Oxford Hymn Settings for Organists: Easter and Ascension: 29 original pieces on hymns for Easter and Ascension: Oxford Hymn Settings for Organists

These are all well-structured compositions rather than 'hymn-fillers'. Keys are chosen to match those frequently found in hymn books, but it would be a pity just to use these pieces (and inevitably adapt their length) to extend a hymn and fill a gap. I particularly enjoyed the pieces that confound expectations such as David Blackwell's 'Pastorale on Gerontius' with a gentle 9/8 canon that at the end slips from Dykes into Elgar, and Michael Bedford's 'Meditation on Easter Hymn' that is quiet throughout. 'Easter Hymn' and 'Passion Chorale' are the only two of the 62 hymns that have two settings, the second Easter Hymn being a wildly rhythmic treatment by Philip Moore. 'A New Commandment', 'The Servant King', 'Alleluia no. 1, Jesus is Lord' and a 'Jubilant Dance on Our God Reigns' provide coverage of hymns and songs that have more recently become established, alongside the hymns traditionally associated with these seasons.

Rebecca Groom te Velde earned degrees in organ performance from Seattle Pacific University and the University of Western Ontario, also studying composition and church music. She continued her studies in Germany on a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service. An active performer and clinician on service-playing, she holds the Associate Certificate from the American Guild of Organists. She has published organ music with Oxford University Press and Darcey Press and choral compositions with Santa Barbara Music Publishing. She is organist of First Presbyterian Church, Stillwater, and adjunct instructor of organ at Oklahoma City University in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.David Blackwell read music and studied the organ at Edinburgh University, where he gained his FRCO, and for many years worked in music publishing, becoming Head of Music Publishing at Oxford University Press. He has published anthems and carols with OUP, is co-editor of Carols for Choirs 5 (2011), and has published organ pieces in Oxford Service Music for Organ (OUP, 2010), compiled and edited by Anne Marsden Thomas. He is also co-writer of OUP's award-winning String Time books.