Steve - you know Marty Haugen is not on my top 40 list, but this week several of his pieces fit fine and the congregation sang the roof off. The plain chant Gloria (in English) was sung with as much fervor as "Gather Us In." So - I'm happy with how things went on Sunday. Don't worry - it won't be the Summer of Haugen. And for all you bloggers out there who hate "Gather Us In" both musically and theologically, all I can say is: every now and then you need to stop by McDonalds and get a BigMac and fries.
BTW - there's two big reasons why Arvo Part can't replace Haugen: you need a professional choir to do it right, and the congregation can't sing along. One of these days we'll try the Beatitudes - but even that is way out there in terms of the difficulty level.
I haven't blogged about Church music much lately... maybe it's time I get off the wagon!
