Worship Weblog
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
‘I Am The Bread of Life’: Setting is Everything
The 2005 Lessons and Carols service featured a stirring song that was new to me: “I am the Bread of Life.” I looked into it a little and found that the song originated as a Catholic anthem (the words and music are by Suzanne Toolan) and seemed to have a reputation as a folksy, sentimental song that represented what some Catholics don’t like about contemporary worship music. This clip I found via Google does have an around-the-campfire feel to it, and had I heard that version first, I doubt I would have taken to the song the same way. But the Lessons and Carols setting—with the choir, organ, trumpets, descant, and robust congregational singing on the final verse—gave the song a sense of grandeur and glory. It helped me worship, and made the promise of resurrection more vivid to me.
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