The Best Hymns of All Time
Arranged for Strings by Colin Kirkpatrick

Book 3

We?re really excited to present the third and last book of our collection of sixty of the best-loved hymns ever composed. The hymns are scored in four parts and could be used with virtually any combination of stringed instruments: string quartet or quintet or any size string ensemble. They are presented in a set of three books and include full four-part instrumental scores plus four separate parts for 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola and cello (and double bass). The bass part is also optional because it doubles the cello part an octave lower. There?s also an optional but useful simplified keyboard part intended for less experienced keyboard players. The left hand plays only the bass part most of the time, with the right hand part kept as simple as possible. The piano part too means that you can use the arrangements as solos, duets or trios. To make the music accessible to less experienced players, the range of the notes has been kept fairly low so that many of the arrangements can be played in first position. However, to produce a brighter and richer sound, a few of the more experienced violinists could play an octave higher. You can hear this effect in the audio samples.

These arrangements are intended either as stand-alone pieces that could be used as interludes in a service, or they could be used to accompany solo, choral or congregational singing. This is essential music for schools and many churches and contains probably all the hymns you?ll ever need. The scores and all the parts of Book 2 are contained in a single 65-page PDF file.

Book 3 contains the following twenty popular hymns: All Hail the Power of Jesus? Name (Miles Lane); All things Bright and Beautiful (Bright and Beautiful); Alleluia, Sing to Jesus (Hyfrydol); Blessed Assurance (Assurance); Come, Ye Thankful People, Come (St George?s Windsor); Father, Hear the Prayer we Offer (Sussex & Gott Will's Machen); For the Beauty of the Earth (Dix); Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken (Austrian hymn); How Firm a Foundation (Foundation); Jesu, Lover of my Soul (Hollingside); Jesus Loves Me, This I Know (Jesus Loves Me); Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Hymn to Joy); Kum Ba Yah (Afro-American folksong); Mine Eyes have Seen the Glory (Battle Hymn of the Republic); O God, Our Help In Ages Past (St. Anne); Morning has Broken (Bunessan); Praise to the Lord the Almighty (Lob den Herren); Shall We Gather at the River? (Hanson Place); The God of Abraham Praise (Leoni); When Peace Like a River (Ville du Havre).

The audio samples include (1) All things Bright and Beautiful, (2) How Firm a Foundation, (3) Kum Ba Yah and (4) Morning has Broken. The music has been set in string-friendly keys so they are not compatible with the brass collection of the same name.

Everyone enjoys Celtic Folk Songs and Folk Hymns but not all realize that often they can be one and the same. A hymn text has often found its home in a folk song and a secular text sometimes finds a home in a hymn tune. This collection has a little of both. All but one of the tunes in this collection are of Celtic origin. The exception, ?Amazing Grace,? is a folk hymn of unknown origin that has all the markings of a Celtic Tune, including a pentatonic harmonic foundation.
For the harpists who also like to understand the history of a tune or even sing along, a variety of texts along with information about the tune and the lyrics can be found in the back of this book in the ?Notes on the Tunes.?

Titles: Ad Hyd y nos, Annie Laurie, Auld Lang Syne, Bunessan, Brother James' Air, Down By the Salley Gardens, Greensleeves, Iona Boat Song, Rorate (Rorate Coeli Desuper), Londonderry Air, New Britain, O Waly Waly, Slane, Scots W' Hae, The Ash Grove, Royal Oak, The Twenty-Ninth of May, St. Denio, Skye Boat Song, The Bard of Armagh, The Streets of Laredo, The Caledonian Hunt's Delight, St. Columba, The Road and the Miles to Dundee, The Rowan Tree, Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon

One of the nicest things about this book is that each song has a short but lovely introduction!