The Organ Forum

I'd like to get names of hymnals containing a good amount of classical hymns and also be suitable for the RC church. 

In Canada CBW III is prevelent (its what is in my church) and does contain a good amount of classical hymns.  It is common here for RC churches to also use Gather or Glory & Praise, however those contain more folk type music.  I'm looking for something to supplement the CBW III with more classical hymns.  

The hymnals that are most commonly found in RC Churches in the UK:

- Hymns Old & New (Kevin Mayhew). A huge compendium of hymns that can't be beaten for sheer quantity. However, some find the harmonisations not too good but still I would say this hymnbook is a great starting point. This also contains a far deal of modern hymns as well but the bulk I would say is more "classical".

The older version which is the most common one you come across:

http://www.kevinmayhew.com/Shop/Products/2081/Kevin_Mayhew_Publishers/Music_Resources/Hymn_Books/Hymns_Old_New.aspx

The newer version...which is just an update of the old one above:

http://www.kevinmayhew.com/Shop/Products/78834/Kevin_Mayhew_Publishers/Music_Resources/Hymn_Books/Hymns_Old_New.aspx

 - Hymns Ancient & Modern (SCM Canterbury Press). Despite having a similar name to the above it is a totally separate publication by another publisher. Another "staple" hymnbook that should be in all organists (certainly in the UK) music collection. This one has better indexes than Hymns Old & New and also shows the metre which the other doesn't (but I think this has been recitified in the new edition of Old & New). The bulk of this hymnbook is made up of traditional hymns but it does have a few modern hymns in it (but these are in the minority).

http://www.scm-canterburypress.co.uk/bookdetails.asp?ISBN=9780907547372

- Catholic Hymn Book (Gracewing). This is a fine publication from the London Oratory that has fantastic harmonisations that remain faithful to the original scores (well as much as possible). The collection of hymns is purely traditional, but there aren't many in the book (some 300 or so). It also has very good accompaniments to Missa de Angelis, Orbis Factor and other latin hymns which may be handy. This should be one to consider, but note the content is quite limited when compared to the others. It isn't widely used (except by the Oratories).

http://gracewing.co.uk/page2.htm

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catholic-Hymn-Book-Harmony/dp/0852443595

I've got another which I can't remember the title of at the moment. I'll post back a little later with it, but these should give you a good start.

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Currently own:
ALLEN TC-3S (#42904 - 3rd Feb 1971) with Sequential Capture System

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nullogik:

Hymns Ancient & Modern (SCM Canterbury Press). Despite having a similar name to the above it is a totally separate publication by another publisher. Another "staple" hymnbook that should be in all organists (certainly in the UK) music collection. This one has better indexes than Hymns Old & New and also shows the metre which the other doesn't (but I think this has been recitified in the new edition of Old & New). The bulk of this hymnbook is made up of traditional hymns but it does have a few modern hymns in it (but these are in the minority).

Better yet, try to find a copy of the older edition.  There are some nice hymns there (i.e. John Stainer's 'Rest') which didn't make it into the revised edition.  I agree with nullogik, though.  All UK organists should own this hymnal.

And of course there's nothing wrong with an RC church using the New English Hymnal, IMO one of the finest ever.  It was good enough for Liverpool Metropolitan (RC) to record volume 15 in the Priory series 'The Complete New English Hymnal'.

Have a look at this:

http://www.giamusic.com/products/P-W3.cfm

We have the previous Worship II edition and it is quite traditional.

I have a little book called "Bach for Catholics".  It tells which of his works are in RC hymnals and which of his works, not in RC hymnals, trace their roots to plainsong.  I find it really interesting. 

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780912405360/Schaefer,+Edward/Bach+for+Catholics:+Using+Chorales+in+the+Liturgy/ 

also available at Amazon.

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Jesse
SF, CA
Portland, OR

Wicks 2/3, Ahlborn Galanti/Classic Organ Works 2/40, Baldwin HT2, H Klop Bentside Spinet

Good suggestions here.  I'll see if I can track some of these down. 

MenchenStimme, are you in North Ameriaca?  I've seen Worship on the website, but can't seem to locate an index.  Haven't seen it in bookstores here. 

I've already got the New English Hymnal in my personal collection, but haven't really dug into it much.

I love Bach (although my choir may not be as crazy about him) and oftentimes wonder if the text in his hymn arrangements in other books I have would be suitable for RC.