Kyrie Eleison / Lord have mercy

Slower Kyries
  • TiS 736 / AoV2-095 /ATOK 392 / CH776 / Iona (M&G) / UMH483 / VU946 / WoV602 / GA133 A&M372 / GtG579 / G(II)272 / GC272 / GC(II)249 / PfAS051J / SP184 / Cha298 / URW412 / Lau519 / LUYH635 Kyrie Eleison (Ukrainian) Very simple and beautiful Kyrie. Given current world events, it might be a good time to sing this. Often used. It is very easy to teach the bass part to the men in your congregaton (even those who think they can't sing!). Sheet music sample. Youtube. Sheet music. Good for kids. 
  • Online Resource Lord have Mercy (Pat Mayberry / David Kai) A flowing Kyrie. Best if you can use all four parts, but it is also quite beautiful with just the melody. Sheet music.
  • TiS 729 / HSNW Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy upon us (Iona Community) A very very simple call and response chant.
  • Music by Heart 38 Kyrie Eleison (Mercer) (Marilyn Haskel) A lovely 3 part layered Kyrie that can be taught during the worship service. 
  • Online Resource Lord have mercy (The Porter's Gate) This will need to be taught, but should be easy to learn; it is more interested in corporate than personal sin, with a focus on creation. Lyrics and sound sample
  • TiS 734 / ATOK 379 / Iona (M&G) / MV070 / GA134 / PfAS051K / SP183 / URW410 / LUYH637 Kyrie Eleison (Ghana / Dinah Reindorf) Another common favourite. Again, easy to teach your men the bass drone. Sound sample. Sheet music sample
  • Music by Heart 39 Kyrie eleison / on five notes (Marilyn Haskel) Another lovely layered Kyrie that can be taught during the worship service. I think I like this one just a little better (4 parts). Sound sample and a good example of how to teach it
  • GC(II)137 / G(3)192 Kyrie (Mass of Creation) (Marty Haugen) Nice refrain, and the cantor verses seem quite good as well. Refrain could be used on its own. Can be sung in both English and Greek. Sound sample. Sheet music sample.
  • PfAS051I / LUYH633 Lord Have Mercy (Kathleen Brumm) A simple call and response Kyrie. Good for kids if you sing it with some energy. Lyrics and sample sheet music.
  • Iona (T1AU) / CH777 / MV067 / URW411 Kyrie Eleison (John Bell) A simple call and response Kyrie with an optional vocal or keyboard drone. Sound sample.
  • Iona (SBL) / MV068 / G(II)405 / GC581 / PfAS009AKyrie Guarany / On the poor, on the poor (Pablo Sosa) A simple Kyrie from Paraguay; This is our standard Kyrie at Brunswick. The English translation varies depending on the source (we sing it only in Greek). Sound sample in Guarani Sound sample in English. Good for kids.
  • Music by Heart 23 Lord have mercy (Isaac Everett / j. Snodgrass) Good for prayer of confession; will need a little time to teach the two congregational parts. 
  • ATFG564 / Srce2-105 / StF421 Empty broken here I stand  / Kyrie Eleison (Nick and Anita Haigh) A lighter Kyrie with verses. You may choose to select appropriate verses because there are a lot, and use them as a call and response. This is really nice. Sound sample.
  • STB043 Lord we did not live up to your teachings / Amra tomar adesh rupe (Shaha) A Bengali Kyrie. The translation is good, and quite challenging. This will need to be taught; it could be sung in Bengali, because (like a Kyrie) it's repetitive. 
  • TiS 735 / Taizé / AoV1-002 / ATE 238 / UMH484 / VU945 / HPP573 Kyrie kyrie eleison / Kyrie 1 (Jacques Berthier) Probably the simplest Kyrie out there. There are cantored verses; it's also nice as a repetitive chant on its own. Sheet music and sound samples.
  • Iona (Love and Anger) / StS067 / PfAS051G (Alternate Refrain 1) / STB120  Have mercy on us Lord / Khudaya rahem kar (Pakistan) A nice alternative, and can be used as a refrain to the Psalm. It would be nice to get your congregation to sing something from South Asia. Also works well in English, but it would be better to sing it in Urdu. Sound sample.
  • Online resource Kyrie (Philip Bayles / Thomas Dodd) A good responsive Kyrie with heartfelt prayer. Sheet music.
  • FFS13 E te Ariki (Lord have mercy) (Ian Render) A Māori Kyrie to a beautiful relaxed tune. Needs to be sung in Māori, and this would not be hard. 
  • HiOS023 E te Ariki whakarongo mai rā (Traditional Māori) A longer Māori Kyrie set to a traditional tune (Wi-Paetna Te Pairi) 
  • Online Resource Kyrie Marwa (Bruce Harding) This has some fantastic crunchy chords in it! Best if you have some harmony singers in your congregation. Free sheet music.
  • Online Resource / TiS760 / GC(II)209 Kyrie Eleison (Mass of Remembrance) (Marty Haugen) A nice simple Kyrie with or without Cantor part. Sound sample. Sheet music.
  • A&M370 / CH648 / StF784 Lord have mercy (James MacMillan) Simple minor key Kyrie. Written in English, so it works in English! Sound samples available for download (it's the fourth one).
  • MV069 Kyrie Eleison (William Kervin) A very simple Kyrie chant.
  • PfAS051G (Alternate Refrain 2) Lord have mercy have mercy upon us / Nkosi Nkosi yiba nenceba (South Africa) A simple Kyrie that can be used as a Psalm refrain.
  • PfAS051G (Alternate Refrain 1) Have mercy on us Lord / Khudaayaa raeham kar (Urdu) A simple Kyrie that can be used as a Psalm refrain.
  • SP&P050 Jesus Son of David have mercy on me (Schmidt) A simple, repetitive song which starts with "Jesus Son of David Have Mercy on Me". A good alternative to a Kyrie.
  • STB123 O Lord Our God / Ya Tuhanku (Indonesia) (Javanese melody) A very simple and quite lovely Kyrie based on a Javanese melody.  
  • STB124 Lord have mercy / Uru bayo (Ekka) Kyrie A Kyrie from India in the Kurukh language. It doesn't really work in English. This will need to be taught.
  • SP&P100 God tender and just (Sidney Fowler / Sonia Ivette Morales-Matos) A very simple refrain to use during a prayer of Confession. It's not a Kyrie, but the intention is the same. "God, tender and just, forgive our sins". 
  • STB119 Kyrie Eleison / Tuhan Kasihani (Christian Tamaela) This is quite lovely, based on a melody from the Maluku (Moluccas) Islands, and has a written drumbeat to go with it. It will need to be taught. It would be best to sing this in Bahasa - it's not hard! 
  • STB121 Kyrie Eleison / Chu ah kiu Li lin-bin goan (adapt: I-toh Loh) This Kyrie is based on a Saisiat melody by I-toh Loh, and is quite lovely with both parts singing together. Will need to be taught, but it's quite simple. Would be great to sing in Taiwanese if you have someone who can help with the pronunciation. 
  • STB299 Chuyo ulirul / O Lord please have mercy on us (Geonyong Lee) This Korean language Kyrie is written as a call and response, but the melody is not repeated (only the words), so it will need to be taught. There is no alternative language. Good for congregations with a number of Korean-speaking members. 
  • TiS 709 / Taizé Chuyo chuyo (Jacques Berthier) A Korean hymn, appropriate for an intercession response, and can be sung as a round. Not hard for non-Koreans! It means "Lord hear us". Good for kids.
  • STB300 Swamin wahanse (Sri Lanka) This Kyrie is in Sinhala only. Good to know about if you have a number of Sinhalese congregation members.
  • STB301 Kurie Elaison (South India) This Kyrie from the Syriac Liturgy uses a traditional South Indian liturgical melody, so will need to be taught. The pronunciation of Kyrie Eleison is slightly different, but is not hard. 
  • STB302 O Lord Your Mercy Show (Vietnam) This Vietnamese Kyrie can be sung in Vietnamese or in English and starts with a call and response. 
  • Lau181 Kyrie eleison (Bob Hurd) A nice simple call and response Kyrie. Sound sample.  
  • Taizé Kyrie eleison (Taizé 10) (Jacques Berthier) A nice, ascending Kyrie that builds; a good response. Sheet music and sound samples
  • Taizé Kyrie eleison (Taizé 18) (Jacques Berthier) A light Kyrie, with a drone between. Sheet music and sound samples. 
  • GtG575 Lord Have Mercy (Christopher Pardini) A simple Kyrie in three phrases. Sound sample (I would sing it slower).
  • ATN 11 / UMH482 Lord have mercy (James A Kriewald) A simple call and response Kyrie.  
  • W&R375 Lord Have Mercy (John Michael Talbot) This is a very lovely gentle Kyrie, but not something you would use frequently. Maybe better for Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. Sound sample. 
  • Iona (SBL) Lord have mercy on us / Ch'iu Chu Lienmin (Taiwan) A simple Kyrie from Taiwan  
  • GtG437 You are the Lord giver of mercy (Trad) A different take on the Kyrie 
  • Online Resource Kyrie Canon (Andy Beck) A choral arrangement, but can be sung simply by a small group of singers, or over a longer period of time, could be taught to a congregation at a camp or something similar, particularly if you used only the first 24 bars sung as a round. Choral sheet music for purchase
Energetic Kyries
  • ATA 119 / SFFS 2127 Come and See / Kyrie (Marilyn Houser Hamm) The first verse of this is based on the Gospel of John, but the chorus is a simple and energetic Kyrie with a lovely descant that could be used on its own. Sound sample.

1 comment:

RevAlMac said...

Fred Kaan has a hymn which includes the use of Kyrie,
O Holy Spirit
included in a collection by Guy Jansen called Servant Songs. Also in Kaan's collection called Pilgrim Praise