Portraits of Praise: Advanced Piano Book

House doesn't treat these familiar hymns as museum pieces. Instead, he reimagines them through jazz harmony and structural innovation, adding impressionistic textures, two-part inventions, and harmonic sophistication that demand genuine musicianship from your pianists. Advanced players get to inhabit repertoire that respects both the sacred tradition and their growing technical abilities.

These arrangements inhabit the space between reverence and improvisation. You encounter the hymns you know, but filtered through unexpected harmonic colors and structural details that reveal new dimensions in the melodies. There's intellectual engagement alongside spiritual resonance.

Advanced high school and college pianists seeking sacred repertoire with real harmonic substance. Accompanists preparing for church services or recitals who want to move beyond hymnal arrangements. Pianists exploring the intersection of classical technique and jazz idiom.

• Pay close attention to the introductory sections. These aren't throwaway gestures; they establish the harmonic and textural world of each arrangement and deserve rehearsal time equal to the hymn tune itself.
• Balance the jazz voicings against clarity of the underlying melody. The accomplished pianist can handle complex harmony, but the spiritual substance of each piece relies on hearing the tune.
• Explore the score for dynamic shaping opportunities beyond what's printed. These arrangements invite interpretive choices that reflect your performer's musicianship.

Include selections as recital openers or closers to frame a program with spiritual grounding. Alternatively, feature one arrangement as a solo piece within a larger concert featuring diverse sacred music. The collection also serves church musicians seeking Sunday service accompaniment that elevates the congregational experience.

• Jazz harmony and reharmonization techniques
• Interpreting impressionistic and contemporary notation
• Balancing melodic clarity with complex harmonic voicings
• Understanding structural arrangement choices in hymn settings
• Pedal technique for sustaining jazz chord colors
• Stylistic flexibility between classical and jazz idioms