Hymn Embellishments
Janice
found effective when accompanying the congregational hymns? I know
that there are many great ideas out there from which we could all
benefit and thus help add to the spirit of our meetings. I would like
to hear about specific treatments for specific hymns that have worked
well. I play only occasionally for my ward right now but in a couple
of weeks I may play "Behold a Royal Army" as a rest hymn and am looking
at ways to add interest. Any ideas for this hymn or others would be
greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Janice
Harold Stuart
congregational singing. We Latter-day Saints encourage part singing,
and changing the harmonies makes this difficult. Besides,
improvising calls attention to you as the organist, and that is not
the purpose of sacrament meeting.
I do change registrations during congregational singing, however.
Here's what I might do for "Behold a Royal Army":
Verse 1: Great: Principal Chorus + Mixture, Pedal: Principal
Chorus + Mixture. Sw: Prepare Mixture + 8' Chorus Reed.
Verse 2: Couple Sw.
Verse 3: Add 4' chorus reed to Swell and 16' pedal reed.
Verse 3 (chorus): Add 32' principal, 32' reed if you are so fortunate.
You can get away with this because "Behold a Royal Army" is a shout
of jubilation. Please don't do this during a sacrament hymn... :)
More important than registration, however, is the attitude with which
this song is sung. Dragging the tempo can ruin the best registrations.
Harold Stuart
Glyn Evans
Janice wrote
I would like to hear about specific treatments for specific hymns that have worked well.
Personally I like to incorporate good reharmonizations on opening and closing stanzas. I'm not sure if all hymns in the LDS hymnal needs 'embellishment', so I think a hymn-by-hymn discussion would be unfruitful. There are certain 'tricks' that an organist can have up its sleeve. At first I think it is best for an organist to write down on paper what they want to do with the hymn. If you are gifted in improvisation, counterpoint, harmonic language you might be able to reharmonize without ledger lines.
A great starting point is...
Two Hundred Last Verses: “Popular Hymn Tunes with varied harmonies” by Noel Rawsthorne Kevin Mayhew Ltd. (London 1991)
Rawsthorne was organist at Liverpool Cathedral. His service playing is very fine, and there are some tasteful 'tricks' to learn from him. Analyze what he does harmonically. You frequently will find similar patterns and resolutions in the harmonic language. Especially effective (in major tonality) is the use of flat-seventh harmonies over tonic or 5th pedal, and Major 6th chords often with a minor third pedal point. Crunch chords like these are very effective, and easy to practice in to your repertoire. They are not effective if used often, or out of context. Understanding how to text paint is essential to hymn playing, and there needs to be a build-up musically that compliments the climax of the text.
Certain hymns in the LDS hymnal do not need 'embellishment'. An example would be the Passion hymn #197 O Sacred Head Now Wounded. It might very well be the best crafted hymn, and one should be careful to try to add anything. Some hymns are not organistic such as the Gospel hymns with it's dotted rhtyhms, and refrains (e.g., We are All Enlisted). Alexander Schreiner wrote in his reminiscenses "...the Gosepel hymn is spirited in nature...not spiritual." The first challenge is to create appropriate accompaniment for these hymns without loosing the spirited feel. Also, the word Gospel hymn in also deceiving because they make little references to the Gospels. They are not high in prose nor musical quality. An attempt of embellishing these hymns must be done carefully. Remember that these hymns are an outcome of revival, they should be fun to sing, and stir singers to action (Schreiner/Reminisces). Sometimes less is more, and other hymns are so well written that if you want to enhance it; you must do your homework.
Behold A Royal Army is not as choppy as some gospel hymns but still falls in the category. So far I've not heard a convincing approach to these type of hymns that are suitable for the organ/congregation. Mack Wilberg has in one instance taken the bounce out of the gospel hymn in his choral arrangment, and a legato accompanimental approach with tasty harmonies (e.g., There is Sunshine in My Soul Today/arr. Wilberg). It would be interesting to hear how he really feels about this form of sacred music if he happens to lurk? Anyway, this approach is impossible to do in a congregational singing for numerous reasons. Though the messages of these hymns are often strong the music is often not. There are talented organists and composers on this board that might have great ideas on treatment of the gospel hymn in general so please share. Like I said before, an easy approach might be the best. Try pedal points! A pedal does not have to be limited to the feet...So experiement with a point in the soprano (tonic/dominant pitches work best). Without taking the bounce out of the melody line, make a legato accompaniment that incorporates strong harmonic direction. I have heard some great service players use syncopated rhythmic motives in their hymn accompaniments. This can be very effective, but cannot be done unless your congregation has utmost confidence in you. Schreiner again has a succesful hymn arrangment on All Glory, Laud and Honor where this is done. It is often sung by the choir, but this approach is used by some organists. Personally I am to conservative to do this, but it is an interesting method. Lets hear from some others....
It’s the future of Hotmail: Try Windows Live Mail beta
Lisa G
----- Original Message -----
From: "Janice" <jan...@holladays.com>
. I would like
> to hear about specific treatments for specific hymns that have worked
> well. I play only occasionally for my ward right now but in a couple
> of weeks I may play "Behold a Royal Army" as a rest hymn and am looking
> at ways to add interest.
Here are a couple of things that I do on this hymn. Usually on one verse, I
"straighten" the rhythm in the pedal part. During the verse portion of the
hymn, every time a moving part in the pedal is dotted, I play it as straight
quarter notes (while keeping the three upper parts dotted). On the chorus,
where the word "Victory" is repeated three times, I use passing tones. In
the tenor part between the b and the d, I add a quarter note c, and then in
the soprano part I do the same thing just prior to the last "victory".
Then, I add a d in the bass part passing from the pedal e down to the pedal
c leading to the last "Thru Jesus Christ, our Lord". I would probably do
this on the last verse.
On the verse portion of the hymn, at the end of the third line, I think a
suspension of the alto e into the d-sharp on the last measure is really
rich, especially on the third verse to carry over where there is no
punctuation in the text. However, a suspension might be harmonically
jarring for the congregation, especially for those who are singing parts, so
use this idea carefully.
In general, I think the creative technique I use most in my playing is the
adding of non-harmonic tones. The easiest way to start experimenting with
this is to fill in the thirds in the inner parts. Hymn # 31, O God Our Help
in Ages Past, is a good one to play around with this idea. A good exercise
is to fill in all the thirds. Then of course, when you actually perform the
hymn, you would do this tastefully and only use those passing tones when
they sound good.
Like Glyn mentioned, pedal points are really effective too.
I find that the judicious use of free accompaniments and alternate harmoniza
tions has really enlivened the singing in our ward. People in my ward love
this! I think they can be overdone, but I think that when they are used not
too frequently, they can be so effective. If you have not used them, I
think a good way to introduce them is to use them on holidays, where people
are expecting things to be more effective anyway. Then you can gradually
increase their use over time. Right now I use them about once a month, and
I always get positive comments about how people got "chills" or about how
enjoyable it was to sing that particular hymn.
Lisa Glade,
Tooele, Utah
Dan Gawthrop
For what it's worth, my own experience strongly supports the notion that
free accompaniments can greatly enhance the experience of hymn singing
in our wards. My own ward has responded enthusiastically to the
practice, and hymn singing has improved noticeably since I began using
variations in accompaniments.
I wouldn't worry too much about the folks who sing in parts: by and
large, anyone who is musically adept enough to sing a part other than
the melody is also alert and experienced enough to sense when the
accompaniment has changed, and to switch quickly back to melody for that
verse. In all the years I've been doing free accompaniments I've never
had a complaint, though I have had many delighted and even tearful
compliments.
In order to avoid allowing it to become routine, I very seldom do this
to more than one hymn on a given Sunday. Also, I can remember only two
times when I have, subtly and gently, varied the harmonies of the
sacrament hymn--in an opening, congregational or closing hymn the
purpose is to add freshness and thereby refocus the singers' attention.
On those extremely rare occasions when I have modified a sacrament hymn,
the purpose, by contrast, has been to bring added warmth and welcome to
the accompaniment.
All in all, for those with the technical facility to feel comfortable
with this practice it has much to recommend it.
Best wishes to all,
Dan Gawthrop
Bill Raty
For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.
- Alice Kahn
Janice
Sacrament meeting off and on since I was in high school, some 40 years
ago. It wasn't until I first attended the BYU Organ Workshops, around
1998, that I learned how creative hymn techniques could enhance the
music. Until that time I played every verse with the same
registration. I did vary registration to fit the message/feeling of
each hymn. I do feel that variations in the organ has greatly added
interest,the congregation sings with more enthusiasm and it really
boosts the spirit of the meeting. I wish I could say that everything I
ever try turns out great but occasionly I feel like my plan for a
particular hymn didn't go as well as expected. At those times I have to
evaluate why it didn't work as well and make appropriate changes and
improvements.
Often very simple things can be very effective. A few years ago at
Christmas time, Silent Night was the closing hymn. I had planned a
free accompaniment for the last verse. After verse one, the music
director, on the spur, motioned to me to quit playing. Verse 2 was
acapella. On verse 3, I was directed to play and used my free
accompaniment which had some altered harmony. This was really
effective. A couple of years ago, I did the same plan, with verse 2
being acapella. My non-musical son-in-law commented afterwards how
awesome that was. He especially loved the verse where the organ didn't
play and all that was heard were people singing. My son used the same
idea in his ward last year but chose to play only the melody line
softly on verse 2. He was fearful that if he didn't play at all, the
congregation wouldn't sing and probably made a good choice for his
ward's needs. Something as simple as playing a melody line only or
even acapella singing is about as easy as it gets but can be greatly
effective.
My goal is always to try and enhance the text of the hymn through
different techniques in playing.
Thanks for the input.
Janice Holladay
Janice
a lot better this way.
Janice