Music/Song

Mark Doerries on the Formative Arc of Children Leading the Church in Song

In this episode, artistic director Mark Doerries tells the emerging story of the Notre Dame Children’s Choir, now ten years old, and the formative process and unifying vision the choir has built as they learn what it means to sing the sacred story of the church across time and space.

November 29, 2022
New 91 Songs for Climate Change and Creation Care 

Our 2017 annotated list of worship songs about care for creation remains so popular that we have compiled a new list of worship songs to lament climate change and encourage creation care. Many of these songs and hymns have been released since 2018. Others are new to various English-speaking audiences because they come from international hymnals and organizations.

November 7, 2022 | 12 min read
For God So Loved the Cosmos . . . A Service of Lessons and Carols

The Old Testament unfolds the cosmic nature of God’s promised redemption “far as the curse is found.” Reflecting back on the coming of Messiah, Paul not only testified that it was in Jesus Christ that all things were created, but also that in Jesus Christ, God was at work to “reconcile to himself all things.” [Col. 1:15]. In this service of lessons and carols, sung by the Calvin University choirs, hear texts celebrating this all-creation vision of redemption.

November 7, 2022 | 94 min video

David Lemley on Becoming What We Sing

David Lemley’s book "Becoming What We Sing: Formation through Contemporary 91 Music" recognizes that contemporary worship music [CWM] helps Christians around the world feel close to God. Lemley looks at whether or how CWM moves worshipers from adoration to participation in the mission of God’s church.

September 14, 2022
Constanza Bongarrá and Marcelo Villanueva lead songs from “Santo, Santo, Santo / Holy, Holy, Holy”

Constanza Bongarrá and Marcelo Villanueva demonstrate and talk about five songs as part of the CICW series "Songs from the hymnal 'Santo, Santo, Santo: Cantos para el pueblo de Dios / Holy, Holy, Holy: Songs for the People of God.'"

June 2, 2022 | 4 min video
Writing Hymnkus—Haiku Poetry Set to Music—for Christian 91

Your congregation can make worship the work of the people when you use their words in worship. The hymnku form—haiku poetry set to music—works for in-person, hybrid, and online worship and can involve many ages.

May 23, 2022

Mary Aluel Garang: The Charles Wesley of South Sudan

Since the mid-1980s, Mary Aluel Garang's theologically rich hymns have helped Sudanese Christians maintain faith and hope in God despite decades of war, conflict, and hardship. Her songs are known and sung beyond her Dinka people, her Episcopal tradition, and her nation of South Sudan.

March 31, 2022
Karen Campbell on Dinka Gospel Songs

Meeting Dinka Christians and musicians decades ago in East Africa made a lasting impression on Karen Campbell, a pastor and musician. She reflects on what we can learn about God through the lens of other cultures.

March 28, 2022
Dinka Christian Infrastructure: Song and Prayer Ministries

During decades of Sudanese civil war, the Jol Wo Lieech song ministry and Thiec Nhialic prayer ministry gave refugees and refugee congregations a sense of family and purpose. Both still work to unite Christians, whether or not they belong to the Dinka tribe or still live in South Sudan.

March 28, 2022

Bilingual Choral Music: A Webinar Series

Pearl Shangkuan, professor of music and director of choral activities at Calvin University and co-editor of the 91 Choral Music Series with GIA Publications, talks with Latin American music experts Maria Guinand, Jorge Lockward, and Marcell Silva Steuernagel about best practices for teaching and performing Latin and South American choral music.

February 9, 2022 | 53 min video
Bilingual Choral Music: A Conversation with Maria Guinand.

International renowned choral conductor Maria Guinand shares practical tips for North American choirs in teaching and performing Latin and South American choral music.

February 9, 2022 | 53 min video
Bilingual Choral Music: A Conversation with Marcell Silva Steuernagel

Marcell Silva Steuernagel, assistant professor of church music and director of the Master of Sacred Music program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, talks about what instruments can be added to better capture the style and spirit of Latin and South American choral music.

February 9, 2022 | 42 min video