who write lyrics who want to collaborate with a composer. I have even heard of small groups who offer to sing through and give feedback on the songs. Or friendly experienced composers who are willing to critique the hopeful manuscripts - for a fee.

I have wondered about some of my own children's songs and hymns. Would they be considered useful? It is natural to wonder and to actively seek out people to be a listening ear, a sounding board, or to just give encouragement. My neighbor across the street gives piano lessons to beginners and also accompanies in Primary. She was an English major in college and later married an English professor. She said that she was willing to take a look at my songs. I was happy to have her opinion because she is NOT really a professional musician but IS an actual "end user." She looked at my songs and gave real useful feedback about what the kids in her Primary might actually like from what she observes from week to week. She also had insights to textural forms, word usage and rhyme schemes and other writing details. She was a great sounding board and I appreciate her insights.

So yesterday, I decided to actually complete the submission process. For the new Children's Songbook, they allow up to 5 submissions per person. I had six children's songs I wanted to submit. One of those I decided not to send in again since they already notified me that it was under consideration. "Live By the Light of His Love" is a song comparing the two accounts of the Sermon on the Mount found in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon. That song had won an Award of Distinction previously in the Church Music Submissions.

Four of the songs I sent in are "Put on the Whole Armor of God," "Hosanna to Our King," "How Far Is Heaven?' and "Lord of All." These are all on my website. Some are also previous award winners in the Church Submissions -- but I simplified them even more drastically and added guitar chords. The completely new song I submitted is "My Baptism Covenant." My sister Barbara has been requesting a new baptism song for a long time. She finally wrote down a list of concepts that needed to be in the song, handed it to me, and I wrote the song.

Now we just wait until July to find out which songs become finalists. So glad I am not on the judging committee!

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I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Celestial Glory Shall Be Mine If I Can But Endure

Hymns for the New Hymnal

Submissions for New Children's Songbook

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