[Magdalen] Hymnals and Perspective.

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

No, harmonies are not self-evident.  I was writing an arrangement of a hymn
which has two harmonizations of the very same tune in the '82.

The '40 had a lot of hymns with very fine harmonizations. They were better
than what you found in other denominations' hymnals because the
harmonizations were innovative and creative and counter-intuitive.

Some hymns, the harmonizations in the more recent hymnal are identical to
the older hymnal, except that the hymn gremlins changed just a couple of
chords in the hymn, so the old harmonization works up to a point and then
-- whoa, WTF? Then, just as quickly, you're back in old familiar waters
again.  I think a lot of folks just don't hear those differences.
I was rehearsing an arrangement of my variations on the folksong "English
Country Garden," and the keyboardist just happily started playing along,
blissfully unaware that my harmony and the harmony she remembered from
Percy Granger's version, were not the same.  She'd have kept playing til
Jesus came if I hadn't stopped the group and told her this did not HAVE a
part for keyboard.  This lady has been playing all sorts of keyboard stuff
since I was in diapers, so if she can be unconscious to harmonic
differences, others probably are too. My problem is that if even a passing
note is out of place, it sort of ruins the hymn for me. Most folks don't
hear that, and as with most situations, the folks who do not hear something
tend to assume others who mention it are just making it up. (We aren't --
true that!)

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 11:45 AM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm kinda stumped by this harmony thing. Maybe I'm way off base, but can't
> you figure it out? The harmonies always seem self-evident to me, but maybe
> it's because I learned'em young.
>
> I do wish the 1982 was as easy to hold as the 1940, though.
> -M
>