After a good deal of prayer and reflection, today marked my last service as a choral scholar. Stepping down has not been an easy decision, and it certainly does not diminish my gratitude for the years of music-making that came before it. Singing with a choir, Sunday by Sunday, has been a genuine joy and a significant source of encouragement in my life.

The past year has been a demanding one across a number of areas, and I found myself increasingly worn down, including in my commitments to the choir. Reaching a point of honesty about that took time. Staying would have been unfair to both the people I sing with and me.

Access to music never came without others' effort. Braille transcription made full participation possible, and the professional support I received in getting music into my hands was deeply appreciated. Without that, none of it would have happened.

Leadership changes were already in motion when I left. A new director arrives next week on a three-month contract, stepping into a role that has been vacant for a long time. Pre-briefings had already taken place, and an existing member plans to co-lead alongside him. Complaints are already queued. The timing of my departure, as it turns out, was not wrong.

Composure was the plan for today. Grief had other ideas, and I broke down in front of the choir before the service was done. The liturgy carried me through the rest of it, which is its own kind of grace.

Kindness followed, and I am grateful for that. An open door was offered, and the goodbyes were warm. A new chapter begins now, with the search for good teaching, good community, and yes, good music still very much underway.

#ChurchLife #ChoralScholar #ChurchChoir #Burnout #DisabilityAndFaith #BrailleMusic #Accessibility #Hymns #Faith #NewSeason #ChristianLife #ChurchMusic

Sources

NEW Song – Always

Yesterday, we began a Sermon Series on The Goodness of God. This week’s Monday Monday Song continues the theme of God’s goodness.

The song is a fusion of gospel and acid house and was recorded, created, and mastered using AI and Audacity.

An excerpt is below with lyrics following:

Audio Excerpt

Lyrics

Good when we’re singing,
good when we’re sad.
Good when we’re lonely,
good when we’re glad.

God, You are good
all the time,
every moment of our days.
All the time,
God, You are good,
worthy of our praise.

Good when we’re strong,
good when we’re frail.
Good when we’re happy,
good when we fail.

God, You are good
all the time,
every moment of our days.
All the time,
God, You are good,
worthy of our praise.

Always, always,
worthy of our praise.
Always, always,
worthy of our praise.

God, You are good
all the time,
every moment of our days.
All the time,
God, You are good,
worthy of our praise.

Always, always,
worthy of our praise.
Always, always,
worthy of our praise.

Spirit of the Living God (Fall Afresh On Me)

Accapella cantor with congregation providing harmony Pentecost May 24 2026.

I’ll Fly Away

You may have heard this song in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou, or in the popular late-1990s TV series 7th Heaven. Performed by numerous country, bluegrass, and pop music performers, I’ll Fly Away will soon mark its first centenary: originally written as a church hymn by Alfred E. Brumley in 1929, its folksy tune and the message of life eternal continues to inspire hope and faith. And it happens to be one of my all-time favourite songs!

In this post I’ll present an annotated version of the lyrics intended primarily for English language learners: below the lyrics you’ll find the vocabulary notes, along with the links to just a few of the renditions accessible on YouTube. Each one is different, so you can compare different styles.

Tell me how you like this song in the comments section at the bottom of the page!

VOCABULARY NOTES

GLAD (adj.) – causing happiness and satisfaction

CELESTIAL (adj.) – heavenly, in heaven

HALLELUJAH (n.) – expression of joy, happiness or thanks (the original meaning of this Hebrew expression is ‘praise the Lord’)

BY AND BY (adv.) – soon, after a short period of time, in a little while; eventually

BARS (n.) – long, thin pieces of wood or metal used to prevent someone from leaving a cage or a prison cell

WEARY (adj.) – very tired, with no energy or enthusiasm

RECOMMENDED VIDEOS

Joey+Rory (live version)

Cover by Megan Miller

Johnny Cash (from the My Mother’s Hymn Book album)

COVER IMAGE CREDIT

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz via Unsplash

Spent most of the day yesterday, between students, listening to music. Got an assignment to listen to song by Mahler and Strauss and I especially liked several Mahler songs! As an early music person it's a rather unknown style period to me. :D

But the point of this post is really this piece by Clemance de Grandval, a composer I didn't knew existed until yesterday! There's a vocal score on IMSLP, and the whole Sabat Mater is also on Youtube, I just didn't have a chance to listen to the whole thing yet. Worth discovering I'd say!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S_RixhLU-E&list=RD9S_RixhLU-E&start_radio=1

#singing #churchmusic #musicwomenwednesday

I've been interviewed for the "spotlight" section of the Society of Women Organists.
https://www.societyofwomenorganists.co.uk/post/spotlight-on-andrea-hartenfeller-organ-enthusiast-and-diversity-advocate

#PipeOrgan #ChurchMusic #Organ #WomenOrganists #SWO #Orgel #KirchenMusik #Organistin

Sang a solo in a new to me church yesterday morning. Still rather nervous about singing solo! It went pretty well, more or less what I'm capable of doing right now. To sing better I'll have to keep practising! Which means I'm quite happy about it. :)

Church services nowadays are conveniently streamed so if anyone's curious, you can still hear it. At about 40:50, Bringt her dem Herren by Schütz. Harpsichordists name is Alice van Eldik, she's a choir mate of mine (how all this came about).

https://kerkdienstgemist.nl/stations/2267/events/recording/177658740002267

#churchmusic #singing #classicalmusic #musicians