Simplified Organ Music Available
Article Highlights
- Manual-Only Hymns for Organ contains 38 hymns compiled and arranged by former and current Tabernacle Choir organists to be played without pedals.
- Transformations contains introductions and endings for the same 38 hymns that transform them into prelude and postlude music.
An “emergency preparedness kit” for pianists with limited organ experience promises to make sacrament meeting accompaniment a little easier. Manual-Only Hymns for Organ and Transformations, two complementary books, were produced to help pianists adapt to the organ.
Manual-Only Hymns for Organ is a compilation of 38 popular hymns arranged to be played without pedals. Transformations contains introductions and endings for the same 38 hymns that can be added to “transform” the hymns into prelude and postlude music. Download the set free of charge. Spiral-bound copies of the books are available for purchase at the BYU Creative Works Catalog.
Unlike simplified hymns available for the piano, the accompaniments include one voice in each hand that can be played on separate keyboards or with the organ’s bass coupler button. Though it contains some instructional material, the book is not intended to be a manual for learning to play the organ. Instead, it is designed to give pianists a place to start if they have no experience with the organ and limited time to learn.
The project, which has been underway since late 2008, was headed by former Tabernacle Choir organist Robert Cundick with assistance from current choir organist Richard Elliott and a team of organists from Brigham Young University and BYU–Idaho.
