See more hymn arrangements: Vocal Solos Instrumentals
Hymn Arrangements
I love the hymns. Over the years as a choir director and accompanist I have arranged many of them: the fruits of those ongoing labors are here. While generally not the learn-in-a-week variety, most of these arrangements have been performed by my ward choirs. When you purchase one you’ll receive a link to a pdf file from which you can print as many copies as you need – no stickers or signatures required. Please contact me directly if you need a different key or other adjustments, or if you have a request for a new arrangement.
Adam Ondi Ahman SATB
This decidedly Mormon hymn was written in the 1830’s in Missouri, perhaps even in Adam-ondi-Ahman, where Joseph Smith taught that Adam had lived. William Phelps used a tune from a shape note hymn of the time and wrote his own words. The first verse in my arrangement features the original tune from Southern Harmony. I later simplified my original arrangement by cutting the contrapuntal ending and adapted it for flute and piano.
Abide With Me
In an arrangement written for the funeral of a dear friend, this hymn is one of the world’s most famous. The men’s choir at the funeral needed to be able to learn the arrangment in one practice, so it is quite simple, yet perhaps all the more effective on that account. The violin part is optional and may be omitted.
Abide With Me; 'Tis Eventide SATB
This beautiful hymn text and melody have moved me since I knew them as a child. This arrangement is suitable for beginner choirs with a good pianist.
All Creatures of Our God and King SATB Organ
I have done a few arrangements of this great hymn. This one is for easy choir and organ. It kind of stems from an alternate fourth verse that I made up as a teenager playing the organ in sacrament meeting. The congregation was long suffering I think…
Beautiful Savior - Trio
Originally written for a men’s choir, I have also had this performed by women in a lower key. The piano part requires a confident pianist.
Beautiful Savior SAB
Years after writing the men’s version above, I needed some SAB music for my choir and decided to adapt this one.
Best for Last (Children)
An original Mother’s Day song for Primary children. I love the idea of Heavenly Father as the consummate artist. While he proclaimed all his creations good, woman, who was created last, was his masterpiece.
Book of Mormon Medley SAB
My father-in-law requested this combination of An Angel Came to Joseph Smith and The Golden Plates for his ward choir. I’m quite pleased with the result.
Child of Mine (Souviens-toi)
The hymn “Souviens-toi, Mon Enfant” (Remember, my child) is one of the most beloved hymns in the current French language LDS hymnbook. Using the justly famous tune from Dvorak’s New World Symphony, this hymn addresses the pre-mortal life in very picturesque and intimate ways. I arranged the original for choir, but years later decided to create my own English text, loosely based on the French original.
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today SATB Organ
Treating one of the world’s best loved Easter hymns, this dramatic arrangement, featuring underscored narration from the Gospel of Luke, is quite easy for the choir but challenging for the organist.
Come, Follow Me SSA
John Nicholson, author of the text of Come, Follow Me, was a Scottish convert who joined the church in 1861 and emigrated to Utah in 1866. The text, especially the last verse, gains deeper significance when you realize that he was the first Recorder of the Salt Lake Temple, a calling he fulfilled until his death in 1909.
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing SATB
Another sweet melody from the Sacred Harp, this hymn is universally loved. The unusual word “Ebenezer” comes from 1 Samuel 7:12 and means “the stone of help”, symbolizing God’s support of the Israelites in their struggles.
Come Unto Him SATB
Back in 1992 I set this text to a different tune, the folk song Waly Waly (usually sung with the words, “The river is wide, I cannot get o’er”). The result is a musical evocation of this night-time contemplation of God, our place in his universe, and his place in our lives.
Versions for soloist and duet (with a different setting of the third verse) can be found here.
Come Ye Children of the Lord SATB Organ
Come, Ye Children of the Lord and Now Let Us Rejoice are arrangements I composed for the choir which I conducted at the dedication of the Montreal, Quebec Temple in 2001. Half of the 18 voice choir was from northern Vermont, half from Ottawa, Ontario.
Dare To Do Right / When We're Helping - Children's Medley
This is a medley of Dare To Do Right and When We’re Helping We’re Happy ideal for making your Primary Presentation special. The piano also quotes Choose the Right for good measure! (I’ve made a simplified version of the piano if your pianist is less amibtious – you’ll receive both versions when you purchase the arrangement.)
Did You Think To Pray? SATB
This is becoming one of my favourite arrangements – simple, yet effective. It was adapted from the Soprano solo found on the “Vocal Solo – Sacred” page. You can read the story of this hymn and my commentary on this arrangement in my blog.
I recently felt that the accompaniment on this arrangement could be simplified without taking away from it’s effectiveness. When you purchase this one, it will come with both the original and simplified piano part.
Do What Is Right SATB
I’ve always felt a great affection for this hymn. The message is simple, bordering on trite, but when you’re in the trenches in life, the simplest message of truth can be a profound insight, even a life-line. This arrangement is likewise quite simple. Most ward choirs could learn it in one rehearsal.
Firm Foundation Medley (Children)
This combination of How Firm A Foundation with The Wise Man and the Foolish Man was suggested by Julie Duty, a Primary singing leader in Arizona, as a way to make the 2017 Primary Presentation special. The hymn matches so well with the folk song musically and conceptually, I couldn’t resist.
Give Said the Little Stream SATB
Fanny Crosby, the author of these famous verses, was blinded in her infancy, but from (and she said, because of) this trial she was inspired to write poetry. Fanny wrote thousands of published hymns and poems, so many that publishers had her use aliases of which she had around 200!
God Is In His Holy Temple SATB
Colette Burnham has commissioned a few things from me. In 2023 she sent me music she had composed for this hymn text. I polished her harmonization and four-part writing for the hymn version and she asked for a choral arrangement. I hope you enjoy this lovely new music for this LDS hymn.
God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son SATB
This arrangement was written for my ward choir in Edmonton in the spring of 2009. We performed with a solo violin playing in the intro and interludes, and doubling the sopranos on the last verse.
How Can I Keep From Singing SATB
This well-known hymn tune was written by Robert Lowry, composer of I Need Thee Every Hour. The words are of uncertain authorship, but commonly ascribed to a Quaker origin. I used the original first verse but decided to compose two verses of my own.
How Firm A Foundation (St Denio) SATB
St Denio is a well known Welsh hymn that fits this text wonderfully. I wrote this arrangement to provide a lively piece for my ward choir.
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
One of my most requested works, this arrangement was originally written as an alto solo and is available in many settings and keys.
I Know That My Redeemer Lives (Antioch)
I Stand All Amazed - SATB
Many people tell me this is one of their favourite hymns. It contains gems of insight often overlooked. The third verse, for example, references the holy of holies in the ancient temple, where the poet will praise at the “mercy seat” and kneel at the Savior’s feet. The mercy seat is the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, kept in the most sacred place in the temple. I have given this verse a freer, more dramatic setting to express more forcefully these powerful words.
I Think When I Read That Sweet Story - SB
When I started arranging this sweet children’s song I intended to make a four-part arrangement, but in the end the simple two-part setting seemed complete and more appropriate.
It Is Well With My Soul SATB
This hymn is a moving expression of faith in the face of terrible loss. It was written by Horatio Spafford on the deck of a ship which had stopped at the location where, months before, all his daughters were drowned at sea. I have married it with another hymn from that period, Abide With Me, also associated with a maritime disaster, the sinking of the Titanic.
Jesus Said Love Everyone SATB
There’s an interesting story here. I had a dream that I was organizing music for a large conference. I had a last minute inspiration to have the choir sing “Jesus Said Love Everyone” but I thought it needed to be extended, so I worked out words and a tune for a middle section, with the harmonies to give to the organist. I awoke from the dream remembering all the details, which I wrote down on my phone before going back to sleep. This is the music I dreamed.
Jesus, What A Friend For Sinners SATB
This is a hymn text common in many Protestant denominations, sung to the tune Hyfrydol, which Latter-day Saints sing as the sacrament hymn, “In Humility Our Savior”. I have altered the text somewhat and added a new verse. This arrangement is based on the soprano solo version.
Let No Hands Be Idle Here SATB
This is one of my favourites from the Orson Scott Card collection, which I arranged in 2016 for my ward choir. This arrangement is not included in the book.
The Lord Is My Shepherd (Mitchell) SATB
This gentle anthem is a setting of the 23 Psalm I wrote as a graduate student. It won first place in the 1991 Church Music contest and got my picture in the Ensign!
Lord, We Come Before Thee Now SAB
One of the very few (5 to be exact) LDS hymns in a minor key, I love the harmony in this beautiful hymn. This arrangement was done for my small ward choir to perform.
Love At Home SAB
This is a sweet arrangement of an LDS favourite. Written when I was a university student, I later revised it to simplify the original arrangement. My ward choir found it very effective.
More Holiness Give Me
Set in a different metre, Rachmaninoff ‘s beautiful Prelude in D was the inspiration for the piano accompaniment of this moving hymn. It struck me as I listened to the music that it would easily make a lovely Soprano/Baritone or instrumental duet, so I have added scores for that purpose. There are also solo and duet arrangements available. Read the story of this hymn in my blog.
My Testimony SATB
This original children’s hymn was one of my submissions to the 2019 Hymnbook competition. It describes actual experiences from my own childhood that have stayed in my mind and heart. The tune and words were composed in my mind during quiet moments of a temple shift in Cardston, just a few days before the deadline.
Now Let Us Rejoice SATB Organ
At the dedication itself we performed somewhat simplified versions, but a month later at a Stake Conference in Ottawa I reassembled the choir to sing the full arrangements, and these recordings were made during the conference. The solo in Now Let Us Rejoice is sung by Greg Johnson, who was later accepted into the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (2018). The original arrangement has a section for 4-part men that I have simplified to Tenor/Bass, more suitable for most ward choirs.
Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning SATB
Also know as Joseph Smith’s First Prayer, this LDS favourite was arranged early in 1986 for my ward choir. I’m particularly fond of the dramatic third verse and the shift to the tune of Jesus, Lover of My Soul, which fits the fourth verse perfectly. The idea is that the dramatic moment of the Prophet’s First Vision has changed everything forever. An adaptation for Soprano solo is also available.
O My Father TTBB
In this arrangement for men’s voices, each voice part gets to sing the melody at least once. The setting is relatively simple, yet appropriate for this heart-felt hymn.
Praise To the Lord, the Almighty SATB
This choral arrangement is based on an organ prelude I wrote for a friend when I was teaching at Bishop’s University in 1995. It is lively, effective and relatively easy for the choir.
Praise To the Man SATB
I wrote this after hearing Mack Wilberg’s arrangement, so I must give him credit for the inspiration. This has always been one of my favourite hymns. I’ve had a few people tell me they never liked this hymn until they heard this arrangement.
Precious Savior SATB
I’ve woven two other tunes into this arrangement of Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer: the tune of Come Thou Font of Every Blessing which suits the second verse so well, and the well-known Dona Nobis Pacem, which is basically the latin translation of the closing phrase “Grant us everlasting peace”.
The Spirit of God SATB
It took my ward choir two weeks to prepare this, but they loved singing it. This is one of the most historic and iconic of LDS hymns from the very earliest years of the church, sung at the Kirtland temple dedication in 1836 and every temple dedication since then.
There Is A Green Hill Far Away SATB
This is a very simple but effective arrangement that can be mastered by the smallest or least proficient of choirs. I have often used it as an initial piece when starting with a new ward choir. They can easily concentrate on vocal production and breathing.
There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today
This beloved hymn was written by Eliza Hewitt when, after six months in a body cast and having it finally removed, she was able to take a walk in the park on a sunny day. Written for a Stake Conference Women’s choir, this arrangement features 4-part women which I have adapted for SATB.
Weary Not SATB
Once included in several LDS hymn collections, this gospel song from the turn of the century has been sung by the choir in recent General Conferences. Thanks to Amy Zimmerman for commissioning this arrangement for her ward choir.
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man / How Firm A Foundation
This combination of How Firm A Foundation with The Wise Man and the Foolish Man was suggested by Julie Duty, a Primary singing leader in Arizona, as a way to make the 2017 Primary Presentation special. The hymn matches so well with the folk song musically and conceptually, I couldn’t resist.