Vatican II Hymnal • ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENTS for Hymns, Masses, etc.
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    By 18 August 2011, we expect that 90% of the organ accompaniments for the Vatican II Hymnal will be posted online (permanently, for use by all).

    Here is an 25-page example of how the organist scores will look.
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Wonderful, Jeffrey!

    But… considering how particular you have been about "the path of the eye" and all, would you consider placing the texts below the system, so that the treble and bass clef staffs aren't so far apart from one another?
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    would you consider placing the texts below the system, so that the treble and bass clef staffs aren't so far apart from one another?

    I second that on behalf of all of us second-rate keyboardists.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,210
    Looks good, but there should not be more than 3 verses (4 at most) between the staves for an accompaniment edition. It is already clear, though, that this will be an invaluable resource. We all owe you many thanks.
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    @CHGriffen,

    If you could (please) cite a source on this statement, that would be wonderful. The reason I ask for a source: I'm holding 3-4 organ books from the "major publishers" and every single one includes 4, 5, and sometimes even 6 verses in between staves. If you could cite a source on that, this would be fantastic.

    @Mark M.

    I agree that we need to make it as easy as possible for the congregation to read the notes, and I spared no effort in this regard. For the organist accompaniments, I am following standard practice at this point. HOWEVER, I have all kinds of plans to add variants. Variants for choirs, organists, etc. Some will have one verse per stave. Some will have no words (like the New English Hymnal, which to me is the greatest Hymnal). I will give as many options as possible, and I will invite others to contribute as well. But for the moment, I will be sticking to standard practice on these.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,210
    No sources to cite - just experience and comments from many OOB (organists on the bench). Of course, eventually, the highly experienced organist isn't so much bothered by this, since (s)he is almost always playing something well-known. Sadly, it's not the same for many organists/accompanists today. Some traditional hymnals do, for the most part adhere to such standards and place additional verses after the hymn. And in the English tradition, this is even more common (at CPDL there are several proponents of putting NO verses between the staves! - but I'm not one of them!).
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Thank you, CHGiffen.

    I've seen your harmonizations, and they are very well done. Therefore, I value your insight and comments.
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