About Jabulani Music . . . I formed Jabulani Music in England in 1979. It was one of a series of in-house grass-roots liturgical music publishing companies. During the years immediately following Vatican 2, not many of the major publishers were willing to publish the new' Catholic Music of worship. They thought it was a here today, gone tomorrow' phenomenon. Yet the strength and vigor of these garden shed publishers brought the many emerging liturgical music genres to the public, and eventually became a major source from which those reluctant catholic publishers began to draw their repertoire. Jabulani emerged when fellow British composers saw the need for alternative means of promoting and distributing new music for the liturgy in all of its appropriate music forms. Following the steps of Bill Tamblyn (Chiswick Music), Christopher Walker (Clifton Publications) Philip Duffy (Cathedral Music) and Paul Inwood (Magnificat Music), I felt that I too had a certain niche concept not being met elsewhere, especially the collection of music by Bernard Huijbers with Huub Oosterhuis from Amsterdam which I had been translating for some years. Unlike the big-name publishers, we were in direct weekly contact with the liturgical assembly. Wevknew what was need, not what was commercially viable. This dynamic, and the courage and ability to forge something innovative yet appropriate to our needs, was nourished by the enthusiasm sweeping the Church as the new liturgy' settled into place. The name Jabulani was born not in London but in Zululand! I was sitting with a group of friends, brainstorming, when the name emerged. "You must call it Jabulani" boomed an authoritative voice. As he spoke, the earth shook and the mountains sent forth smoke, as voice echoed across the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Jabulani? "It means house of joy, house of song, house of dancing and laughter". I was left in little doubt, even as I pondered about the viability of a Zulu name in pragmatic corridors of the UK. And so Jabulani Music was born, to take its rightful place alongside the other pioneering groups which graced the shelves of the radical North London clearing house of the St. Thomas More Centre for Pastoral Liturgy. Jabulani's purpose was three-fold to make available the new music for worship which would not otherwise see the light of day due to the reluctance of the major publishers to publish. to accompany my workshop and education programs in worship awareness and sensitivity and to make available booklets and other publications related to these programs. to promote the music of the Amsterdam School' in the UK, a radical approach to worship from the pioneers of liturgical reform, and teaching the theological understanding behind their endeavors. To this day, Jabulani continues to support workshop and worship programs on both sides of the Atlantic, and enjoys a healthy relationship with major publishing houses worldwide. An extensive catalogue has evolved of music and workshop study aids. Here are all of the different music and liturgical forms appropriate to worship: Biblical Songs (open- and closed-form) Psalms (integrated, composite, pulsed, through, and responsorial settings) Acclamations (litanies, mantras, chants, ritual songs). Education for worship has always been a priority, so each published item usually comes with a detailed yet practical commentary, written in the context of the history of Catholic worship and its Jewish roots. Jabulani boasts a unique catalogue of music from Amsterdam, with music settings by Bernard Huijbers, Tom Lowenthal and Antoine Oomen of the texts of Huub Oosterhuis.This collection began in the liturgical developments of the late 1950s and early 1960s in the Ignatius College, the Catholic University Campus Ministry, and the inner city parish of St. Dominic. The Student and Dominicus churches continue their quest for a biblically-based worship program, and their liturgical texts and music express their growth in understanding of ministry and ecclesiology. In the 1980s, I formed an international panel of church musicians, parish liturgists and poets to develop a repertoire of English language editions from the Amsterdam hymnal. Over the years, several of these items have been picked up by Oregon Catholic Press in Portland, Oregon, who committed to publishing and distributing the Dutch collection throughout the entire English-speaking world. Jabulani also publishes booklets on biblical, theological and liturgical themes. These serve as background to the music in the catalogue and as resource materials for college, workshop and parish programs throughout the English-speaking world. For over 30 years Jabulani has enjoyed a creative partnership with Bill Tamblyn and Chiswick Music. This was cemented over the years by the invitation to partake in the development of the School of Liturgical Music based on the Colchester Institute BA and MA honors programs, and in the formation of the LitMus forum for postgraduate liturgical music student. At the beginning of 2007, the Jabulani Catalogue, representing almost 30 years of activity, contained over 750 music publications, any of which may be ordered online. Back