Anthem Feature: Family/Família

FROM THE CHORISTERS GUILD CATALOG USES & TIPS BY KATIE HOUTS

Mark Burrows | CGA1656 Two-part with piano for the Helen Kemp Choral Series

Four years ago, Choristers Guild announced the Helen Kemp Choral Series, which features one terrific, newly-composed children’s choir anthem each fall. The series honors Helen Kemp’s legacy of light and love, her gift for writing beautiful, singable melodies, and her work to uplift and encourage each chorister she taught. The anthems chosen for the Helen Kemp Choral Series are wonderfully crafted - both in music and in message. These selections can serve as thoughtful theme songs for an entire choir year. The anthems incorporate messages that are fitting for any time of year, perhaps even used as bookends in the fall and spring.

The 2021 Helen Kemp Choral Series anthem was written by Mark Burrows. “Family/Familia” is a bilingual song of love and welcome. It celebrates the beautiful diversity of our communities and neighborhoods, with a gentle challenge to see one another as God sees us: beloved children of the world.

This accessible English/Spanish anthem extends a hand of welcome, asserting that “we are more than neighbors, we are family.” Mark’s thoughtful update to a well-known Sunday school song (“Jesus Loves the Little Children”) is an endearing inclusion, drawing a wide circle around “every nation, every race,” for “all are held in God’s embrace.”

Two partner songs create harmonies here, making it a great selection for young choirs learning the new skill of partsinging - or for older choirs who need a piece they can learn in one or two rehearsals. Mark’s original melodies contain similar intervals and rhythms to the familiar “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” and there are loads of opportunities to identify solfege and rhythmic patterns in this song. You might even choose to teach one part by rote, and then use the complementary melody as a note-reading exercise.

Does your congregation include Spanish-speaking ministries? Combine English and Spanish singers in celebration of our shared identity as children of God. Sending a team on a mission trip, or commissioning an outreach ministry? This anthem reminds us of our calling to build bridges and strengthen communities. The Spanish verse is easily learned by even the youngest singers, and the score contains pronunciation and translation aids.

May this beautiful anthem bless your community and encourage you to see God in your neighbor.