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to hear Sunday's hymns. You may also choose a tune name from the scrollable archive below. |
to sort the list of hymns. |
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Instructions
- To hear a hymn, you first need to select a tune name from the right column of the list below the player. The hymn will begin playing right away; you may pause it by hitting the Play button.
- Alternatively, you can hit the Play button or the "this week" button and hear all the hymns for the coming week played one after the other. Hitting the "this week" button again moves to the next hymn for the week. The button is illuminated while the hymns for the week are being played.
- Depending on what parts are available for the chosen hymn (usually based on what's available in our hymnal), you'll see buttons become available for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, and Descant. (Pro Tip: Enter "descant" into the search box and you'll see all the tunes that offer this option.)
- Clicking on the available buttons will restart the hymn with the chosen part featured and balanced towards the left channel. If you use headphones or adjust your computer's speaker balance, you can isolate the part almost completely.
- Clicking a hymn title (as opposed to a tune name) will take you to an external page (usually on Hymnary.org) in a new tab or window which provides information about the hymn - in many cases this includes the complete text, and in some cases this also includes scans of the music as well.
- By default, the list of hymns is sorted by date, but you can also sort alphabetically by tune name by hitting the Tune button.
- You may also enter text into the search box and the list below will immediately filter out what doesn't match the search, so you can narrow the list quite quickly and easily. Typing "descant" will reveal the relatively small number of tunes that feature a descant.
How do the hymns get picked for each Sunday?
Which tunes are familiar to the congregation?
Why can’t I see the musical notation for the hymns heard here?
Should I be learning to sing parts?
What about hymns from preview weeks?
Can I download these audio files to my computer or other device?
Why are the buttons designed that way?
What are some other online hymn resources?
How do the hymns get picked for each Sunday?
Our usual practice is that the music director begins by selecting hymns (sometimes for many weeks at a time) and the rector then gives feedback, sometimes suggesting alternates. There are many factors that go into choosing hymns. The liturgical calendar and lectionary provide a great overall frame as they help to define themes for each service. We usually begin by consulting The Episcopal Musician’s Handbook, published annually, which suggests about 20-30 hymns for each Sunday as well as for feast days. Most of the suggestions are from our primary hymnal, but there are usually a few options from two hymnal supplements: Wonder, Love, and Praise, and Lift Every Voice and Sing (LEVAS). We have a license which allows us to print hymns from these books as inserts.
Those suggestions are just a starting point, of course. Consideration is also given to other specific events (baptisms, mission trips, creation care, etc.), and there are always plenty of hymns not listed for a day which are nevertheless appropriate. We also try 1) not to sing the same hymns too often (everyone has a different definition of “too often”) and 2) to prioritize tunes that are familiar to the congregation. (Notice that those balancing those two goals provide a nice tension!) For the past three years, we’ve catalogued the weekly hymn selections in an online spreadsheet so it’s easy to see what’s been sung and when. We also have digital versions of leaflets going back to 2007 which can be searched broadly to see what’s been sung.
Which tunes are familiar to the congregation?
This question is more complicated than it might seem. Everyone has their own idea of what “the old standbys” are, especially as we have many who’ve worshipped for many years in other congregations and denominations. There are “classic” hymns I grew up with as a Presbyterian that aren’t even in our hymnal. There are some tunes I think of as “Episcopal standards” that turn out not to be standards here. It’s fascinating to think of how time and tastes help to develop a common repertoire. I know that my own biases will come into play, which is one reason I love to be able to work with Chris and Rachel to get different input and to be able to consult past records. (The choir members provide excellent feedback as well in our weekly rehearsals.) I consider it important both to choose some hymns that might not be my favorites and to avoid picking too many “really cool ones that no one will know.” However, perhaps this website will help to enlarge our repertoire of familiar hymns!
Why can’t I see the musical notation for the hymns heard here?
Basically, this is a copyright issue, although the hymns we use range widely in terms of what is and isn’t copyrighted. For a given hymn, the tune, the harmonization, and the text (in part or in whole) might be under copyright, though some are in the public domain. In many cases, the tunes and texts we sing may be found at the invaluable Hymnary.org website (the hymn titles listed above are linked to the Hymnary page for each given hymn), although you might notice variations from what is printed in our hymnal. The best answer to this question is: get your own personal copy of The Hymnal 1982 for your home!
Should I be learning to sing parts?
This is completely up to you. It does take some experience to learn to read the alto, tenor, and bass parts, but it can be very rewarding to learn to hear the music “from the inside” in this way, and to mix things up from verse to verse. For some, these alternate parts might sit more easily in the voice, and, of course, the more congregants singing in harmony, the richer the sound. The audio parts on this site provide a nice, quick way to give it a try.
What about hymns from previous weeks?
All the hymns that have been chosen and recorded can be viewed in the scroll-able archive below the player. Note that this archive may be sorted by hymn tune or by date.
Can I download these audio files to my computer or other device?
Yes. Once a hymn has been chosen and is shown in the "Now Playing" box, you can click on the red hymn tune link there and the .mp3 file will open in another tab or window where you may download it.
Why are the buttons designed that way?
They're intended to resemble the stop knobs on a real organ which, when pulled out, allow air to be sent to a specific set of pipes.
What are some other online hymn resources?
Hymnary.org is an amazing database of hymns from thousands(!) of hymnbooks. Here, for example, is an index for our hymnal. Includes page scans for pages that are public domain. Oremus Hymnal also has lots of great information. Youtube, of course, has a seemingly endless supply of hymn performances, from great to...not so great. Happy searching!
Designed by Michael Monroe, music director of St. Paul's. The hymns and parts are recorded in Finale, and the player runs on JavaScript. The search feature is enabled by the marvelous DataTables plug-in. Contact Michael with questions/suggestions.