THE GUEST, Ep. 15

The St. Louis Jesuits: “[Yahweh,] You Are Near” (May We Praise You, Vol. 2, 1970s) Lyrics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsc-T5edJrU

Based on Psalm 139. The tetragrammaton (more)

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    The tetragrammaton YHWH (interpolated as “Yahweh” in English) has since been discontinued in Catholic liturgical use, although it may still be sung privately. Composer Dan Schutte posted an interesting background piece on the landmark scholarship of the newly-translated Jerusalem Bible that served as the basis for the lyrics.

    See “No More Yahweh”: http://www.danschutte.com/WordPressSite/. From a translator’s perspective, it’s quite interesting, especially the fascinating revelation that the “jah” in Hallelujah is an abbreviation of the Hebrew YHWH, which is not uttered aloud out of respect for the Almighty.

    The catch is that people like me have known the song for 35+ years with Yahweh as the first word of the title. Thankfully, the second word begins with Y. 😉

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    Thank you for this. The St Loius Jesuits are very special to me. I remember when their music first came on the scene (so to speak) my mom was a choir director and went to workshops where they taught.
    So when she lay dying in her room I used my iPad and played their music for her for hours. Now I can’t listen to them for the memories, but I still LOVE them.

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      @stpauligurl, Aw, shucks. I’m so glad you are reminded of your Mom and the wonderful music of the St. Louis Jesuits. Until I looked up some of the hymns and composers, I hadn’t heard about them as a group, although I recognized a number of the songwriters individually.

      I started learning to play guitar in 6th grade, ca. 1967-68, so I could play at the First Friday Folk Mass in parochial school. Ray Repp’s Mass for Young Americans (1965) was the earliest Folk Mass hymnal I recall using.
      http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/639955/

      Later I played at Mass on campus in college, and at that time encountered the works of the Benedictine Monks of Weston Priory in Vermont. Gorgeous. When I moved to Hawai’i for a job, I served as a lector, but soon answered the call for singers for the Sunday evening Folk Mass, and enjoyed the fellowship of making a joyful noise. 😉

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    Thanks for the link @pakalanapikake. This is a lovely rendition of that hymn which I’ve liked very much from years ago as well. Soothes and refreshes on this tiring end of the week night. 😄

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