Choosing an Easter Piano Arrangement
Tuesday, January 31st, 2023
I’m considering arranging “One Day” for an Easter offertory.
How many of you church pianists know this hymn and is it familiar to your church?
Thanks for your input!
The Church Pianist |
A help ministry for church pianists all over the world! |
I’m considering arranging “One Day” for an Easter offertory.
How many of you church pianists know this hymn and is it familiar to your church?
Thanks for your input!
“When I Looked up to the Cross” is one of my most favorite songs written by my Dad, Reece Yandle.
This particular vocal solo is perfect for Easter. I love the phrase, “When I looked up to the cross and gaze on His face. That’s when I thank Him for His love and His grace.” It’s such a powerful song about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Click HERE to see Dad singing this piece.
Dad has another Easter type song entitled “Nevertheless Thy Will be Done” that’s also a great selection around Easter time. I arranged both of these songs of Dad’s. However, this second piece is only available through Lorenz who is now under GIA Publications. The lyrics to this reflective song… opens with a scene of Jesus kneeling in the garden of Gethsemane and his heart-rending prayer…”Let this cup pass from me…nevertheless Thy will be done.” The final phrase is “Thus cried the Savior God’s own Son, nevertheless Thy will be done.”
Also note, “Nevertheless Thy Will be Done”, is in a vocal book from various authors.
I do have another vocal arrangement in the same book written by one of my youth directors, Rusty Dillard, and it’s also a great song about the story of Joseph.
Click on the following song links for more information:
Nevertheless Thy Will be Done (offsite product) The name of this book is called “No Greater Love”.
Here’s the picture of the vocal song book for “No Greater Love”
Finished! I’ve had this arrangement of “The Cleansing Wave” on the burner for quite some time.
I would like to thank Abby Phillips Lockaby for adding the violin accompaniment. She made it sound SOOOO pretty!
I didn’t do justice to her part but tried my best.
I’ve been fine tuning two vocal arrangements to use around Easter time.
The first one is complete! It’s a fairly easy two part ladies’ arrangement of “Jesus Paid it All” by John T. Grape.
I usually schedule at least 6 practices for this selection to make sure we have time to work on the expression once the notes are learned.
I’ll do my best to provide a video of this piece asap.
The second vocal arrangement of “The Cleansing Wave” is actually a two-part mixed choir piece with an optional beautiful violin accompaniment created by one of my music friends….(Abby Phillips) Lockaby. She added just the right texture/sound to this flowing arrangement. I’ll share an audio sample of the piano and violin score this week.
My grandson, Nathan, requested an arrangement of Crown Him With Many Crowns to learn over the summer.
I tried to keep the arrangement true to his level with the exception of a few spots. He will soon be in book 2B of the Faber piano book series.
You’ll note the suggested fingering as needed to prevent a lot of hand acrobats 😉
This particular piano arrangement consists of one verse and chorus…making it the perfect length for an offertory at a small church.
WHAT a rich text for the hymn O Sacred Head Now Wounded!
The writer truly depicted his overwhelming devotion and love to Christ for His sacrifice
It’s not a song you hear often but carries a message we need to hear every day!
May God bless you through this poignant hymn of Christ’s death and saving grace!
https://www.facebook.com/thechurchpianist/videos/227393975285595/
I loved writing this arrangement because I wrote how I felt like expressing it at the time. When I try to structure my pieces…it sometimes stifles my creativity.
But….structure is also good because it makes the piece more playable…without awkward leaps and such.
I have SO many favorite hymns and “There is a Fountain” is on that list!
I tried to depict an overflowing fountain in the beginning and ended with a different twist…still sounding as a fountain.
This piece is geared to the early to moderately advanced church pianist. The entire arrangement stays in the key of C but contains a lot of full chords.
Click title to hear sample: ” There is a Fountain”