Current and Classic Praise: Piano Book

These arrangements strike the rare balance between contemporary relevance and liturgical function. Tornquist's harmonic language feels fresh without overwhelming the melody, making each piece suitable for worship settings while remaining genuinely enjoyable to play. A 48-page collection with performance times included means you can build an entire prelude, offertory, or postlude rotation without hunting for individual pieces.

These arrangements capture the sincerity and emotional directness of contemporary praise music without sacrificing harmonic sophistication. The writing feels spacious and uncluttered, allowing both the familiar melodies and Tornquist's elegant accompaniment to resonate in a worship space.

Church pianists who need reliable, dignified arrangements of songs their congregations actually sing and recognize. It's equally valuable for late intermediate and early advanced students building a repertoire of pieces that feel contemporary while remaining grounded in solid musicianship.

• Honor the dynamic markings carefully. Tornquist's arranging style relies on subtle harmonic shifts rather than extreme register changes, so even a small crescendo or diminuendo shapes the overall arc of the piece.
• Lean into the rhythmic settings. These arrangements feature distinctive accompaniment patterns that feel contemporary; let them breathe rather than rushing through the pulse.
• Use the approximate performance times to plan your actual service. Knowing exactly how long each piece takes removes last-minute scrambling and allows you to program strategically around readings or other elements.
• Attend to pedal changes thoughtfully. Contemporary harmonic language often benefits from precise pedal work to achieve clarity without muddiness.

Build your entire liturgical rotation around this collection. Select pieces for specific Sundays based on readings and themes, and use the performance times to craft a balanced service arc. The variety of tempos and moods within the 12 titles means you can program a complete year of music from this single resource.

• Reading contemporary harmonic language and functional chord progressions
• Balancing melody and accompaniment voice independence
• Controlling pedal for clarity in rich harmonic textures
• Executing rhythmic patterns that support but don't dominate the melodic line
• Sustaining even tempo while honoring dynamic and harmonic nuance