I am new to this site and fairly new to the penny whistle.
Here is a question for you… Our church is having a “service of darkness” on Good Friday and my Worship pastor is requesting a piece for penny whistle that would work for that style of service… If anyone has any suggestions, I would LOVE to hear!!! THANKS!!!
Nothing could be more appropriate than the chorale “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.” It is very simple to play in the key of D (actually F# Phrygian mode) on the D whistle. There is sheet music at http://ehymnal.com/osacred.shtml
Just transpose it up 1 step (2 semitones).
I just noticed a misprint. The first note in the third measure should be a D half-note, not a quarter-note. Same for the seventh measure.
Or Abide with me, which you can play well on the whistle if you start it on B.
O Sacred head is a great suggestion as well. The last tenebrae I went to had everyone sing Were you there while kneeling, which was also quite nice. I don’t think whistle would work for that, though.
Stuart
Oh Sacred Head is perfect for Good Friday. Also, you might want to check out the several plainsongs starting at number 159 in the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal. Any of the plainsongs listed for Holy Week work great for this sort of thing and most are in the key of C or D
I can think of something at least as appropriate. Lament of the three Marys’ The song relays possible conversations between Jesus and the three Marys’ present at the crusifiction (Jesus’ Mother, Jesus’ follower Magdalen, and Jesus’ Aunt). I learned it from the singing of Joe Heaney. It makes a great instrumental. I have seen no decent transcriptions or translations of this song (in it’s entirety).
I’ll see if I can get a recording to Tony in the next week or so.