Enhance your Christmas worship services with these five preludes by William H. Bates. Driving rhythmic passages, harmonic sequences, and imaginative counterpoints shore up the distinctive character of each tune.

Each movement of this five-movement partita, Built on the Rock: Partita on “Kirken den er et gammelt hus,” can be used separately at various points in a worship service, or they can be used all together for a lengthier prelude or concert piece. Of medium difficulty, each movement was inspired by a particular phrase in the hymn text.

Hymn introductions provide an opportunity to invite the congregation to lift up its voice. They needn’t be long or complicated in order to be engaging. This resource provides 60 introductions and an extended preface that provides tools and suggestions for the average church musician to craft his or her own introductions. These introductions are extremely useful, covering 117 hymns in Lutheran Service Book.

This is the 11th edition in the popular Mosaics series by Jacob B. Weber. Pentecost Mosaicscontains versatile and festive settings useful for Pentecost and beyond. Highlights include a suite on “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest” (Festival Introduction, Harmonization, and Organ Stanza) and six variations on “Holy Spirit, Light Divine.” Other hymns include “O Day Full of Grace”; “Come Down, O Love Divine”; “Holy Spirit, End Our Sadness”; and “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord.”

John Behnke has begun a series for organists titled Hymns Complete, designed to accompany hymns as they are sung by congregations. Each volume contains introductions and accompaniments for specific stanzas of well-known hymns, according to their texts in Lutheran Service Book.

Preludes center your congregation’s hearts and minds on treasured hymn texts and tunes that inspire reflection and encourage their faith. Chorale preludes in particular draw upon a rich heritage while setting a dignified and majestic tone for the worship service. From complex and established to more emphatic and modern, these chorale prelude collections offer something special to your congregation. 

Celebrate the coming of the Magi and the Epiphany season by joining in fellowship through music. As you prepare for the season, consider adding these pieces to your repertoire for your Sunday services. 

Edwin T. Childs adds to his series of settings for minimum pedal, providing a collection of hymn tunes for the season of Advent in Advent with Minimum Pedal. These inventive preludes are suitable as hymn introductions, preludes, voluntaries, and postludes, and will appeal to organists with limited pedal abilities or seasoned organists that need something in a pinch.

I had little to no training in improvisation in my music lessons growing up. This lack of training combined with a predisposition to enjoy sight reading led me to avoid improvising at all costs—participating in jazz band always made me a little nervous.

John Behnke has composed a three-part partita on the hymn tune KOMM, HEILIGER GEIST, HERRE GOTT, a Reformation-era tune that accompanies Martin Luther’s Pentecost hymn “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord” (LSB 497). The partita contains three movements, one for each stanza of the hymn.