The Faith We Sing As a Source of Music for the Adult Choir
Choir directors have always used the hymnal as a source for choir music for children, youth, and adults, as well as a source for music to arrange and adapt for vocal soloists, small vocal ensembles, handbells, praise bands, orchestras, brass choirs, and solo instrumentalists. The purpose of this article is to offer suggestions for simple arranging and varying of hymns and songs in The Faith We Sing for use by the adult choir and congregation in worship, either together or separately, and then to offer selections from The Faith We Sing that will serve in a variety of uses by choir and congregation. Keep in mind that the Pew Edition generally contains text and music intended for congregational singing, and that the choir's Singer's Edition contains additional words, music, and harmonization not in the Pew Edition. If you have the Pew Edition for your congregation, be careful not to call for them to sing music and words it does not contain.
You may find it useful to refer to the numerical listing of the contents of The Faith We Sing available on this website.
Techniques for Arranging or Varying the Singing
Whether a hymn is written in unison, two or three parts, or in full four-part choir harmony, it is sometimes useful to ask the congregation to vary the pattern from everyone singing in the same manner on every stanza. Organists and pianists frequently do this by changing keys, organ registrations, tempo, and style of playing according to the emotion and expression of the text. The introduction of handbells and other instruments also gives variety. The following lists contain ways of varying the singing of stanzas and refrains by people and choir:
- All in unison.
- All in parts.
- Congregation in unison, choir in parts.
- Choir sings descant.
Hymns and Songs in Unison
(Many of these techniques will also work for other categories included below)
- Divide stanzas among different singing groups: men and women; over 40 and under 40; January-June birthdays and July-December birthdays; those who attended Sunday School that morning and those who did not; and so on.
- Divide the congregation spatially: left and right, front and back, balcony and nave.
- Have the choir sing one or more stanzas alone (children's choir, youth choir, adult choir).
- Have a soloist or ensemble sing one or more stanzas alone.
- Have different singing groups on verses and refrains.
- Read a stanza aloud together without instrumental accompaniment.
- Read a stanza silently with or without accompaniment.
- Read a stanza silently, have the accompanist play an appropriate setting or arrangement of the tune that complements a particular stanza. (This is actually a practice that goes back to the very early use of organs in the church.)
- Have the accompanist play an altered harmonization for singing.
- Since some hymns are in multiple languages, sing one or more stanzas in a different language.
2009 | 2048 | 2084 | 2110 | 2166 | 2188 | 2225 | 2243 | 2268 |
2018 | 2051 | 2089 | 2122 | 2172 | 2199 | 2228 | 2244 | 2271 |
2019 | 2053 | 2090 | 2135 | 2175 | 2204 | 2230 | 2248 | 2280 |
2020 | 2059 | 2091 | 2136 | 2177 | 2209 | 2231 | 2249 | 2283 |
2027 | 2060 | 2093 | 2147 | 2178 | 2211 | 2232 | 2255 | 2284 |
2044 | 2064 | 2095 | 2154 | 2183 | 2214 | 2236 | 2258 | |
2045 | 2073 | 2102 | 2161 | 2185 | 2217 | 2239 | 2262 | |
2046 | 2077 | 2106 | 2165 | 2187 | 2220 | 2240 | 2266 |
Hymns and Songs for Unison Congregation and Choir in Harmony
In addition to the techniques mentioned above, other methods of varying the singing include the following:
- Congregation and choir sing together in unison.
- Choir in harmony, congregation on melody, with or without accompaniment.
- Alternate stanzas with unison congregation and choir in parts.
- Choir sings a different harmonization from another source: hymnal or octavo.
Examples that may be sung in this manner include:
2006 | 2026a | 2043 | 2068 | 2101 | 2137 | 2181 | 2210 | 2224 | 2242 |
2008 | 2029 | 2049 | 2071 | 2104 | 2138 | 2182 | 2213 | 2226 | 2245 |
2016 | 2033 | 2052 | 2079 | 2112 | 2141 | 2193 | 2215 | 2229 | 2246 |
2021 | 2034 | 2055 | 2092 | 2120 | 2158 | 2197 | 2216 | 2247 | 2251 |
2024 | 2035 | 2061 | 2098 | 2128 | 2176 | 2203 | 2222 | 2238 | 2264 |
2025 | 2042 | 2065 | 2099 | 2129 | 2180 | 2207 | 2223 | 2241 | 2270 |
Hymns and Songs in Four-Part Harmony in Pew and Singer's Editions
Many people recognize this musical arrangement as the traditional hymnal harmonization contained for most hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal. These hymns and songs are in four parts in both the Pew Edition and the Singer's Edition. Methods of varying the singing include the following:
- Use any of the methods already stated.
- Sing one or more stanzas in unison.
- Congregation and choir women sing the melody; choir men sing the bass line. (Because of the way hymns are often harmonized, there is a natural complementary relationship that exists between soprano and bass parts — the soprano providing the melody and the bass providing the fundamental pitch that determines the harmony — with alto and tenor often merely filling in the harmony. The singing of only soprano and bass together can be a satisfying experience in itself.)
- The choir uses the same technique as 3 (above) for one stanza.
- Sing a capella — without accompaniment.
Examples of four-part harmonizations include:
2001 | 2050 | 2085 | 2115 | 2126 | 2151 | 2170 | 2208 | 2235 |
2004 | 2062 | 2100 | 2116 | 2140 | 2153 | 2191 | 2212 | 2247 |
2010 | 2076 | 2103 | 2119 | 2142 | 2157 | 2192 | 2219 | 2259 |
2011 | 2081 | 2105 | 2121 | 2145 | 2160 | 2194 | 2221 | 2273 |
2012 | 2083 | 2114 | 2123 | 2146 | 2169 | 2196 | 2234 | 2282 |
Call-and-Response Patterns and Other Part Songs
Some songs and hymns use the familiar call-and-response pattern, in which a solo voice (or choir or small group of voices) sings one part and the people respond, either in unison melody or in parts. Many spirituals use this format (see 2082). There are other songs which, while not in a call-and-response pattern, contain different voice parts that may be sung individually or in combination, sometimes as a round or canon (2208, melody), sometimes as a melody with a descant (2258). Many from this category may be used as choral offerings or with choir and congregation.
Examples include:
2005 | 2033 | 2067 | 2082 | 2106 | 2124 | 2139 | 2190 | 2256 |
2017 | 2055 | 2072 | 2094 | 2107 | 2131 | 2148 | 2208 | 2258 |
2020 | 2057 | 2075 | 2096 | 2109 | 2134 | 2174 | 2250 | 2274 |
Songs and Hymns from Choral and Solo Publications
Many selections in The Faith We Sing have been taken from previously published arrangements of solo songs and choral anthems. Many church music libraries will already contain arrangements of some of these selections. With little or no alteration from what is included in the Singer's Edition, these selections can serve as a ready-made choir anthem.
2003 | 2032 | 2069 | 2086 | 2117 | 2155 | 2189 | 2240 | 2265 | 2272 |
2022 | 2039 | 2070 | 2087 | 2127 | 2162 | 2202 | 2252 | 2266 | 2275 |
2023 | 2040 | 2074 | 2097 | 2130 | 2164 | 2205 | 2254 | 2267 | 2276 |
2030 | 2041 | 2078 | 2108 | 2132 | 2171 | 2206 | 2260 | 2268 | 2279 |
2031 | 2058 | 2080 | 2111 | 2152 | 2173 | 2218 | 2261 | 2269 |
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