Let's Celebrate Hymns! Cover Image

Let's Celebrate Hymns!: Intermediate Piano Book

$5.95 USD
$5.95 USD
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Let's Celebrate Hymns! Cover Image
Let's Celebrate Hymns!: Intermediate Piano Book

Let's Celebrate Hymns!: Intermediate Piano Book

Arranged by Jolene Byd

Item: 98-FJH2014
$5.95
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Description
This sacred collection features nine relatively short hymn settings that may be played separately as preludes, offertories, postludes, or contest pieces. Additionally, since each succeeding arrangement is either in the same key or moves up the circle of fourths, the pianist may play this material as an extended prelude, segueing smoothly from one piece to another, starting anywhere in the book. The entire book takes about 15 minutes to play, so the pianist may proceed as long as necessary without any interrupted moments.

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Additional Details
Series: FJH Sacred Piano Library
Publisher: The FJH Music Company, Inc.
ISBN10: 1-56939-660-4
ISBN13: 978-1-56-939660-5
UPC: 674398222148
SKU: 98-FJH2014

More about this title

Why we love this

The structural brilliance here is what sets it apart. By organizing arrangements in related keys and circle-of-fourths progression, Byd gives pianists the rare gift of a collection that functions both as standalone pieces and as a unified suite, eliminating dead air and keeping momentum alive for 15 minutes of continuous music. The practical intelligence shows everywhere: pieces work as preludes, offertories, postludes, or contest entries individually, yet reward you for threading them together.

What to expect

These arrangements honor the reverence and steadiness of hymn melodies while offering enough harmonic color and pianistic texture to keep experienced ears engaged. Each piece breathes with liturgical propriety but never feels static or purely functional.

Who it's for

Church musicians who need reliable, well-crafted preludes and postludes that go beyond basic hymn settings, and pianists preparing for festival or recital performances who want material that's approachable but musically substantive. Intermediate students building their classical hymn arrangement repertoire will also find the progression of keys and styles rewarding.

How to get the most out of it

  • Study the key relationships between consecutive pieces before you perform. Even though the circle-of-fourths progression makes transitions natural, knowing where you're headed rhythmically helps you shape the endings of each hymn so the next one feels inevitable rather than arbitrary.
  • If you're playing the collection as one extended prelude, use the final cadence of each piece to breathe and reset rather than as a full stop. Keep the listener's attention tethered across the sequence.
  • Balance the hymn tune's melodic weight against harmonic interest. These arrangements are intermediate, so the harmony will speak, but the sacred melody should never disappear into accompaniment.

How to use it

Open a service, retreat, or recital with one piece and let it set a contemplative tone, or use the entire 15-minute sequence as a complete prelude that unfolds like a mini-cantata. The individual pieces also serve solo performance contexts where organizers need multiple short works without program notes explaining thematic connections.

Skills your students will build

  • Playing hymn melodies with clarity and independence from accompanying voices
  • Executing smooth key modulations in real time without breaking musical flow
  • Balancing melodic and harmonic priorities in arrangement-based repertoire
  • Sustaining musical phrasing across longer sequences without fermatas or clear breaks
  • Interpreting sacred music idioms at the intermediate level

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