The CuthbertPraise! hymn series began as a collection of hymns for the
worship team at my own home church, St. Cuthbert's Episcopal, in
Houston, Texas. St. Cuthbert's is a relatively small (but growing!)
church in the suburbs with a diverse and enthusiastic congregation of
believers. Musical tastes range from classical anthems and traditional
hymns to the very latest in Contemporary Christian Music, and while
personal preferences and worship styles may differ vastly, everyone is in
agreement that our rich heritage of Episcopal hymns needs to not only be
preserved but continually offered up to the LORD and enjoyed by all His
people to the very fullest.
The CuthbertPraise! Hymn series is a collection of instrumental hymn
arrangements designed to integrate seamlessly with the Episcopal
Hymnal. Each hymn in the collection contains parts for a number of
different combinations of instruments depending on musical taste and
availability of players at your church, and each arrangement remains
faithful to the original Episcopal Hymnal setting. Included in each set are
parts for:
• 2 Flutes
• 2 Bb Trumpets (or Clarinet/Tenor Sax)
• 2 C Trumpets (or Oboe or Violin)
2 Eb Alto Saxophones
• 2 Horns in F
• 2 Trombones (or Euphonium, Bassoon or Cello)
• Tuba (or Bass Violin)
• Full Brass Ensemble for trio, quartet, quintet, or sextet with
voicings optimized for brass instruments
• Guitar (with fretboard illustrations, capo transpositions
where applicable and chords that really work!)
• Bass Guitar
• Timpani (with 2-3 pitches for each hymn - a keyboard
with a General MIDI timpani patch works very nicely
if you don't have drums
Each hymn in the series contains an original descant (some have two!)
and all the arrangements will work with all or any combination of
instruments. The Voice/Guitar part may be used to accompany the
singing both with and without piano and organ. The duet arrangements
will also work with one, two or three instruments. The Brass Ensemble
score includes substitution parts that are clearly labeled (for example,
Horn and First Trombone may substitute or sound together, and voicings
are optimized for instruments rather than the standard SATB settings in
the hymnal which work well for voices but often sound hollow or
uncharacteristic when played on brass or wind instruments.
Over the years the St. Cuthbert Music Ministry has gradually
incorporated more contemporary sounds into the worship service,
employing the use of guitar, bass guitar, drums and keyboard in addition
to the standard choir and piano. The synthesizer keyboard has proven
itself a versatile and easily accessible addition to the ensemble. A
keyboard player with only modest skills can be employed to play
sustained chords or obligatos over the hymns using a string or soft
padding patch ("patch" is the word used for any particular sound
setting). Most synthesizer keyboards also have a number of percussion
patches including drum set and timpani. Since St. Cuthbert doesn't have
an organ, we occasionally use a pipe organ patch on the keyboard to
accompany the hymns. The synthesizer may also be used to add descant
or obbligato lines using, for example, a flute or trumpet patch.
CuthbertPraise! is a calling from God and a labor of love!
Randy Adams has degrees in music from Northwestern University and
University of Houston. Randy is Asst. Professor of Trumpet and Director
of the Jazz Lab Band at Sam Houston State University. Randy has also
taught at Houston Baptist University and San Jacinto College. He is a
former member of the Houston Symphony Orchestra (2001-2002) and is
currently a member of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Theatre
Under the Stars Orchestra. Randy plays guitar, trumpet and keyboard at
St. Cuthbert Episcopal Church, Houston Texas, where his wife Barbara
has been Minister of Music since 1988. Randy and Barbara have four
beautiful and talented daughters - Bethany, Laura, Hope and Grace, a fish
named Shemp and a maple tree named Jeff. Come worship with us
sometime at St. Cuthbert's Episcopal Church in Houston!
RandyAdams@CuthbertPraise.com
