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The Presbyterian Hymnal: Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs

Westminster

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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> Musical Genres -> Religious & Sacred Music -> Hymns

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Four Stars, and a Half. (Good Resource, but.......) 4 out of 5 stars.
15 of 21 people found this review helpful.

This is a great hymnal, that was thoughtfully produced, and obviously had a huge amount of time dedicated to its production. Presbyterians now have a hymnal that goes straight through the liturgical year, from Advent to Pentecost/Whitsunday, and beyond. This hymnal also contains all the Psalms, so essential to tradition Presbyterian/Reformed Worship, set to music.

The redeeming quality of the Psalms offsets the fact that many words were to changed for "inclusiveness". I do not always have a problem with accepting everyone into the church, but when great hymns are changed from their original text I wonder... For example hymn 262 reads "God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand", when D.C. Roberts wrote "God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand" in 1876 as our National Hymn. Little things like this make me wonder how true other less-well known hymns were translated.

Also included are a number of hymns in foreign tongues, such as Native American Languages, and Korean. This are wonderful additions to congregations with large numbers of members who are of different ethnic origins, but I attend an all-white church, not because we do not welcome people of other races but simply because the community in which I live is close to 99% white, and minorities have teir own strong churches locally, therefore these hymns are useless to us, and could have been replaced by some older hymns that are trditional favorites.

All in all, this is a good hymnal and does remain true to God's will, but I much prefer "The Hymnbook" of 1955 or "The Hymnal" of 1933 or "The Trinity Hymnal". These books contain many more common hymns that many of us who were reared in the Presbyterian Church, or any other Protestant denomination, would recognize.

I guess that if we were truly Presbyterian we would only sing Psalms- acapella, but I think hymnwriters, offer everyone a better chance to praise and worship God.

Carols for Choirs 2: Fifty Carols for Christmas and Advent (Carols)

Reginald Jacques, John Rutter, David Willcocks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Must-Have Addition to any Choral Library 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This wonderful collection has many more of the favorites performed at King's College and elsewhere, and especially the must-have Matin Responsory to begin your Lessons and Carols service.

I could use a large print edition 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

We are singing out of this book and I am finding it difficult to read some of the type, for example, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel...I wonder if that is a font size 6 or so? And the chorus is in italics, for crying out loud. Yes, the music is lovely, but surely there is no reason not to offer music in larger print. Maybe some of the publishers need to get into the choir lofts all over USA and see how bad the lighting can be, then they will understand.

The reason I came to Amazon.com was to buy a large print edition, but apparently it is not offered.

Editorial Review:

A second collection of 50 carols, mostly for SATB, some unaccompanied, and some having accompaniments for piano, or organ, or orchestra, or brass ensemble. Many of the carols are from traditional sources, rearranged: among the items composed especially for this volume are carols by William Walton, Benjamin Britten, Richard Rodney Bennett, and William Mathias.
Instrumental material for most of the accompanied items is available on hire. Eight Carol Accompaniments for 5 and 8-part brass (from CfC1 and CfC2) are on sale.

The Story of Christian Music: From Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel, an Authoritative Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music for Worship

Andrew Wilson-Dickson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Informative, Balanced, albeit British 4 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

The author provides a relatively well-balanced overview of church music, even while reflecting a British perspective. The book is lucid, is very well illustrated, and gives a genuine sense of the development of church history while discussing a wide range of Christian music-making from chant to gospel. The book is certainly among the best of its kind. It is rather weak in its treatment of gospel and contemporary popular Christian music. But it is well-grounded theologically and is rarely judgmental ...

Editorial Review:

Music has been at the heart of Christian worship since the beginning, and this lavishly illustrated and wonderfully written volume fully surveys the many centuries of creative Christian musical experimentation. From its roots in Jewish and Hellenistic music, through the rich tapestry of medieval chant to the full flowering of Christian music in the centuries after the Reformation and the many musical expressions of a now-global Christianity, Wilson-Dickson conveys "a glimpse of the fecundity of imagination with which humanity has responded to the creator God.

Silent Night: The Song and Its Story

Margaret Hodges

List Price: $17.00 By: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $2.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A beautiful and informative story to be read every year 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is a beautiful picture book which tells the story of how one of the world's most loved Christmas carols came to be written. The story is sure to loved by children and adults and could easily become part of a family holiday reading tradition.

The Song that Unites Savage Beasts 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

See how a univerally-known song, "Silent Night" can stop men from thinking about war. From a song that was scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper inside an old church organ to a melody that stopped gunfire during the Korean War, we see the power of music through this simple holiday carol. Beautifully illustrated, and a wonderful lesson to read aloud.

Notable for illustrations, text and setting 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Beautifully illustrated and simply written, this version of the "Silent Night" story hit home with our family as we are descendants from the little-known, but incredibly beautiful Austrian Tyrol, the setting for the story. A copy is being sent to 80-year old Tyrolean grandparents (in NY) to enjoy!

Editorial Review:

This beautiful picture book tells how Father Joseph Mohr and church organist Franz Gruber worked up until the last minute on Christmas Eve in 1818 to write a new Christmas song for the villagers of Oberndorf, Austria--a song we know as Silent Night.

Best of Contemporary Christian: Over 400 Songs (Fake Book)

Hal Leonard Music Books

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Contemporary Christian 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for a resource book to quickly learn Contemporary
Christian music. It has a lot of the popular music of today.

fast 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This item came quickly at a busy time of year (Christmas). I appreciated that they shipped through someone who had up to date tracking.

Editorial Review:

This great fake book contains over 400 contemporary Christian songs, ranging from the standards to today's current hits. Artists represented include: Avalon, Steven Curtis Chapman, DC Talk, Amy Grant, Jars of Clay, Crystal Lewis, Sandi Patty, Petra, Point of Grace, Rebecca St. James, Michael W. Smith, Jaci Velasquez, and more! Songs include: Abba (Father) - Awesome God - Beauty for Ashes - Butterfly Kisses - Can't Live a Day - Crucified with Christ - El Shaddai - Father's Eyes - Flood - Friends - The Great Adventure - His Strength Is Perfect - How Beautiful - I Could Sing of Your Love Forever - I Will Be Here - Jesus Freak - Mary, Did You Know? - People Get Ready ... Jesus Is Comin' - Shine - Thank You - Via Dolorosa - The Warrior Is a Child - Where There Is Faith - You Are My All in All - and hundreds more.

Music Through the Eyes of Faith

Harold Best

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Christian musicians know of the obligation to make music as agents of God's grace. They make music graciously, whatever its kind or style, as ambassadors of Christ, showing love, humility, servanthood, meekness, victory, and good example . . . Music is freely made, by faith, as an act of worship, in direct response to the overflowing grace of God in Christ Jesus."

Co-sponsored by the Christian College Coalition, this thought-provoking study of music-as-worship leads both students and experienced musicians to a better understanding of the connections between music making and Christian faith.

"Christian music makers have to risk new ways of praising God. Their faith must convince them that however strange a new offering may be, it cannot out-reach, out-imagine, or overwhelm God. God remains God, ready to swoop down in the most wonderful way, amidst all of the flurry and mystery of newness and repetition, to touch souls and hearts, all because faith has been exercised and Christ's ways have been imitated. Meanwhile, a thousand tongues will never be enough."

Best relates musical practice to a larger theology of creation and creativity, and explores new concepts of musical quality and excellence, musical unity, and the incorporation of music from other cultures into today's music.

Good King Wenceslas

C. Manson, J. Neale

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent Illustrations in a Good Christmas Book. 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 16 people found this review helpful.

"Good King Wenceslas" Illustrated by Christopher Manson
North-South Books.
The Illustrator, Christopher Manson, has gone through a great deal of work to produce a beautiful book of art telling the story of "Good King Wenceslas", as well known by the carol of the same name, written by John Mason Neale in 1853.
The colorful illustrations match the Christmas season, with the front piece and the back piece both being intertwined holly. The book presents the entire carol. Each stanza of the carol faces an illustration portraying the action in the song: for example, at the beginning, the good King is actually looking out a window, with the wind obviously ruffling the pages of a book on a chair. King Wenceslas is presented as young man, with a concerned look on his face as he sees the tattered peasant "...gathering winter fuel." As the Page and the King carry food and pine logs to the peasant's dwelling, the winter cold grows harsher. The King tells the Page to walk in his foot steps, and the Page finds warmth in each foot print. I have always thought of this as an echo of Christ telling St. Peter to leave the boat and walk across the water to Him.
I look forward to my granddaughter, Katlain, using the music at the back of the book to play this carol at Christmas time, while my daughter, her aunt, supports her on the piano. Excellent book! That can become a family heirloom.

Editorial Review:

Illustrated text of the well-known carol is accompanied by a brief history of the real Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia.

Embracing the Love of God: Path and Promise of Christian Life, The

James B. Smith

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Potential Classic 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Embracing the Love of God is thought provoking and is,in my opinion, a potential "spiritual classic". Mr. Smith's extended essay is organized around three topics: Knowing God's Acceptance, Receiving God's Forgiveness and Experiencing God's Care. Read it, and keep it to re-read, when you need encouragement. Embracing the Love of God was a blessing to me, and I recommend you buy it.

Wonderful book! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book was sooo good...Please don't hesitate to get it! Take your time, and drink in the love of God that comes through the pages...
Nothing can separate us from the LOVE of GOD! That is what James Smith explains so well in this book. I just finished it, and know I will read it again. This book encouraged me and lifted me up. He definitely has a gift from God...to teach, help, and encourage...with references throughout, to the Word of God. I look forward to reading more of his books. As another reader said, this book will probably become a classic.

Editorial Review:

In today's world, many people fail to experience the powerful freedom and healing of God's grace. Even Christians too often experience judgment rather than the love that is the vital essence of Christian life. This visionary guide calls believers back to the basics: understanding the promise of God's love to transform our most important relationships and fulfill our deepest spiritual needs. The moving insights found within illuminate the gentle nature of God's love and teach readers how to continue on the path of love by embracing it day by day.

Decadent Enchantments: The Revival of Gregorian Chant at Solesmes (California Studies in 19th Century Music)

Katherine Bergeron

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The oldest written tradition of European music, the art we know as Gregorian chant, is seen from an entirely new perspective in Katherine Bergeron's engaging and literate study. Bergeron traces the history of the Gregorian revival from its Romantic origins in a community of French monks at Solesmes, whose founder hoped to rebuild the moral foundation of French culture on the ruins of the Benedictine order. She draws out the parallels between this longing for a lost liturgy and the postrevolutionary quest for lost monuments that fueled the French Gothic revival, a quest that produced the modern concept of "restoration."
Bergeron follows the technological development of the Gregorian restoration over a seventy-year period as it passed from the private performances of a monastic choir into the public commodities of printed books, photographs, and Gramophone records. She discusses such issues as architectural restoration, the modern history of typography, the uncanny power of the photographic image, and the authority of recorded sound. She also shows the extent to which different media shaped the modern image of the ancient repertory, an image that gave rise to conflicting notions not only of musical performance but of the very idea of music history.

The Easy Hymn Fake Book: Over 150 Songs in the Key of C

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Gift for Wife 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hello.... I bought these two books, Hymn and Gospel, for my wife who is taking piano. She is doing well at piano and has found that these books have given her more incentive to play. She has had them for about three weeks and she is still playing them. He teacher is actually going to use them to instruct my wife as she is not interested in theory as much as playing. I'm hoping she will be able to play at our Seventh-day Adventist church very soon. Hebrews 11:1
Jamie

Editorial Review:

Perfect for players new to "faking," the latest title in our popular "beginner" series of fake books features all songs in the key of C with large notation and simplified harmonies and melodies. This collection gathers more than 150 of the most beloved hymns of all time, and includes multiple verses. Songs: Abide with Me * All Glory, Laud and Honor * All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name * Amazing Grace * Battle Hymn of the Republic * Be Thou My Vision * Blessed Assurance * The Church's One Foundation * Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing * Count Your Blessings * Faith of Our Fathers * God of Our Fathers * Higher Ground * How Firm a Foundation * I Love to Tell the Story * I Surrender All * In the Garden * Jesus Paid It All * Just as I Am * A Mighty Fortress Is Our God * Nearer, My God, to Thee * The Old Rugged Cross * Onward, Christian Soldiers * Rock of Ages * Sweet Hour of Prayer * This Is My Father's World * We Gather Together * and more!