Molly Ijames
Molly Ijames has been with Soundforth Publishing (now owned by Lorenz) since 2006. She’s a relative newcomer to the world of sacred music publishing, but she has quickly made a mark on it. In this podcast, we talk about her background, the current state of church music, and some of what goes on when a composer submits a work to be published. Find the link to listen to the podcast below. (more…)
Seriously, who are you?
I want to know who’s reading this blog. Would you do me a big favor and choose an answer in the poll below? It will only take a second, and I’d like for everyone to do this if possible. Even if you’re normally just a “lurker” that doesn’t comment here on Piano Animato, I want to know who this blog is reaching. If you’d like to elaborate, please do so in the comments below.
This will help me as Piano Animato continues to grow in scale and scope. Also, if you care to share, I’d like to know what you want to see more of on this blog. It seems that lots of readers come for reviews that I’ve written, but is there something else you want to see more of? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for helping! (more…)
Reba Snyder
Reba Snyder is a name you may not recognize. She’s been a mostly behind-the-scenes member of two evangelistic teams for the past eight years. Accompanying, playing the “invisible” prelude/postlude music, arranging, and quietly underscoring invitations all make up a sampling of what she’s done since graduating from Bob Jones University in 2004 with a degree in church music.
Now she’s making a move into the solo realm by releasing her first self-published book of piano arrangements. “Awake my Soul” is a collection of nine traditional hymns set in her distinct style. I’ve played several of Reba’s arrangements, but they have all been written as vocal accompaniments. This is the first time I’ve seen her songs arranged for solo piano. Read on for my thoughts on her book as well as a podcast with Reba. Plus, you can enter to win a copy of her new book. (more…)
As a pianist, I had a busy Easter at the keys. I accompanied for four different songs of varying styles. It was a great service, and we had an excellent turnout. Of course, this is one of a handful of services each year that people will attend even if just to get someone off their back. That being said, the crowd at ORBC today seemed enthusiastic in their worship of the risen Savior. (more…)
An acquaintance of mine, Dave Mincy, has recently begun offering up a new series of arrangements on his site mincymedia.com. If you visit his blog now, you’ll find new sacred arrangements meant for student pianists. There’s no shortage of hymns arranged for students to be found at your local music store, so is there any reason to buy some of these offered individually by Dave? Read on to find out… (more…)
Anyone familiar with the original tune to this hymn will realize how inappropriate it is. The march-like major key does not fit with lyrics like “Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave” and “Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting.” Most of the text would be more fitting paired with a minor key or a tune that lends itself to a softer, more emotional feel. A few years back, I found a modern rendition of “Rescue the Perishing.” To me, this new tune fits with the original text perfectly. Read on to learn more about this arrangement by David Schwoebel. (more…)
If you’ve followed many of the performances I’ve posted on this blog over the last few years, you’ll find that many of the recordings have come from a series of books published by The Lorenz Corporation. “Hymns You Love” is the latest and last book in this series which includes titles such as “Hymns We Love” and “Classical Hymns We Love.” All of these books took some of the most well-known sacred composers and asked them to arrange two songs each of their favorite hymns in a given sub-genre. This last book turned that model on its head. Lorenz asked their customers to submit their favorites for the six composers to arrange. The result is twelve songs of varying styles and difficulties that blend to create a unique type of piano collection. Read on to see what’s in the book and my thoughts on the arrangements.
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The next big event on the Christian holiday calendar is Easter. Alfred Music published some new arrangements from James Koerts at the end of 2012 specifically written for Easter services in a variety of worship settings. I received the book for Christmas and decided to share some of my thoughts on the songs here. Read on to see what’s in this collection of Easter songs. (more…)
In this post, you’ll find the third and final of Luisito Benjamin’s records that I own. It’s entitled “Canciones Favoritas de Rafael Hernandez.” This album has much more rhythm with a clear latin/jazz/big band ensemble feel rather than the “piano with instruments” format of the other two records. Who is Rafael Hernandez, you ask? Allow me to share.
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Here you’ll find the second album of Luisito Benjamin’s music. It’s volume two of “All Time Favorites of Puerto Rico.” You’ll notice that this record has individual tracks and is not a medley as volume one was. I’d like to also share another anecdote or two about Luisito’s life.
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