Hymn Miniatures 1

This delightful set of practical miniature arrangements of hymn tunes for organ is useful throughout the church year and is accessible to the average church organist. These short pieces not only enhance church services, but also prove invaluable to the church musician looking for something fresh to use during services. The styles of miniatures, which last anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute in duration, are sufficiently varied to maintain interest: some settings are meditative, while others are fanfares, and they can be used during various parts of the service.
The book includes a preface that discusses practical usage of the miniatures, citing some examples from te Velde's own experience. It also includes a liturgical index and an index of first lines for the convenience of the organist.

Arranged by Rebecca Groom te Velde

"Rebecca Groom te Velde's Hymn Miniatures bring notable ingenuity and skill to the ostensibly routine business of the hymn variation. The tunes are (with one possible exception) well-known in the UK, and every aspect of the volume, from pagination to registration to technical difficulty, has been planned with evident thoughtfulness. Quite apart from their liturgical usefulness, these pieces would make excellent teaching material and even offer templates for the canny teacher of basic improvisation. All are sitable for small instruments, and any organist in occasional or regular need of such material will find the collection invaluable." - Stepen Farr, Choir & Organ, July 2012

"This is an excellent addition to the repertoire . . . These creations are well thought out, varied, inventive, mostly sight-readable and with no page turns . . . I have no hesitation in recommending readers to buy this inspiring collection." - Organists' Review, May 09

"£10 could hardly be better spent. This is an excellent collection for busy parish organists: settings of 28 standard repertoire tunes, with the composer's stated aims of service interludes, hymn introductions, inter-stanza interludes, communion meditations, preludes, offertories, and postludes, all splendidly met. The variety of settings does exactly what it says on the tin: 'There is something for everyone.' Whether I would have the courage to try out some of the uses in an actual service is another matter, certainly not without at least previously warning the choir. May we have another collection soon!" - Church Music Quarterly, September 2009

"Rebecca uses well-considered harmonies in these settings, running a well-placed path between uncomfortable or jarring dissonance on the one hand and saccharine blandness on the other . . . In summary, this is an interesting and varied collection. The content and style should make it a very useful resource for organists in venues where more traditional hymnody is still in use, especially for Offertoiries or where short introductory voluntaries are needed." - Organz News, December 09

Wade: Adeste Fidelis
Handel: Antioch
Wesley: Aurelia
Hughes: Cwm Rhondda
Elvey: Diademata
Kocher: Dix
Hatton: Duke Street
Easter Hymn
Luther: Ein' feste Burg
Go tell it on the mountain
Pritchard: Hyfrydol
Beethoven: Hymn to Joy
Lasst uns erfreuen
Goss: Lauda anima
Barnby: Laudes Domini
Leoni
Williams: Llanfair
Lobe den Herren
Nettleton
Dykes: Nicaea
Picardy
Personent Hodie
Smart: Regent Square
Vaughan Williams: Salve festa dies
Simple Gifts
Croft: St. Anne
Sullivan: St. Kevin
Veni, veni Emmanuel