Hymn Descants Blog

About these descants

2011-10-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

About these descants: "The technical complexity of the harmonizations varies, but the descants are all written to the same original principle. To be a song apart, and yet one, that celebrates and infuses the music and the text." Great selection here, with instrumental variations available.

Christmas Descants « Thoroughly Good Blog

2010-12-20T12:29:00.000-05:00

Christmas Descants « Thoroughly Good Blog
I don't think I've ever read a better description of descants at Christmas that what was written in this post: "The melody which soars above the rest of the hymn in the final verse transforms transforms the collective praise between congregation and choir into a intense moment of triumph and joy. The descant amplifies the theatrical aspect of the celebration. The sense of drama is palpable. And if it’s a particularly good descant, it’s almost impossible not to sing along."

“Why Write Hymns?”

2010-08-15T20:10:00.001-04:00

“Why Write Hymns?” | New Old Hymns: "Hymns are purposeful in a way that many worship songs are not. To read or sing through a hymn is to be struck by theological weight, measured thought, and poetic beauty. Lines flow together simply and harmoniously in an unbroken pattern. It is easy to sense the writer’s care for the gospel and his or her personal experience of the topic at hand. A hymn can explore a particular subject, instruct the worshipper, relate humanity to God, and adore the beauty of God’s character. A good hymn does all this."

When God Seems Distant - TheoCenTriC

2010-07-26T12:09:00.000-04:00

When God Seems Distant - TheoCenTriC
Learning to Sing the Sad Songs of the Bible - The Psalms of Lament
Have you every noticed how much sadness (troubles, complaints, frustrations) there are in some of the Psalms (the ancient Hebrew song book). What would it be like if we were to sing some of these words to a blues or alternative rock style of music in church? Have you ever seen a lament song in a church hymnal?

Hymn Arrangement and Performance

2010-05-08T19:21:00.000-04:00

9a: Hymn Arrangement and Performance

See more presentations by ssngai | Upload your own PowerPoint presentations

David Maurand :: Hymn Descants

2010-03-16T18:22:00.000-04:00

I was surfing around one day looking for descants to "Be Thou My Vision" when I reran into this site: David Maurand :: Descants. I didn't remember this site looking so stylish and professional. An excellent site. You can print and use the descants you find there free of charge for church services and concerts, even submit your own recording of the descants and he will post it. (Makes me feel bad that I haven't update my own website in a while - hopefully soon, will let y'all know).

O Sacred Head Now Wounded with descant

2010-03-15T15:48:00.000-04:00

A free hymn arrangement with descant for numerous instrumentations and voice, available from cuthbertpraise.com.
Click on the song title for a direct download of the sheet music O Sacred Head Now Wounded

"Joys Seven" sung by the Choir of King's College

2010-01-01T17:12:00.003-05:00

Descant sung in seventh verse

Anglican Music: Shopping for a Christmas descant

2009-12-27T16:04:00.001-05:00

Anglican Music: Shopping for a Christmas descant
A very interesting blog post about the search for a descant to go with The First Noel.
"Finding the right descant proved a lot harder than it looked -- both in terms of what is free on the Internet and also in terms of the lack of consensus."

1 Corinthians Thirteen the Christmas Version

2009-12-24T14:21:00.001-05:00

If I Say Merry Christmas but don’t…-1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Version | Presenttruth.com

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,

but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime,

but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity,

but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break, pictures will fade, clothes will be worn out, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.

HYMNS vs PRAISE SONGS

2009-11-22T17:50:00.000-05:00

Old farmer Joe went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. When he came home his wife, Martha, asked him what it was like.

"Well," said Joe, "it was good. But they did something different. They sang praise songs instead of hymns."

"Praise songs?" asked Martha. "What are they like?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different."

"Well what's the difference?"

"Well, it's like this. If I were to say to you,

"Martha, the cows are in the corn," - well that would be a hymn.

But if I were to say to you,

"Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
The cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows,
the white cows, the black-and-white cows, the COWS, COWS, COWS,
Are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn,
The CORN, CORN, CORN."

Then if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well, that would be a praise song."

The next weekend, Joe's nephew, a young, new Christian lad from the city, came to visit his Uncle Joe and Aunt Martha. He attended their local church in the small town. When he returned home, his mother asked him about the country church.

"Well," said the young man, "it was good. But they did something different. They sang hymns instead of praise songs."

"Hymns? What are they?" asked his mother.

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like praise songs, only different," said the young man.

"Well, what's the difference?

"Well, it's like this. If Uncle Joe were to say to Aunt Martha, "Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a praise chorus. But if he were to say to her:

"Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry.
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.

For the way of the animals who can explain?
There is in their heads no shadow of sense,
Hearkenest they in God's sun or His rain,
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.

Yea, those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night

They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.
So look to the bright shining day by and by
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animals make my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn."

"Then if he were to sing only verses one, three and four, and do a key change on the last verse - well, that would be a hymn!"

Source: The endless e-mail forwarding of the web.

Descant by R.E.Miller - CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS - Hymn Descant sheet music - 8notes.com

2009-11-07T15:59:00.000-05:00

Descant by R.E.Miller - CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS - Hymn Descant sheet music - 8notes.com A great sounding descant. View the sheet music as it plays in Scorch, then adjust the key signature and print!

Music Improves Brain Function | LiveScience

2009-11-07T09:03:00.000-05:00

Music Improves Brain Function | LiveScience Researchers examine how the brain experiences and benefits from musical training.

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL: DESCANT: Ye Servants of God (Tune: Hanover) #209

2009-10-11T12:34:00.000-04:00

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL: DESCANT: Ye Servants of God (Tune: Hanover) #209

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL: DESCANT: For All the Saints

2009-08-06T18:15:00.000-04:00

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL: DESCANT: For All the Saints
Sine Nomine is the hymn tune setting written by Ralph Vaughan Williams. I have always loved this hymn. It is even better with a descant.

Giveaway - Bible.Logos.com

2009-08-01T07:26:00.000-04:00

Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL: Descant of the Week: A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD #22

2009-07-26T18:45:00.000-04:00

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL: Descant of the Week: A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD #22

Cuthbert Praise!

2009-07-26T18:37:00.000-04:00

Cuthbert Praise!The Cuthbert Praise Hymn Collection is a versatile assortment of hymn descants and accompaniments using guitar, bass, brass, wind, string and percussion instruments. Sign up for the newsletter.

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL: Descants for Hymns in THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL

2009-07-14T20:13:00.000-04:00

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL: Descants for Hymns in THE CHRISTIAN LIFE HYMNAL

Sweet, sweet sound by Sarah Reeves

2009-05-17T18:17:00.001-04:00

The trumpet of the LORD

2009-04-14T16:30:00.004-04:00

Interesting auction on eBay: Shofar (Ram's Horn) and Trumpet Descant Book

Can also order from:
http://parkbenchpub.com/html/about_the_book2.htm

Simon Cowell and "selfishness" in music performance

2009-03-27T11:08:00.003-04:00

On American Idol, Simon has made suggestions to the contestants that they need to be more selfish or conceited (his way of saying that they need more self confidence). To have "self-confidence" you need a good sense of self worth, but not to the point of selfishness or conceit! I believe that in order to perform music well, especially music of a sacred nature, you must become totally self-unconscious – you’ve got to loose yourself in the music. A great music performance, whether sacred or secular, involves that spiritual portion of the brain (there was a scientific study on this - google it). This is what enables you to put "soul" into your music. Our brain appears designed so that in this state of unselfishness, produced during such activities as prayer or praise, we become more sensitive and connected to that inner voice - God speaking through our conscience. Conversely when you become too self conscious you experience stage fright thus sabotaging the full musical experience and the connection. Remember that it is our selfishness (aka sin) that separates us from God, and each other.

Why Music Gives Us the Chills | LiveScience

2009-03-06T15:49:00.000-05:00

Why Music Gives Us the Chills | LiveScience: "As chills grow in intensity, bloodflow increases between areas of the brain associated with euphoria". I believe this to be God-designed. It is why you appreciate a good descant.

To His Glory... Free Praise and Worship Music for Your Church!

2009-02-13T15:22:00.001-05:00

To His Glory... Free Praise and Worship Music for Your Church! This site contains many descants. To find them you will need to do a Google site search. Type the following (without the ") into a Google search box - "site:www.freechurchmusic.com descant"

It is much harder to sing or play a descant with the flu

2008-10-27T17:57:00.002-04:00

Church music by Albert

2008-08-03T19:19:00.000-04:00

A nice collection of descants at this site.

descants

Hymn Descant Playlist in Links

2008-04-20T18:21:00.002-04:00

Have put the link for the Audio and Video playlist from You Tube in the "links" section of this blog.

RUF Hymnbook Online Hymn Resource

2008-01-16T10:45:00.000-05:00

RUF Hymnbook Online Hymn Resource

Added this new link to Hymn Descants composing page.
Has hymn tunes in Finale (MUS) and Sibelius (ETF) formats.

Tim Bode's Music Page

2008-01-02T11:45:00.000-05:00

Tim Bode's Music Page
Flute Descants for hymns - now free for you to download and use for non-profit music ministry. This is an updated link.

Hymn Descants Audio and Video

2008-01-01T17:48:00.000-05:00

Hymn Descants Audio and Video
Just added a page of audio and video examples of descants.

Advent & Christmas quotations

2007-12-31T22:40:00.000-05:00

Advent & Christmas quotations: "Christmas is angelic music in the form of a carol and oratorio with a celestial descant."

Happy New Year all!

Always Be Prepared - with a Descant!

2007-11-24T19:07:00.000-05:00

1 Peter 3:15 says that we are always to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within us. I would like to modify that a bit for the church musician - always be ready with a descant! You just never know when a music need may suddenly arise in a worship service. With your handy book of hymn descants it is easy to suddenly step up when asked; the only other requirement is an accompanist to play the melody for an already familiar hymn tune. So keep practicing and finding those descants!

The Language of God

2007-10-26T09:39:00.000-04:00

I've been reading the following book: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, this is what I read, starting at the bottom of page 35, "I recall a Christmas Eve where the descant on a particularly beautiful Christmas carol, rising sweet and true above the more familiar tune, left me with a sense of unexpected awe and a longing for something ..." A very apt description. It is getting to be that time of year again to get out the Christmas descants and start practising.

Tuba-Euphonium Blog

2007-10-15T18:55:00.000-04:00

Tuba-Euphonium Blog

Even the low-note playing instruments can produce beautiful sounding descants. Check out the link above for an interesting blog post. Go to the "Hymns and Descants" link for more resources for these instruments and to listen to an mp3 of a descant. (I'm adding that resource to my main page at www.hymndescants.com).

Descant Music at the eBay Stores

2007-10-01T18:12:00.000-04:00

Click the link that follows to access all the "Buy it Now" descant music at eBay stores (no waiting for an auction to finish)
Descant Music in all the Ebay Stores

Hymn Descant's Store - Revised Link

2007-07-08T18:10:00.000-04:00

Discovered today that the link to the store has changed, it is now Hymn Descant's Store at Lulu.com. Also, all prices in the store have been lowered!

Remember, sing/play with joy!

Music for Church - Hymn Descants

2007-07-02T19:01:00.000-04:00

Music for Church - Hymn Descants at Wolf's Music Den. Very good instrumental descants. Also, includes double descants!!

HYMN DESCANTS - Lulu.com

2007-05-28T22:43:00.000-04:00

HYMN DESCANT'S STORE at Lulu.com
Added a music note book to the Hymn Descants Store. It allows you to jot down your creative ideas, plans and to-dos before they vanish from your mind. List hymn tunes to find; descants to find, write or modify. Contains music staffs for quick manual music entry for later entering into your music notation program. Keep this note book handy in your music bag.

Why Hymn Descants?

2007-05-21T16:29:00.001-04:00

See middle paragraph of my updated welcome message on the first page of this blog.

Hymn Arrangements and Descants

2007-05-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

Hymn Arrangements and Descants by Diane Tuiofu Excellent page, full of music to print(PDFs) and listen to (MP3s). I am adding this to my main page HYMN DESCANTS now.

Jibstay: In Need of a Descant

2007-05-09T11:58:00.000-04:00

Jibstay: In Need of a Descant
I just loved this posting, such a great description of a descant!

Handbook for Creative Church Musicians

2007-05-08T10:57:00.000-04:00

A highly recommended book. It is a practical guide to composition and arranging by Harold Owen. The very first chapter covers descants - lots of examples for both instrumental and choral descants, including a section on problems and solutions. Available at SheetMusicPlus.

Rejoice Music - Descants!

2007-05-08T10:52:00.000-04:00

Descants at Rejoice Music A good selection of lightly used church choir music from this eBay store.

The Cyber Hymnal

2007-04-08T23:20:00.000-04:00

The Cyber Hymnal
This is the best site to find just about all your basic hymn tunes when composing your own descants. I like how it lets you search by Song Title or Hymn Tune name. Also, you can download the song as a midi file or in NoteWorthy Composer format.

Hymn Descants - Online Shopping

2007-04-06T23:01:00.000-04:00

Completed online shopping page. Check it out at www.hymndescants.com/shopping.html.

Hymn Descants Store Now Open!

2007-04-02T10:11:00.000-04:00

I just opened a store at lulu.com. I have posted four flute descants as downloadable sheet music for only $1.25 each. A short audio sample is available. Let me know if there are other tunes you are interested in. Also, check out my homepage also for free descants available.

Webpage

2007-03-30T09:18:00.000-04:00

The web page www.hymndescants.com is still a work in progress. If you have any suggestions or interesting links I can add please let me know, thanks.