Miriam Troxler

This past year I did the Resound Worship 12-song challenge. This is how it turned out.

January

The opening challenge for this season is to write Gathering Songs, something with which to kick off a corporate worship service.

Sing, Rejoice is the response for the first challenge. I was envisioning a call and response tune, with Sing, Rejoice as the congregational response. I created two versions, piano-vocal and choir-keyboard. Thanks to Emily Gedman for insight on vocal ranges.

February

The challenge for February is to write songs drawing inspiration from the book of Acts in the New Testament.

Gamaliel’s Jota came from Acts 5:38 and 39. In December I took a workshop on Jota Navarra led by Iñaki Reta Moreno. I envisioned Gamaliel being a solo voice, so thought it could be a good fit.

March

Write a song inspired by a songwriting hero.

How Wonderful It Is has lyrics by Hildegard of Bingen. The first version was over a pedal tone, referencing plain chant. I also made a lead sheet and a version for a 2-part choir anthem. It was more challenging than anticipated.

April

The challenge for April is Whole Church Worship Songs. We need to see each person as an individual with a different and valid way of approaching God. The body of Christ metaphor from Paul’s writing is so helpful here – we shouldn’t expect our body parts to be all the same. We could see our differences as a problem to solve… OR as something to be valued and celebrated. 

The church went online during the pandemic. Since then, about half the congregation worships at a distance. Many of them are elderly. I chose to reuse an existing tune to make it more approachable. I also added a spoken part for the non-singers. I combined this with a drum loop by Edson “Café” da Silva aiming for a Brazilian flavor. The result, Hearts Connect. Thank-you Travis Ham for the suggestions leading to the third verse.

May

The challenge for this month is to write Word-for-word Scripture Songs.

I choose Philippians 4:4. Yes, one verse became Rejoice in the Lord. I made a string quartet version to accompany it. I also did a piano reduction, because not everyone has access to a string quartet. I worked out parts of the melody in the classrooms of Beaver Valley Montessori School on the string instrument demonstration day. 

June

The challenge for June is Jesus of Nazareth Songs. Most of our songs have a static Jesus – in a manger, on a cross or on a throne. Obviously, those are vitally important things, but what about the rest of the Jesus story in the gospels?

This month I used Matthew 15:22-28 from the perspective of the woman.  You Can Make Her Well is set up with a 12-bar blues form. I sketched out a piano vocal version.

July

In July we are celebrating the 350th birthday of hymn writer Isaac Watts. The challenge for this month is to write a song or hymn inspired in some way by Watts.

I wrote two tunes for texts which inspired me: I Love to Rise at Early Day and Who is this Stranger at the Door.

August

When this month begins. we will be in the middle of the Paris Olympic Games. So we’re going to take our inspiration from this huge sporting institution and write Olympic Songs.

I started by looking at verses which were talking about running. The verse from (Job 9:25) reminded me of Ecclesiastes (12:1,5)  This tune has a cello inspired bass line. Thank-you Eugene Friesen. I choose to write part of it in 5 to represent days being unsettled. For My Days are Swift,  I  was envisioning a lot of freedom in the vocal line. Perhaps like a cantor might sing it, with the chorus in 3 being more congregational.

September

This month’s task is twofold. Write a Song for Someone.

a) write a song with a specific person in mind, something that would be good for them to sing and at the same time

b) use language carefully so that while being relevant to the person you have in mind, it would also be accessible and relevant to many other people.

Be Strong and Courageous is for my nephew who is autistic. He struggles with going new places and trying new things. School isn’t easy either. One place he does excel is Kung Fu. I worked to make the tune reflect that area of his life.

October

Write Happy Songs. In more recent times I find the older members of the congregation are not asking for hymns, they’re wondering why we never seem to sing any happy songs anymore, everything is mid-tempo and very serious…

You are my God is inspired by Psalm 118, it’s a two-part praise chorus. I envision that the parts can be sung in canon. 

November

The challenge for November is AI songs!

This was the most frustrating month for me. I began with a song about the book of Ruth. After the feedback I got on the chorus I created, I pivoted and wrote Redeemed.

December

January is just around the corner, a time when in some Christian traditions we recommit ourselves to following Jesus. So we’ve taken that theme for our final challenge, exploring some of the different ways we might commit ourselves to God, and the different contexts in which we do it. Write a Commitment Song.

I thought about the readings I have heard at weddings. Similar, regardless of denomination. We Choose Love  is a commitment song for a wedding. Thank-you Travis Ham for the words in the second verse. I left the first verse unchanged in the score, but sang the second verse for the lyric video.   

If you would like to hear all of the new music together, here is a playlist.