Hymns of Thanks

SKU: WD.080689496172

UPC: 080689496172.

HYMNS OF WORSHIP takes a bold, fresh look into the heart of today’s original songs of worship; foundational songs of faith... the hymns of the Church. Hymns are an expression of our adoration of the only true God. Through hymns we praise Him for His mighty acts, exalt Him in worship, give thanks for His love and mercy, and declare His wisdom, power and majesty. In hymns we contrast the sinful nature of man with the redeeming nature of a loving God. And with hymns we sing; with loftiness of concept and language rich in reverence and dignity, we sing! Hymns give voice to our beliefs, causing our spirits to rise, soaring on wings of faith.

WORD Music Publications is honored to introduce this hallmark new book for choir, soloists and orchestra, arranged by the creative team of David Wise and David Shipps. We believe in these powerful songs of the Church. We believe in the tradition of singing Hymns. We are committed to keeping these songs active in the musical repertoire of
today’s Church. We believe in their relevance. We believe in the truth of the doctrine and theology taught through the lyrics of these timeless songs. It is our hope that the compelling new arrangements found in Hymns of Worship will instill in you a new vision for these songs. And we pray that they will inspire you and your choir to sing them with a new voice and a fervent and renewed passion for declaring the greatness of our God!

SKU: HP.9085

UPC: 763628190859.

In Little Seeds you will find new hymns from my heart. My devotional life is given to you in my hymnwriting. During the past three years I have been writing songs for the unity of the church - songs reminding us of our baptism. I have been writing biblical story hymns for lesser-known characters. I have written paperless songs that may be easily memorized. I set a Rumi poem. There are new hymns for Christian missions from everywhere to everywhere. You will find new texts and musical settings for folk songs from around the world. I hope I have treated these with the love and respect they deserve. You will find alternate arrangements of some songs that may be useful in different settings. Lim Swee Hong composed three tunes for this collection at my request. I am also pleased to include Lianne Tan's first published hymn tune in Little Seeds.

SKU: HL.8750174

UPC: 884088403188. 5x5 inches.

The Sunday Singer is a choral publication for smaller-sized church choirs that consists of several accessible anthems representing original works and arrangements of hymns and contemporary favorites. For each title, special attention has been given to voice leading, limited vocal ranges and carefully crafted piano accompaniments. Published two times a year, The Sunday Singer will serve as a valuable resource for your choir throughout the church year.



The Fall/Christmas 2009 issue includes five titles: Give Thanks with O Come, Let Us Adore Him (arr. Philip Keveren) • He Made a Way in a Manger (arr. Camp Kirkland) • Carry the Light (arr. Keith Christopher) • Ancient Words (arr. Marty Parks) • Thanksgiving Song (arr. John Purifoy). Available separately: Choral Book, ChoirTrax CD, Kit (10 Choral Books, 1 ChoirTrax CD, 1 Preview CD), Choral Book 10-Pak, Preview CD, Preview CD 10-Pak, Preview Pak (1 Choral Book, 1 Preview CD).

SKU: MB.31087

ISBN 9781513478043. 8.75X11.75 inches.

All of us can probably be rightfully described as being too unappreciative and too quick to complain. Few individuals have been criticized for being overly thankful.

This book is presented to help generate a focus on giving thanks for and being aware of our innumerable blessings provided by our Creator.

May these wonderful gospel songs and great hymns arranged in the popular Southern Gospel style be an encouragement to everyone.

SKU: MB.WBM75M

ISBN 9781737795353. 8.75X11.75 inches.

This is a collection of 86 guitar solos in notation only from William Bayâ??s books, Solo Guitar in Worship, Communion, Psalms, Timeless Gospel Melodies and Spirituals. The solos work well as preludes, offertories, communion hymns, recessionals or they can be played for enjoyment.  All 86 solos have been recorded and are available as online downloads with this book.

SKU: PR.16500100F

ISBN 9781491114421. UPC: 680160669783. 9 x 12 inches.

Commissioned for a consortium of high school and college bands in the north Dallas region, FOR THEMYSTIC HARMONY is a 10-minute inspirational work in homage to Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon,patrons of the Fort Worth Symphony and the Van Cliburn Competition. Welcher draws melodic flavorfrom five American hymns, spirituals, and folk tunes of the 19th century. The last of these sources toappear is the hymn tune For the Beauty of the Earth, whose third stanza is the quatrain: “For the joy of earand eye, For the heart and mind’s delight, For the mystic harmony, Linking sense to sound and sight,”giving rise to the work’s title.
This work, commissioned for a consortium of high school bands in the north Dallas area, is my fifteenth maturework for wind ensemble (not counting transcriptions). When I asked Todd Dixon, the band director whospearheaded this project, what kind of a work he most wanted, he first said “something that’s basically slow,” butwanted to leave the details to me. During a long subsequent conversation, he mentioned that his grandparents,Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon, were prime supporters of the Fort Worth Symphony, going so far as to purchase anumber of high quality instruments for that orchestra. This intrigued me, so I asked more about his grandparentsand was provided an 80-page biographical sketch. Reading that article, including a long section about theirdevotion to supporting a young man through the rigors of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition fora number of years, moved me very much. Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon weren’t just supporters of the arts; theywere passionate lovers of music and musicians. I determined to make this work a testament to that love, and tothe religious faith that sustained them both. The idea of using extant hymns was also suggested by Todd Dixon,and this 10-minute work is the result.I have employed existing melodies in several works, delving into certain kinds of religious music more than a fewtimes. In seeking new sounds, new ways of harmonizing old tunes, and the contrapuntal overlaying of one tunewith another, I was able to make works like ZION (using 19th-century Revivalist hymns) and LABORING SONGS(using Shaker melodies) reflect the spirit of the composers who created these melodies, without sounding likepastiches or medleys. I determined to do the same with this new work, with the added problem of employingmelodies that were more familiar. I chose five tunes from the 19th century: hymns, spirituals, and folk-tunes.Some of these are known by differing titles, but they all appear in hymnals of various Christian denominations(with various titles and texts). My idea was to employ the tunes without altering their notes, instead using aconstantly modulating sense of harmony — sometimes leading to polytonal harmonizations of what are normallysimple four-chord hymns.The work begins and ends with a repeated chime on the note C: a reminder of steeples, white clapboard churchesin the country, and small church organs. Beginning with a Mixolydian folk tune of Caribbean origin presentedtwice with layered entrances, the work starts with a feeling of mystery and gentle sorrow. It proceeds, after along transition, into a second hymn that is sometimes connected to the sea (hence the sensation of water andwaves throughout it). This tune, by John B. Dykes (1823-1876), is a bit more chromatic and “shifty” than mosthymn-tunes, so I chose to play with the constant sensation of modulation even more than the original does. Atthe climax, the familiar spiritual “Were you there?” takes over, with a double-time polytonal feeling propelling itforward at “Sometimes it causes me to tremble.”Trumpets in counterpoint raise the temperature, and the tempo as well, leading the music into a third tune (ofunknown provenance, though it appears with different texts in various hymnals) that is presented in a sprightlymanner. Bassoons introduce the melody, but it is quickly taken up by other instruments over three “verses,”constantly growing in orchestration and volume. A mysterious second tune, unrelated to this one, interrupts it inall three verses, sending the melody into unknown regions.The final melody is “For the Beauty of the Earth.” This tune by Conrad Kocher (1786-1872) is commonly sung atThanksgiving — the perfect choice to end this work celebrating two people known for their generosity.Keeping the sense of constant modulation that has been present throughout, I chose to present this hymn in threegrowing verses, but with a twist: every four bars, the “key” of the hymn seems to shift — until the “Lord of all, toThee we praise” melody bursts out in a surprising compound meter. This, as it turns out, was the “mystery tune”heard earlier in the piece. After an Ivesian, almost polytonal climax, the Coda begins over a long B( pedal. At first,it seems to be a restatement of the first two phrases of “For the Beauty” with long spaces between them, but it soonchanges to a series of “Amen” cadences, widely separated by range and color. These, too, do not conform to anykey, but instead overlay each other in ways that are unpredictable but strangely comforting.The third verse of “For the Beauty of the Earth” contains this quatrain:“For the joy of ear and eye, –For the heart and mind’s delightFor the mystic harmonyLinking sense to sound and sight”and it was from this poetry that I drew the title for the present work. It is my hope that audiences and performerswill find within it a sense of grace: more than a little familiar, but also quite new and unexpected.