Augsburg Fortress
Biery, James, Together We Serve: Hymn Settings and Harmonizations for Organ. These eight compositions include a setting of the tune suitable for prelude (or, in the case of the Toccata on “Rise, O Church,” as a postlude.) Four of these adaptable settings are provided with optional C or Bb instrumental parts playing the melody line. Several of these tunes would be more familiar in ELCA churches.
Kovarik, Chris, Love and Rejoicing: Ten Settings for Organ. These arrangements, some of which border on quite challenging, can be harmonically adventurous. The setting of the ASH GROVE is a gem.
Sims, David, Joining in Glad Adoration, vol. 2: Hymn Introductions and Accompaniments. These highly accessible settings include a brief introduction and “alternate accompaniment.” The inclusion of CHESTERFIELD and REPTON are good additions to the repertoire.
Northwestern Publishing House
Hymn of the Day Organ Prelude Series (A—Ken Kosche)
Hymn of the Day Organ Prelude Series (BRS—Jeremy Bakken)
Hymn of the Day Organ Prelude Series (C—Dale Witte)
Hymn of the Day Organ Prelude Series (DEFG—Linda Moeller)
These volumes provide settings of the Hymn of the Day, and are alphabetized by the common hymn text title as found in Christian Worship. Each book is the work of a single composer.
Rotermund, Donald, Short Seasonal Preludes for Organ: Blessing and Thanksgiving Of modest length, often in fugal style, maybe be shortened to about two minutes each. Particularly of note are the settings of DIX and KREMSER.
Morning Star Music
Manz, Paul, ed. Michael Burkhardt. In Thee Is Gladness: Ten Rediscovered Free Harmonizations on German Chorales. Burkhardt provides transcriptions of Manz’s unpublished hymn harmonizations in order to “introduce the harmonic language and style of Paul Manz to student organists.” He also adapts them to the “melodic variants found in hymnals of today.” These are very easy and suitable for students.
Lasky, David. Creator of the Stars of Night: Twelve Easy Hymn Settings for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. These easy hymn treatments occasionally feature contrasting movements, each title descriptive of its musical stye (“improvisation,” “meditation,” “trio.”)
Burkhardt, Michael. As Though the Whole Creation Cried, Vol. 3, Hymn Harmonizations for Organ. The composer sets 36 tunes to as many as three or four alternate harmonizations, all imbued with Burkhardt’s inimitable sense of text painting.
Concordia Publishing House
Biery, James, In the Water, In the Word: Eight Preludes and Harmonizations on Baptismal Hymns. The innovative settings are inspired by some of the great masterworks of Bach, Widor, and Rachmaninoff, which Biery adapts to common baptismal tunes. He also provides an alternate harmonization for each tune.
Blersch, Jeffrey, Ten Interpretations, Set I: Hymn Introductions and Harmonizations. There are eleven moderately easy settings of ten tunes, each provided with a short introduction, in most cases two harmonizations, and/or a grand final stanza.
Childs, Edwin, Radiance Bright: Twenty Brief Epiphany Preludes. These short, easy hymn preludes, generally fewer than 25 measures, employ a variety of textures, from fanfare-like, to trio, to more homophonic. Note particularly its inclusion of MISSISSIPPI, which has few settings.
Hildebrand, Kevin, Christmas Hymn Harmonizations for Organ. Hildebrand provides two easy harmonizations of each time, the first with the melody soloed out to an elementary harmonization. The second settings are slightly more complex, improvisatory harmonizations.
Machemer, Matthew, With Hearts and Lips Forever: Eight Organ Preludes for the Church Year. Of medium difficulty, this collection of eight tunes features a variety of textures, from sprightly to meditative.
Proclaim! Preludes and Harmonizations for the Hymn of the Day (Time of the Church/One-Year Series, Volume I) Assembling nine settings from various composers, this long-running series supplies music of medium difficulty suitable for hymn introductions or service music, each pairerd with an alternate harmonizations.
Rotermund, Donald, Eastertide Fughettas. These fughettas generally set the entire hymn tune, and may serve as a hymn introduction. Without repeats, each is about two minutes. Some of these compact, beautiful settings will take a bit of practice!
Sanders, Bernard Wayne, Sojourn: Four Chorale Preludes from Childhood to Resurrection. Of moderate difficulty, these chorale preludes set SO NIMM DENN, AUF AUF, MEIN HERZ, BEFIEHL DU DEINE WEGE, and WEIL ICH JESU SCHÄFLEIN BIN.
Weber, Jacob, Offertory Mosaics. Thematically oriented around tunes often associated with thanksgiving/offertory texts, each setting of the six tunes (including “Create in Me” from DS III) may be used as a hymn prelude or as an offertory/prelude.
Perkins Chapel Wedding Music 