As the Dark Awaits the Dawn

Subject: hymn - As the Dark Awaits the Dawn
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 25 Dec 07 - 11:18 PM

For church next Sunday it has been suggested that I lead a song called 'As the Dark Awaits the Dawn.' Words by Susan Cherwien. Music by Carl Schalk. It is a modern piece.

I have been working on this song, and I can't figure out what the composer was trying to do. It consists of only one line - no harmony. There are no chord symbols. Measures that would go well with chords alternate with measures that move stepwise, thus messing up that approach.

No matter how many times I play it, the first line sounds like a modern-day chant. The next one sounds like something from a piano lounge. The next has an octave leap from high D to low. Nothing musically wrong with that, but it is not going to go well with our congregation.

Have you ever done this song under a professional musician? What's it supposed to be?

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As an example of what I'm asking -- I was struggling with a new song in church one day [different church] and was all at sea until somebody pointed to a note at the bottom of the page. 'A light, Asian feel.' That hint helped me understand what the composer was trying to do.