Instruments
New Organ Music for Lent and Easter: A Resource List
by
Judy A. Congdon
Issue #78
The organist seeking fresh ideas appropriate to Lent, Holy Week, and Easter
worship has a wealth of recent compositions from which to choose. New
releases listed here from seven different publishers reveal a rich array of
solo organ works based on traditional European hymnody; a surprising number
of pieces and collections devoted to early American hymnody, including
spirituals (more than a dozen useful settings of “Wondrous Love” are
included in the volumes listed below); a growing body of organ settings of
newer hymns, songs, and choruses; and valuable resources for accompanying
congregational singing.
For space reasons I have limited this list to publications since 2000; all
are available from publishers’ websites. Designations E (easy), M
(moderate), and D (difficult) are to be interpreted with some latitude.
Solo Organ Music for Lent
Michael Bedford. Partita on “Wondrous Love.” Paraclete Press, 2005.
#PPM00515. 12 pp. $10. M. Theme, three short variations, and a concluding
vigorous fugue on this well-known early American hymn tune.
Emma Lou Diemer. Beneath the Cross for Organ. Zimbel Press, 2003.
#Z203. 9 pp. $10. M. The composer states that this commissioned piece is “in
a somewhat 19th-century dramatic, expressive style reminiscent of Cesar
Franck.” A substantial piece, appropriate for service voluntary or recital.
Robin Dinda. Seasonal Hymn Preludes, Volume 6: Lent and Holy Week.
Wayne Leupold Editions, 2004. #WL600179. 32 pp. $13. M. Four of these twelve
hymn settings are for manuals only. Many feature hymn tunes with either
baroque-style counterpoint or romantic-style chordal accompaniments, along
with a blues arrangement of “Were You There” and a passacaglia on the
Passion Chorale. A welcome addition to Dinda’s series, which also includes
hymn prelude sets for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany.
Sandra Gay. Partita on a Hymn Tune of Tallis for Organ. Zimbel Press,
2001. #Z115. 8 pp. $9. M. This piece is based on Thomas Tallis’s third mode
melody—a haunting Phyrgian tune, paired in The Hymnal 1982 with Fred Pratt
Green’s poem “To Mock Your Reign, O Dearest Lord” and in the Psalter Hymnal
(PsH) to Psalm 62. The hymn tune and five variations would be effectively
used in Good Friday liturgies.
Calvin Hampton. Jesus Enters Jerusalem. Wayne Leupold Editions, 2004.
#WL700031. 12 pp. $12. M. This recently published piece by the late Calvin
Hampton was composed in 1982 as a Palm Sunday prelude for Plymouth
Congregational Church in Minneapolis. Based on the tune known as both st.
theodulph and valet will ich dir geben, the programmatic piece depicts
Jesus’ triumphal entry and is designed to lead directly into the
congregational singing of “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.”
Barbara Harbach. Hosanna, Loud Hosanna: Organ Settings for Lent and
the Passion. Augsburg Fortress, 2004. #0800676920. 20 pp. $12.50. D. The
seven works in this volume include lively toccatas on two Palm Sunday hymns,
“All Glory, Laud, and Honor” (valet will ich dir geben) and “Ride On, Ride
On in Majesty!” (ellacombe), along with gentler settings of “Were You There”
and “Wondrous Love.”
Joyce Jones. Three for Lent. Morning Star, 2000. #10-326. 11 pp. $8.
E. “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” (hamburg), “Alas! And Did My Savior
Bleed” (martyrdom), and “Ah, Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended” (herzliebster
jesu) are each presented in quiet, simple-textured settings, to be used as
voluntaries or hymn introductions. Alternate endings are provided for
hamburg so that the ending tonality can match the key of the hymn.
Karen Keene. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross: Prelude and Meditation
on Rockingham Old. Morning Star, 2002. #10-330. 8 pp. $7. M. The meditation,
with its juxtaposition of romantic harmonies and contrapuntal lines over
pedal point, is quite lovely and could stand alone very well on a small
instrument. The prelude features similar textures, but more complicated
registration and a somewhat more difficult pedal part.
Harold Owen. Three Meditations for Organ on Lenten Hymns. GIA, 2000.
#G-5414. 12 pp. $12. M. Settings of aus der tiefe and aus tiefer not are
well constructed, though rather dissonant. The meditation on erhalt uns,
herr (“The Glory of These Forty Days,” The Hymnal 1982 143; and “Lord, Keep
Us Steadfast in Your Word,” PsH 598), which employs a more conservative
harmonic structure, is warmly recommended.
Solo Organ Music for Easter
Charles Callahan. Easter Music for Manuals, Set 2. Morning Star,
2002. #10-424. 11 pp. $8. E. An organist who is not comfortable playing
pedals would find all he or she needs here to play a vibrant Easter Sunday
service. This is well-crafted composition for manuals alone; pieces are well
shaped and textures are complete without large reaches. The eight hymn tune
preludes include “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today,” “The Day of Resurrection,”
and “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.” All are short (single page), and each is
distinctive in character.
John Ferguson. In Quiet Joy: An Easter Triptych. Morning Star, 2000.
#10-422. 11 pp. $8. E. Ferguson writes in the introduction to this volume,
“There is a place amidst the joyful noise of the Easter season for a few
quiet, contemplative moments. These hymn preludes are conceived to meet this
need.” Meditative settings of easter hymn and gelobt sei gott frame the set,
my favorite being the middle piece, a peppy (yet quiet) setting of the
17th-century Dutch tune vruechten (“This Joyful Eastertide”).
Michael Helman. Three for Easter: Festive Hymn Settings for Organ.
Augsburg Fortress, 2001. #0800674790. 11 pp. $8. D. Spare harmonies capture
the flavor of the medieval hymn tune o filii et filiae (“O Sons and
Daughters of the King”). “The Day of Resurrection” (lancashire) features a
fanfare-like opening with pedal solo passages, followed by a fugue on the
first line of the tune. “The Strife Is O’er, the Battle Done” (victory)
culminates in a full organ presentation of the hymn tune in the pedal
underneath figuration patterned after Henri Mulet’s toccata “Tu es Petra.”
Dennis Janzer. Easter Suite Op. 13 for Organ. Wayne Leupold Editions,
1998. #WL 600122. 24 pp. $11. D. Of four pieces on Easter hymns, Janzer’s
“Toccata on Easter Hymn” and “Variant and Processional Finale on ellacombe”
are virtuosic, appealing postlude material. Large reaches required in
several pieces present some difficulty for players with small hands.
Aaron David Miller. Triptych for Lent and Easter. Augsburg Fortress,
2000. #0800659457. 24 pp. $12. D. These pieces, based on the hymn tunes
munich, herzliebster jesu, and morgenlied, reflect the inspiration and
craftsmanship one would expect from this top prizewinner in improvisation.
All present challenges for the player, but are musically well worth the
effort. munich and herzliebster jesu are quiet and reflective. The Easter
hymn tune morgenlied receives an energetic treatment that is virtuosic,
while avoiding formulas.
Lent/Easter Collections of Works
by Several Composers
The Organist’s Companion: Music with Minimal Pedal, Lenten Season. Morning
Star, 2002.
#10-329. 27 pp. $15. E.
The Organist’s Companion: Music for Manuals, Lent-Easter-Pentecost. Morning
Star, 2002.
#10-346. 24 pp. $13. E.
The Organist’s Companion: Music with Minimal Pedal, Easter-Pentecost.
Morning Star, 2002.
#10-425. 24 pp. $13. E.
The publisher’s note accompanying these volumes, compiled and edited by
Rodney Schrank, states that “the music contained in this series has been
gleaned primarily from extant Morning Star publications of a more advanced
level of difficulty but which contain a setting or two of an easier degree.”
Part of a larger series, encompassing the entire liturgical year, these are
eminently useful pieces for the church organist by seasoned composers. While
various styles and textures are represented, all works have in common high
artistic quality and brevity.
Thine the Glory: Accessible Organ Music for Lent and Easter. Morning
Star, 2005. #10-301. 39 pp. $18. E. “Accessible” certainly means easily
received by the listener. Meditative pieces in this volume are lovely, and
the more energetic pieces are stirring and virtuosic. The six pieces for
Lent include settings of jesu, meine freude (“Jesus, Priceless Treasure”) by
Michael Burkhardt and bourbon (“It Happened on That Fateful Night”) by
Wilbur Held. For Easter, a setting of easter hymn in 10/8 meter by Robert
Hobby is refreshing, and Michael Burkhardt’s Processional on salve festa
dies (“Hail Thee, Festival Day”) is wonderfully majestic.
General Collections with Lent/Easter Material—Solo Organ
Carson Cooman. Organ Music Volume I. Wayne Leupold Editions, 2004.
#WL600190. 88 pp. $28. M. The publisher notes that Cooman “has an intense
desire for the organ to speak in a contemporary musical language.” Of 32
pieces in the collection, 18 are hymn-based, 15 are for designated seasons
of the Christian year, and all are appropriate for use in worship. Settings
of “O Sacred Head” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” are appropriate in
Lent, with a dark and harmonically daring (though not difficult) “Tenebrae
Canticle” offering an expressive addition to a Good Friday service.
Robert Ehrhardt. Preludes on American Folk Hymns. Zimbel Press, 2001.
#Z117. 32 pp. $20. M. A quiet, reflective arrangement of “Lonesome Valley”
is the only setting of this hymn I have found in recent organ publications.
Ehrhardt’s “Cleansing Fountain” features lean counterpoint and austere
harmony, capturing the flavor of this early American folk hymn.
Wilbur Held. Beneath the Cross: 13 Contemplations for Lent and
General Use. Morning Star, 2001. MSM-10-327. 31 pp. $16. E. Five of these
settings are based on specifically Lenten hymns, though any could be
appropriately played during Lent. A setting of pange lingua for manuals
alone is reminiscent of Jean Langlais’s more contemplative pieces, and a
charming set of variations on hendon (“Take My Life and Let It Be”) forms a
welcome addition to the service playing repertoire. As all settings are
short, they can be used as hymn introductions or grouped together for
preludes.
>Wilbur Held. Wondrous Love: 5 Hymn Settings for Organ. Morning Star,
2005. #10-573. 19 pp. $11. M. Tunes are from early American sources, and two
are especially fitting for Lent. A quiet, easy setting of the title song is
about two minutes long. A more extended treatment of bangor (“Alone Thou
Goest Forth, O Lord”), which employs a variety of textures, dynamics from mp
to ff, and virtuosic pedal in spots, could serve as a dramatic prelude
during Holy Week.
Bradley Hunnicutt. 6 Organ Settings of Shape-Note Tunes from The
Sacred Harp. GIA, 2002.
#G-5600. 31 pp. $15. M. These arrangements of some lesser-known Sacred Harp
tunes intentionally avoid the use of all accidentals, acknowledging that the
tunes themselves are “severely diatonic.” Two energetic possibilities for
Easter Sunday voluntaries are “Ninety-Third Psalm” and “Easter Hymn.”
Robert Lind. Voluntaries on “Quem Pastores” and “Love Unknown.”
Paraclete Press, 2004. #PPM00414. 8 pp. $7.50. M. Lind’s rich harmonic
setting of John Ireland’s tune love unknown would make a beautiful quiet
voluntary during Lent.
John Ogasapian. Five Preludes on Early American Hymntunes. GIA, 2003.
#G-5709. 20 pp. $18. M. Two of these works are particularly useful for Lent.
A setting of new britain (“Amazing Grace”) has an impressionistic flavor,
and three variations on wondrous love hint at polytonality.
Anne Roberts. As One Unknown: A Collection of Organ Hymn Adaptations.
Augsburg Fortress, 2004. #0800676963. 36 pp. $15. M. A collection that
includes newer hymn tunes such as earth and all stars (“Alleluia, Jesus is
Risen”), gather us in, and i am the bread of life is a welcome addition to
the service-playing repertoire. Though the pieces as a whole are somewhat
lacking in musical shape and direction, each setting includes some
interesting textural and/or rhythmic treatments of the tune.
Mark Siebert. Preludes on Campmeeting Songs. Zimbel Press, 2004.
#Z201. 12 pp. $10. E. Easy and beautiful settings of cleansing fountain and
wondrous love make this a worthwhile collection for Lent.
Praise and Worship Collections
Eager to include examples of the Praise and Worship genre in this resource
list, I played through a number of such published collections. There are
well-conceived arrangements of both reflective and energetic songs
available, but many demonstrate a little too obviously their origin as piano
works. The technique of modulation, predictably up a semitone, a fourth, or
a fifth, is also overused in much of this repertoire. With these caveats, I
suggest a few works you might wish to consider:
Peggy Bettcher. Praise and Worship for Organ. Hope Publishing
Company, 2001. #8131. 28 pp. $14.95. M. Bettcher’s setting of lamb of god
presents the tune in a variety of textures and registers. Full organ and
syncopated rhythm characterize her setting of “How Majestic Is Your Name.”
John Carter. Today’s Hymns and Songs II for Organ. Hope Publishing
Company, 2005. #8260. 28 pp. $12.95. E. Carter has produced some of the more
successful organ pieces adapted from Praise and Worship music, employing
imaginative uses of harmony and texture. “You Are My All in All” and “Shout
to the Lord” are particularly effective.
Douglas E. Wagner. Songs of Praise. Hope Publishing Company, 2004.
#8226. 24 pp. $12.95. E. Wagner’s setting of “There Is a Redeemer” would be
appropriate for Lent/Easter. His treatments of “You Are My All in All” and
“Give Thanks” are two of the more idiomatic for organ.
Resources for Congregational Accompaniment
Jeremy J. Bankson. Festive Hymn Settings: Llanfair. Morning Star, 2005.
#20-440. 20 pp. $20. E. Paired with Charles Wesley’s text, “Christ the Lord
Is Risen Today,” this setting includes parts for brass quartet or quintet
and optional timpani and cymbal, along with the vocal parts which consist
simply of melody and descant.
Michael Burkhardt. Festive Hymn Settings:
My Song Is Love Unknown. Morning Star, 2001. #10-328. 15 pp. $10. M. This
engaging setting includes an optional B-flat clarinet part along with organ
and voices. Voices are in unison, with suggestions for alternation (solo,
women, men, children) and a soprano descant. Perfect for a hymn festival.
Hal Hopson. The Creative Use of the Organ in Worship. Hope Publishing
Company, 2000. #8070. 190 pp. $39.95. E. In this eminently useful book for
the average church organist, Hopson encourages the creative process of
improvisation using techniques that are possible for nearly everyone.
Contains minimal prose and a wealth of musical examples, both sample phrases
and complete hymn settings.
Joseph Willcox Jenkins. Hail Thee, Festival Day. Morning Star, 2005.
#20-742. 35 pp. $25.
M. Alternate texts are provided for Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost.
Setting is for brass quartet, timpani, and organ. Choir part doubles
congregation on the tune except for a last-stanza descant and “Amen” coda.
All three Morning Star volumes include reproducible instrumental and vocal
parts helpfully stapled into the score itself.
Pull Out the Stops: Congregational Song Accompaniments for Organ. Augsburg
Fortress, 2001. #11-11038. 224 pp. $35. M. 108 hymn tunes, many composed
after 1970, are included in this volume. Each is given a creative
introduction and an alternative accompaniment for congregational singing.
The list of gifted contributing composers includes David Cherwien, Aaron
David Miller, Mark Sedio, and twenty-four others.
Author
Judy A. Congdon
Judy A. Congdon (Judy.Congdon@houghton.edu) is professor of organ and
college organist at Houghton College, Houghton, New York, as well as
organist/choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Olean, New York.
She serves on the Music Commission for the Episcopal Diocese of Buffalo. She
will be a presenter at the Calvin Worship Symposium in January.
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