Songbook: "Sing Out Joyfully" to Jehovah

[And_Ray]

9 minutes ago, marcusth said:

Anyone seen the videos that will be used in congregation meetings yet?

I would say that they will be identical to the ones shown during the Gilead Graduation this year.

[jayrtom]

37 minutes ago, Hope said:

I really and truly appreciate that you wrote this, Richard.   Thank you so much.

 

It's never nice to feel that expressing one's opinion will result in constant chastisement or correction.  Opinions are not facts, are they?  They just speak to how one feels about something.

 

I know there are fantastic reasons for the songs ending up like they are.  I am absolutely happy about the revision to the lyrics in the "Now We Are One" and the former song #85 so that singles don't have to feel so pathetic singing them.   Perhaps other people are not happy with those changes, but I won't chastise them.  It does, however, speak to the fact that what was once "gold star approved" lyrics have been re-thought... so I'm not going to feel too badly about not being over the moon about some of the changes we're seeing now.  Who knows what will be rewritten in the future?

 

Music is an intensely personal experience for me.  It may not be for others -- but it's the ONE thing I have in my life that allows me to really "feel" deeply about things without potential disappointment (and I don't need to sing in ancient Hebrew... just in words meaningful to me).  Usually.   When I feel disappointed about music, it affects me... but I'll get over it.  It will be challenging because it actually IS a big deal for me.  But it's not the end of the world.

 

Yet...

I am sorry if I made you feel bad with any of my comments.. I say "If"  because I didn't have the intention of hurting you or chastising you... Sorry

 

Anyway, the slave has explained very well why they made the, at the time new,  songbook and how, so perhaps they have explained that on the AM or will on a later opportunity... Have a little patience ;) and I was serious, you can do your best to Jehovah by singing perfectly this new songs

 

YB011 (http://m.wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/302011018?q=Songs&p=par#h=35) 

Singing songs of praise to Jehovah is an integral part of our worship. At the 2009 conventions, therefore, God’s servants were overjoyed when they were told of a new songbook, Sing to Jehovah. But why was a new songbook needed?

From time to time, we have revised our songbooks to keep them in line with increased spiritual light. (Prov. 4:18) Preparation of a new songbook thus provides an opportunity for needed adjustments to be made to the lyrics of our songs. Wording has been selected that makes it easier to absorb the meaning of the song while it is being sung and to make the words easier to remember. To help further with memorization, many of the songs have been shortened. Where appropriate, choruses have been added to provide meaningful repetition of key thoughts. In addition, an effort was made to assign each syllable of each word to a single note, rather than to place more than one syllable on a note.

A careful analysis of our previous songbook, Sing Praises toJehovah, revealed that some of the melodies needed adjustments to make them easier to sing. As a result, some of the songs have now been lowered in pitch so that the higher notes are easier to sing. Also, not all songs were being sung exactly as they were written in the book. So in some cases the melody itself has been adjusted to match the more natural manner in which the songs were actually being sung by our brothers internationally.

Details, such as how the music is printed on the page, were given careful consideration. While longer songs have been spread across two pages to accommodate the longer text of translated languages, songs have been placed so that there is no need to turn a page during any song. No songsare longer than three verses.

How was the mammoth task of preparing the new songbook accomplished? In August 2007, a team of experienced composers and lyricists were invited to assist the Governing Body with the project. All of the songs in the previous songbook were examined meticulously to identify problems with doctrinal content, word emphasis, and melodic issues. It was apparent that some of the older melodies were fine but that they required new lyrics. Othersongs that required little adjustment to lyrics needed substantial changes to their melodies. Then, the Teaching Committee of the Governing Body approved a list of topics to be considered in songs for Christian meetings, assemblies, conventions, and dedication programs.

In addition, the composers took time to reexamine the style of music used by our brothers at our meetings. To produce reverent yet appealing songs, they avoided music that sounded like the hymns used in Christendom’s churches. At the same time, they did not want songs of praise to Jehovah to lean toward styles that have become popular in many charismatic churches.

Throughout the project, the Governing Body carefully monitored the composition and words of each song. Groups of new songs that the Governing Body was not familiar with were recorded by singers for the Governing Body to listen to and review. As soon as those songs were approved, they were sent to translating branches for translation of the lyrics so that vernacular songbooks could be released at the same time as the English songbook.

Additionally, in 2007, the Governing Body arranged for a chorus of singers to produce recordings that would help the congregations to learn the songs. For many years a volunteer orchestra from 14 branches has assembled about twice a year at Patterson, New York, to record music for educational programs produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses, including dramas, video productions, and musical accompaniment for conventions and assemblies. These dedicated brothers and sisters, many of them full-time ministers, use their time and resources to travel and record music for the benefit of the international brotherhood. All are skilled musicians. The orchestral recordings are then shared with branches around the world to provide background music for their conventions and for the production of vocal renditions in dozens of local languages. Many of the vocal recordings made at the branches are now available for download from our Web site www.jw.org.

What has been the reaction to the new songbook, Sing to Jehovah? This letter from a sister is typical of hundreds of letters of appreciation that have been received: “Please allow me to begin this letter by thanking you for the beautiful new songs in our new songbook. They are moving, faith-strengthening, and comforting—a delightful gift from Jehovah.”

It is our desire that the songbook Sing to Jehovah will be a source of comfort and encouragement to our worldwide brotherhood. Whether we are alone or gathered together with our fellow worshippers, may we use it to express our love for our heavenly Father, Jehovah!

[Hope]

:sigh:

 

It's all really okay.  I am quite familiar with all the reasons, the work, the above article /explanation, etc.  More are really unnecessary for me.

 

Only time will adjust my feelings on this- and perhaps the receipt of the hard copy so I can more easily sing and play on the piano.

[Thesauron]

I really and truly appreciate that you wrote this, Richard.   Thank you so much.
 
It's never nice to feel that expressing one's opinion will result in constant chastisement or correction.  Opinions are not facts, are they?  They just speak to how one feels about something.
 
I know there are fantastic reasons for the songs ending up like they are.  I am absolutely happy about the revision to the lyrics in the "Now We Are One" and the former song #85 so that singles don't have to feel so pathetic singing them.   Perhaps other people are not happy with those changes, but I won't chastise them.  It does, however, speak to the fact that what was once "gold star approved" lyrics have been re-thought... so I'm not going to feel too badly about not being over the moon about some of the changes we're seeing now.  Who knows what will be rewritten in the future?
 
Music is an intensely personal experience for me.  It may not be for others -- but it's the ONE thing I have in my life that allows me to really "feel" deeply about things without potential disappointment (and I don't need to sing in ancient Hebrew... just in words meaningful to me).  Usually.   When I feel disappointed about music, it affects me... but I'll get over it.  It will be challenging because it actually IS a big deal for me.  But it's not the end of the world.
 
Yet...

Please don't take a discussion as a chastisement. From my side, I'm only sharing the reasons we are told for changes like these, and when you say you don't like them, it is so far from where I am, perhaps because I see the love and attention that goes into each sentence, and the heavy workload these brothers and sisters have. Of course, some old lyrics might have an emotional value. I'm sure in time lots of friends will feel the same about the adjusted lyrics. Once we start to use them, once they become a part of our fabric, so to speak.

Take myself, for example. I found song 32 (in our current songbook) to be, well, a bit boring. ThenI learned what it meant for many brothers and sisters in Russia after the Soviet breakdown. So now it's very meaningful to me. Same thing with many songs. Now the music and lyrics are changed, but I'm sure that these changes will encourage a new generation that will have to face difficulties. Only, they will sing "Standing firm to the end, Unending life we'll see."


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[Thesauron]

Song #17 is written in sachsenhausen concentration camp on German. It was featured on a broadcasting. It was July edition I think

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Yes, brother Frost wrote a number of songs. I have handwritten sheet music with Frost's music that I got from my grandfather years ago. I think they were used for a 1950s convention orchestra, but of course I was too young to enquire of him, and now he's long gone.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[Brother_Bliss]

Don't get upset @Hope as I really think @Thesauron is just defending and explaining the reason for the changes, and is in no way chastising you for feeling less than enthusiastic about the changes. He is right though. All of these changes hinge primarily on translation issues - not only that of translating from English into the target language, but our English translation of the New World Translation was a major overhaul, particularly of the Hebrew text.

 

... And I hated it when it came out to. In my mind, the original (1984) NWT was the perfect bible, and I invested a significant portion of my life defending it, then lo and behold we updated our bible and now the 2013 NWT also adopted a dynamic equivalence approach. I still used my Reference Bible for a year or more before I started to gain appreciation for the new one. Why? Probably for the same reasons people love the King James Bible. When you get used to reading something a certain way, it becomes poetic and you get attached to it.

 

I didn't like the 2009 songbook changes either. And the piano accompaniment that was released with them had no pause between the end of one verse and the beginning of the next and sounded like it was programmed on a computer vs played by a real human. They ditched those recordings real quick fortunately, and the songs eventually grew on me.

 

I expect I'll have a period of adjustment with these too.

[Hope]

LOL - thanks, Bob!  I'm not really "upset" as I may sound... more venting?

 

I do understand the translation issues and everything else surrounding it.  Perhaps this is the divide between *knowing* vs. *feeling* something?  At the moment, I'm reviewing the music/lyrics purely on their own merits - no extenuating circumstances, no "see, what had happened was..."   Just what *is*.  There are no explanations that are going to make me like the new "Jehovah Is My Shepherd" better than what feels like singing the Bible to me.  At least not now.

 

My disappointments fade, as they always do.  I appreciate the hard work everyone is doing and I'm sure it will continue to be great.

 

I never let 'em see me pout... 

[Brother_Bliss]

We've all heard of the Hallelujah Chorus. A beautiful song with no bad or erroneous lyrics whatsoever....

 

Hallelujah! For the lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah!

The kingdom of this world is become
The kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
And He shall reign forever and ever
King of kings! And lord of lords! 
And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah!

 

Could you imagine if we rewrote this? lol....

 

Praise Jehovah! For Jehovah God, the Almighty, has begun ruling! Praise Jehovah!

The kingdoms of this world have been replaced 

by the Kingdom of our God and his anointed one,

and He will rule forever and ever.

King of Kings! And Lord of Lords!

And there will be no end to his rule. Praise Jehovah!

 

Maybe George Frideric Handel will be resurrected and instructed to revise this

 

[Hope]

1 hour ago, Dismal_Bliss said:

We've all heard of the Hallelujah Chorus. A beautiful song with no bad or erroneous lyrics whatsoever....

 

Hallelujah! For the lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah!

The kingdom of this world is become
The kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
And He shall reign forever and ever
King of kings! And lord of lords! 
And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah!

 

Could you imagine if we rewrote this? lol....

 

Praise Jehovah! For Jehovah God, the Almighty, has begun ruling! Praise Jehovah!

The kingdoms of this world have been replaced 

by the Kingdom of our God and his anointed one,

and He will rule forever and ever.

King of Kings! And Lord of Lords!

And there will be no end to his rule. Praise Jehovah!

 

Maybe George Frideric Handel will be resurrected and instructed to revise this

 

I'd give anything to sing in a chorus performing that song - with the ORIGINAL lyrics!!  It's SO glorious!!!

 

"And he shall reign forever and ever.  Hallelujah!" has WAAAYYYYY more power than the "new" version.  If people can't understand it, they really need to just look it up.  

[Hanah45]

4 hours ago, Dismal_Bliss said:

We've all heard of the Hallelujah Chorus. A beautiful song with no bad or erroneous lyrics whatsoever....

 

Hallelujah! For the lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah!

The kingdom of this world is become
The kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
And He shall reign forever and ever
King of kings! And lord of lords! 
And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah!

 

Could you imagine if we rewrote this? lol....

 

Praise Jehovah! For Jehovah God, the Almighty, has begun ruling! Praise Jehovah!

The kingdoms of this world have been replaced 

by the Kingdom of our God and his anointed one,

and He will rule forever and ever.

King of Kings! And Lord of Lords!

And there will be no end to his rule. Praise Jehovah!

 

Maybe George Frideric Handel will be resurrected and instructed to revise this

 

Funny. The first thought I had was the Hallelujah song by Leonard Cohen. Somehow I couldn't make the lyrics you posted go with the  the melody in my head. 

[Thesauron]

We've all heard of the Hallelujah Chorus. A beautiful song with no bad or erroneous lyrics whatsoever....
 

Hallelujah! For the lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah!

The kingdom of this world is become
The kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
And He shall reign forever and ever
King of kings! And lord of lords! 
And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah!

 
Could you imagine if we rewrote this? lol....
 

Praise Jehovah! For Jehovah God, the Almighty, has begun ruling! Praise Jehovah!

The kingdoms of this world have been replaced 

by the Kingdom of our God and his anointed one,

and He will rule forever and ever.

King of Kings! And Lord of Lords!

And there will be no end to his rule. Praise Jehovah!

 
Maybe George Frideric Handel will be resurrected and instructed to revise this
 

I performed this song a long time ago, and it's a marvellous piece of choral music thanks to Händel. These lyrics were collected from KJV by Jennens. They are beautiful, except they have some serious faults. However, they were never intended to be church music or be used in religious services, and certainly not by a progressive organisation. Not even the church liked the original productions of Messiah.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[Sylv]

I am slowly but surely making my way through the new songs, listening to the music and singing the lyrics in my heart, and this morning I "sang" song 31 (Walk with God). I really like the new lyrics  

[Thesauron]

I am slowly but surely making my way through the new songs, listening to the music and singing the lyrics in my heart, and this morning I "sang" song 31 (Walk with God). I really like the new lyrics  

Yes, and and the removed slur is kind of growing on me.

Stay close to Jehovah, leaning on him,
And let his strength sustain you.
Keep holding tight to his faithful Word;
You’ll never drift away.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[Thesauron]

Funny. The first thought I had was the Hallelujah song by Leonard Cohen. Somehow I couldn't make the lyrics you posted go with the  the melody in my head. 

'Broken Hallelujah'...


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[Thesauron]

Song 98 (37) has some changed music and lyrics.
Song 99 (122) has not changed.
Song 100 (124) has not changed.
Song 101 (53) is slightly changed.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[WilliamChew]

It has been interesting hearing all the comments about the lyrics of the amended songs.

 

Just curious as to how many wished that the music is available in a better format than 256kbps MP3?

 

I noticed the CD version of the songs sound superior to the 256kbps MP3 that is downloaded. (for the older songs where CD's were available)

 

Wouldn't it be good if a FLAC version of the songs were available? FLAC means free lossless audio codec. MP3 results in losses in the music quality.

 

As musicians, don't you wish for better sound quality?

[Hope]

It seems to me that many of the instrumentals are not recorded by the orchestra but by a keyboard/synthesizer.  The same quality is not there.  But it's still better than the piano on its own.

[MizPeg]

On Monday, October 10, 2016 at 4:18 PM, Dismal_Bliss said:

 

 

 

I think she was just looking for a reason to use "nary" in a sentence

 

Gee whiz!  All of these posts, and nary a one of you were right there while the songs were being created,  recorded or placed .

Has humility, and gratitude flown out the window?

And nary one to say,"wish I had been!!!!!!

[MizPeg]

stick a fork in it. it is done

[Thesauron]

Gee whiz!  All of these posts, and nary a one of you were right there while the songs were being created,  recorded or placed .
Has humility, and gratitude flown out the window?
And nary one to say,"wish I had been!!!!!!

I still don't get what you mean by this repost.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

stick a fork in it. it is done

What do you mean? Please explain!


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[Thesauron]

It has been interesting hearing all the comments about the lyrics of the amended songs.
 
Just curious as to how many wished that the music is available in a better format than 256kbps MP3?
 
I noticed the CD version of the songs sound superior to the 256kbps MP3 that is downloaded. (for the older songs where CD's were available)
 
Wouldn't it be good if a FLAC version of the songs were available? FLAC means free lossless audio codec. MP3 results in losses in the music quality.
 
As musicians, don't you wish for better sound quality?

For a small minority flac or alike would be better, but it would require more bandwidth and honestly, most congregations in the world do not have audio system where you'd notice the difference.

[Omoyeme]

3 hours ago, Hope said:

It seems to me that many of the instrumentals are not recorded by the orchestra but by a keyboard/synthesizer.  The same quality is not there.  But it's still better than the piano on its own.

Speaking of piano, will someone PLEASE call, email, text, pony express, send smoke signals to the BoE in my congregation that the orchestral KS have been released over two or three months ago and there is a letter from the GB saying that the new versions should now be used at the meetings!  (We just had our C.O. visiting last week and I thought he would notice and make the recommendation.) But no one has made a move! 

 

Edited October 21, 2016 by Omo_Yeme

[Tortuga]

18 minutes ago, Omo_Yeme said:

Speaking of piano, will someone PLEASE call, email, text, pony express, send smoke signals to the BoE in my congregation that the orchestral KS have been released over two or three months ago and there is a letter from the GB saying that the new versions should now be used at the meetings!  (We just had our C.O. visiting last week and I thought he would notice and make the recommendation.) But no one has made a move! 

 

 

Same here. I'm wondering if they waiting until the music videos are released...

[mserskine]

58 minutes ago, Omo_Yeme said:

Speaking of piano, will someone PLEASE call, email, text, pony express, send smoke signals to the BoE in my congregation that the orchestral KS have been released over two or three months ago and there is a letter from the GB saying that the new versions should now be used at the meetings!  (We just had our C.O. visiting last week and I thought he would notice and make the recommendation.) But no one has made a move! 

 

 

If all else fails, in January when we start singing from the new songbook, you will HAVE to sing to orchestra music.

[Hope]

Ha!  Tonight, they played the NEW #69- not the one in our current songbook.  There was the usual smattering if people trying to fit the right words to the wrong songs (I never understand why people do that).  When they figured it out, they then played the choral version for us to sing along with.

 

It was hilarious.  

 

Then it was just piano for the other two songs..